All The Books discussion

Hey all! I wanted to start the discussion thread for Where'd You Go Bernadette? In case you've finished reading and are just dying to talk about it with someone.

Finished it a week ago. It was alright!

I really enjoyed it.

Parent Lesson: How to respond to "I'm bored" - "...I'm going to let you in on a little secret about life. You think it's boring now? Well, it only gets more boring. The sooner you learn it's on you to make life interesting, the better off you'll be" (pg 43-44).

Totally how I want to handle that conversation.

Overall, I did enjoy this read. It was well-paced and I tend to like epistolary novels. However, I felt the voices of the character weren't very diversified in tone, personality, etc. It was as though the letters and emails were recounted from a singular person instead of copied verbatim.

If you enjoy the style, though, and haven't read it, I highly recommend Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

I agree Alicen, that line was just perfect.

The book was very horizontal in tone for me as well. The lack of variation made it a bit of a dull and unmemorable book. I found some of the plot elements to be unbelievable and far fetched, even for a make believe. That being said, it was nice to get lost in her world. I could relate to Bernadette's creativity and her social seclusion and repulsion.

I really enjoyed, but agree with the lack of tone. I read the majority of the book with Bee's voice in my head. As for the plot, sure, some things were a bit unbelievable, but I got really absorbed in it. After page 100, I couldn't put it down!

Yes, I agree about the things being far fetched, but thought that more than half the fun of the characters and events was in the caricaturization. Reading in the author's note at the end that she has written for shows like Arrested Development, made me think about the book even more in terms of how well Semple navigated between the real and the fantastic. There are these very strong relatable moments, but there are so many crazy things and people mixed in. Now, if someone would write some fan fiction where Bernadette's therapist is Tobias Funke (perhaps pre-AD and loss of license?)...pure gold!

I really loved this book. Some parts of it made me laugh out loud hysterically, and overall it was a fun & easy read. I really enjoyed it.

I finished it late last week and I just keep thinking about how fun it was. I can also see how there might be set ups for a sequel (like the fact that Bernadette doesn't know about the baby yet, and the idea for the app that makes you feel like you have a runner's high) but I'd rather it stay a standalone novel.

As much as I like it a few days removed, there were definitely parts where I felt I'd had enough of certain characters - like the letter from Bernadette to the personal assistant where she went on for soooo long about how much she hated Seattle. I realize that was the point, but it went so far as to make me way less sympathetic towards her. I was like: geeez, I can't wait for this lady to disappear. Also, I had a hard time with Audrey Wheeler's about-face in attitude, and I'm still not sure what the purpose was of Bee's emotional experience with Oh Holy Night.

That said, I did love the resolution at the end and how Antarctica actually helped Bernadette find purpose again.

Also, after learning that the author wrote for Arrested Development, the tone made more sense to me, if that makes sense.

This was fun and fast and entertaining to read. I'll totally check out anything else Semple writes.

Laura, that's true. I did forget about the "O Holy Night" bit. That didn't really go anywhere, did it?

I think my favorite part of this book was the fight between Audrey and Bernadette out in the rain. It may sound weird, but even though it was heavy and emotional, it had me busting up laughing at the way the author described Audrey's body language. I actually woke up my husband because I was laughing so hard. Anybody else...?

Entertaining read. I teach at a private school (our new head of school came here from Lakeside) and some of the descriptions of the ridiculous "gnat" mothers were spot on. Some of the stay-at-home moms have (real) personal assistants!
I didn't find the structure of the book to be quite as clever as I bet the author thought it was. It required a good deal of suspended disbelief. Who writes extensive dialog in emails? What eighth grader writes in a voice like Bee? Who sends faxes these days?!
Overall, though, it was a quick read with a fast-paced plot that had enough of a dark edge to keep it interesting. It's not deep literature dripping with symbolism or meaning, but it was a fun satire that kept me engaged and distracted while I am sleep deprived from caring for a newborn, so I appreciated that!