Where'd You Go, Bernadette in Around the World in 80 Books

Oct 13, 2013 Wanda rated it really liked it

Shelves: literary-fiction

Set in Seattle, Washington, with the backdrop of Starbucks coffee shops,the Microsoft complex and a private school campus, this novel is the story of Bernadette Fox, her husband Elgie Branch and their daughter Bee. Elgie is an important computer geek at Microsoft where most of his time is spent. Bernadette is a former architect wonder who is hiding from a previous occupational trama and their daughter Bee, a very gifted 8th grade student. At the beginning of the novel, life seems fine for this f Set in Seattle, Washington, with the backdrop of Starbucks coffee shops,the Microsoft complex and a private school campus, this novel is the story of Bernadette Fox, her husband Elgie Branch and their daughter Bee. Elgie is an important computer geek at Microsoft where most of his time is spent. Bernadette is a former architect wonder who is hiding from a previous occupational trama and their daughter Bee, a very gifted 8th grade student. At the beginning of the novel, life seems fine for this family even with the eccentric Bernadette. They live in a large house that was a former Girls' Reform School that is literally falling down around them. Bernadette never cooks and orders in every day and hates to interact with other people and most especially the other mothers at her daughter's school.

The book takes place during a time period of several months and is centered around a proposed family trip to Antarctica. Through the use of letters and emails from family members to other characters, we learn of past events that shape the family dynamics. For instance, Bee's birth and health issues and Bernadette's rise as a talented and award-winning architect to her total withdrawal from this profession. The voice of the narration is shared by all three family members but mostly Bernadette and Bee. It is a fast paced novel with twists that are surprising, exhilarating, and so entertaining.

This book was reminiscent of my days of working with the Girl Scouts. At camp-outs a favorite meal was 'hamburger stew.' The leaders would provide ground beef and each scout would bring a can of vegetables which was added to the ground beef and tomatoes---now this may sound horrible but it was always tasty. This book is similar. At various points a narrative (much like the ground beef) holds together all the emails, notes, and letters exchanged between all the characters (just like the cans of vegetables). Taking the narration and different communications and mixing them together produces a tasty and entertaining novel. Usually, I do not like reading something that is composed of so many short and longer bits of information but it works for this one. It is a wonderfully, quirky and delightful read. ...more

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Apr 01, 2014 Rachel N. rated it it was ok

Bernadette Fox is a reclusive former architect whose husband Elgie works at Microsoft and daughter Bee goes to a private school in Seattle. Bernadette hates basically everyone and is involved in a fight with most of the other mothers at Bee's school. She has turned over most of the chores in her life to an assistant in India. As her behavior becomes more erratic Elgie considers having her admitted to a psychiatric facility then Bernadette disappears. I really disliked every character in this boo ...more

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Sep 29, 2013 Amy 💖 rated it really liked it

Shelves: light-fiction, kindle

The first half was so fun - 5 stars! Midway through the f-bomb begins to drop and the storyline deteriorates - 3 stars. Coincidence?? You decide. It's a fun, quick read. ...more

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May 08, 2017 Natasha rated it really liked it

Very enjoyable. Couldn't put it down. It s the kind of book that you would want to take to the beach or on a plane. It's funny, whimsical and well-written. Fast and fun read. ...more

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