Esther Schnaidman asked:

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10 years ago
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Kristin

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Tressa I also assumed that we'd get to watch Bernadette find out about the pregnancy and Elgie quitting his job. I mean, isn't that how most novels would end? But I like how Semple threw us a curve ball and we didn't get that pat ending or confrontation that most writers would feel they'd have to give us. When these reveals didn't happen, I wasn't disappointed because it just highlighted how our lives and the messes within them don't "end" by the last page and neither do Bernadette's. I used my imagination to think about how she would react to the pregnancy (hurt but coming to agreeable terms about it...or maybe not) and Elgie quitting Microsoft (happy because he was also searching for something more fulfilling to do in life). I LOVED this book!

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Dmorri I felt the same way! To many unanswered questions.

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Zuzana Ozanova Yes, the ending seemed abrupt, but how the story would continue seemed pretty clear to me. Bernadette seemed confident in her relationship with her husband and he seemed to be clear on the affair not meaning anything by the time he sat down on those rocks with Bee. I assumed, he would take good care of his admin, but that is it. Even the mistress made it clear it was not a love-filled relationship in her letter to her support group and that she would simply just get the house out of it and “the Beatles” would reunite. Bernadette would not be thrilled, but she was in no way traditional in such that she would leave her husband for his affair or make a big deal ouf of it.

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Audrey The ending to this book was such a shamefully missed opportunity. The whole book had such a HUGE heart and the ending completely lacked one. You're not alone.

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Ken Berg I felt confident that Bernadette could handle the fact of the pregnancy, but that's hardly enough. Will Elgie just provide a house and some financial support, and then say good luck? Will he take a role in the child's life? And Bee? For some reason she does not appear to be dating yet (she is 15, I would expect more interest in boys than we hear about in the novel) . She has a bit to think about. And while it is hard to see the Elgie- SooLin relationship as predatory, he was her superior at MS. Also, the two of them are old enough to know where babies come from, maybe some precautions could have been taken?

Still, Bernadette is great! She is an outlier (very different from being crazy) and I wish the very best for her.

Btw: Bee and Kennedy are both 15 and in 8th grade. I turned 13 during 8th grade. Being 15 in 8th grade means being 7 in kindergarten. What's going on? A side issue, no need to respond.

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