Where'd You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple

I enjoyed this read, simply because it was laugh-out-loud funny at times - especially earlier on in the story.  I loved that it poked fun at the elite, privileged people: private school children, helicopter parents.  Bernadette was the square peg in the round hole.  Her relationship with Audrey Griffin was outrageous.  Even though both Bernadette and Audrey were being ridiculous, the only time I was really annoyed was when Audrey blamed Bernadette for the mudslide which destroyed her home - AND Bernadette taking responsibility for it!!  If was, after all, Audrey who forced Bernadette to pay to have the vines removed from her property, which in turn caused the mudslide.  Even though the book was satirical in nature, that still bugged me!  Audrey redeemed herself on that one though - by admitting it was her fault and by helping Bernadette "escape" before Elgin had her committed.

I didn't know what to think of Bernadette's "virtual assistant" at first.  I kept thinking, "do things like that actually exist?"  What a time saver that would be! ;)  All for $30/month!  I love that Manjula Kapoor was actually the Russian Mob.  There's a twist I didn't expect.  I completely understood Elgin's concern for his wife.  At that point I was thinking Bernadette had some serious mental health issues and needed help.

What irritated me was that Bernadette squandered her obvious talent as an architect.  For 20 years she basically pouted about her brilliant home being destroyed (in California after she sold it).  I think that true artists (like her) would have continued to "create" instead of shutting down completely, like she did.  I loved that at the end (in Antarctica) she got back to doing what she loved - and what she was brilliant at.

Soo-Lin Lee-Segal was simply delusional!  She took advantage of Elgin at a vulnerable moment and then kept acting like they were in love.  So, I loved that she used her own "therapy" analysis to talk herself through her delusions and make herself face the truth.  That was HER redeeming quality.  Unfortunately, Elgin and Bernadette will have to pay for his moment of weakness - both financially and emotionally.

This was a book that you can't take too seriously, which I liked as a change of pace.  I didn't understand all of it though.  If I had, I would probably have found the satire even funnier.  I have never heard of Choate or TEDTalks.  I don't know who Balakrishna is, so I don't know the significance of Bee's name.  But all in all, I enjoyed it.

Wendy's Rating: ***1/2