Bee's Point of View

[Mark]

Where’d You Go, Bernadette is told from the point of view of a daughter trying to find her missing mother. Why do you think the author chose to tell the story from Bee’s perspective? What light does it shed on the bond between Bernadette and Bee?
Question issued by publisher

[Mark]

I don’t think the author had much choice but to tell the story from Bee’s point of view. Bernadette and Elgie are too narcissistic to be likable characters, and I couldn’t bring myself to care about them, so the author’s hope is that I will care about Bee.

Bernadette runs away on an escapist vacation. She’s genius architect whose career flamed-out because she doesn’t have the self-discipline to stick with it. Elgie is basically a clueless buffoon, he is also a genius, who would have mostly had to explain how easy it is for others to manipulate him if he was the narrator. And finally, Bee, who’s also a genius, has to be the only adult in the room. Still, I don’t care about Bee either.