by Maria Semple, 2012
narrated by Kathleen Wilhoite*
The adage of a fine line separating genius from madness is most appropriate here. Where’d You Go, Bernadette introduces us to a small family in Seattle – mother Bernadette Fox, father Elgin Branch, and daughter Bee. When Bee gets accepted to a prestigious boarding school, Bernadette and Elgin agree to grant her most desired wish: a trip to Antarctica. The only problem is that Bernadette practically refuses to leave the house and interact with other human beings. Intent on pleasing her daughter as best as she can, Bernadette musters up her strength and makes plans for the trip, only to be deterred by the private school mothers she refers to as “gnats” and a virtual assistant in India named Manjula. Hijinks ensue, and Bernadette disappears.
There are many things to love about this charming novel, and chief among them for me is the fact that both of Bee’s parents are highly accomplished in their fields. However, while Elgin is practically worshipped at Microsoft, Bernadette is the true genius. Winner of the MacArthur Grant for architecture, Bernadette has given up most of her career aspirations in favor of a bigger desire: that of a healthy child. While it may seem that this is a familiar trope – that of a woman being forced to give her up her dreams to become a mother – it never feels as though Semple is praising or condemning Bernadette for her choice. It was simply a choice she made, in a desperate time, that most parents can probably identify with. What makes this story different is that marriage and parenthood are not Bernadette’s happy endings. She is clearly set adrift by an unchallenged mind, and her neuroses swell in the presence of such ordinariness. In Bernadette, Semple shows that while parenthood can be a goal, it is not everyone’s ultimate goal and that’s okay.
Alas, I didn’t love everything about this story, namely its reliance on some heavily overplayed plot devices to throw a wrench in the works. While some of these were hilarious – overzealous and self-righteous neighbor claiming Bernadette purposely ran over her foot, the same neighbor insisting Bernadette remove her blackberry bushes – some seemed only to prove that, well, people are terrible and they do terrible things. The problem is that I don’t believe that this particular character would do this particular terrible thing, and the terrible thing does nothing but make the plot exceedingly ordinary. Obviously I can’t reveal what this thing is, but let’s just say that it’s in line with what I typically find tiresome in books.
Nevertheless, I found the book plenty enjoyable and I look forward to reading Semple’s other works. It was refreshing to read about a woman who is unapologetically brilliant and her daughter who unabashedly looks up to her. If nothing else, it was fun.
*Yes, that Kathleen Wilhoite. Some may know her as Luke’s crazy sister/Jess’s crazy mom on Gilmore Girls. I first came to know her as Susan Lewis’s crazy sister on ER. In other words, she was perfect for this book.
