"The truth is complicated. There's no way one person can ever know everything about another person." - Elgin Branch, Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
*EDIT: My thoughts are with the people of Beirut and Paris and with all around the world who continue to be tormented by terrorism in its many forms. May we be good to each other, and instead of lashing out with the same violence we are faced with, perhaps we could turn our fists into open arms. Je suis toujours avec vous tous.*
I LOVED THIS BOOK.
As I may have mentioned before, I started a new job the Monday before last. Holy moly, was I unprepared to have my life taken over by hours of planning and organizing and printing and copying and not-so-much-blogging.
But I did manage to finish this book.
I LOVED THIS BOOK.
As I may have mentioned before, I started a new job the Monday before last. Holy moly, was I unprepared to have my life taken over by hours of planning and organizing and printing and copying and not-so-much-blogging.
But I did manage to finish this book.
Where'd You Go, Bernadette is a hilarious story of a young girl named Bee, whose mother disappears just before a big family trip, and the ensuing quest to find out what happened to her in those last few hours with her family that made her change her mind and vanish into thin air. I really don't want to give any of it away, so I won't spill too many more details, but the way this book is written is refreshing: it's a combination of emails, letters, confessionals and conversations woven together. It's almost like it replicates the true methods of communication we find ourselves faced with today; the sheer processing power of our brains, combined with information overload, can equate to confusion at the best of times. So imagine what happens when wires get crossed... BYE, BERNADETTE!
I really enjoyed this book - I couldn't put it down! I liked the little snippets of text from lots of characters: the supporting cast plays a pretty large role here. It's notable that Maria Semple also wrote for the TV show Arrested Development, which happens to be one of my favourite programs. If you're into the quirks of everyday human life and learning about the idiosyncrasies that make us all tick - and laugh at each other - then you'll find this novel to be entertaining.
As far as Mom goes (gosh, does that sound as weird to you as it does to me?), well, I didn't feel that my relationship with her paralleled that of Bee and her mother, though perhaps if 12-year-old me read this, she might see it a bit differently, being a part of Bee's age group. There were a few interactions between the two of them that reminded me of how Mom and I became close friends, leaving the mother/daughter relationship behind in the dust of my teen years. This wasn't totally a good thing; while it was awesome to share my life as an adult with my mom and see our relationship morph into something new, it became harder to separate myself from her to really explore my adulthood. Ironic, in a way. I wanted her to treat me like an adult and respect me like a friend, but I didn't want to be her only friend and listening post. Trying to hang out with other people meant leaving her out of things; the guilt was heavy (and having her remind me of this as she grew lonelier didn't help). I suppose it was both of our faults for letting things progress wayyyy too far into friendship territory: she lost her authority as a mother and I lost the respect she should have been paid. We never really got it back, especially after I moved out.
Bee's relationship with her dad, though, was a different story. Her dad works a LOT, and she doesn't get to see him very often. Growing up, my dad worked long hours as a salesman, and sometimes I'd be lucky to see him during the week at all. Weekends were precious times to play and laugh and be 'airplaned' on Daddy's feet. After Mom died, despite that their marriage had ended years before, Dad and I still mourned together. We continue to do so to this day. Bee and her father share some lovely moments in Antarctica, speaking of her mother. Bee refuses to accept that Bernadette has flown the coop, never to be found, while Elgin is more willing to (sadly) face the reality of the situation regarding his wife: she's gone. It broke my heart to read some of those exchanges.
I really enjoyed this book - I couldn't put it down! I liked the little snippets of text from lots of characters: the supporting cast plays a pretty large role here. It's notable that Maria Semple also wrote for the TV show Arrested Development, which happens to be one of my favourite programs. If you're into the quirks of everyday human life and learning about the idiosyncrasies that make us all tick - and laugh at each other - then you'll find this novel to be entertaining.
As far as Mom goes (gosh, does that sound as weird to you as it does to me?), well, I didn't feel that my relationship with her paralleled that of Bee and her mother, though perhaps if 12-year-old me read this, she might see it a bit differently, being a part of Bee's age group. There were a few interactions between the two of them that reminded me of how Mom and I became close friends, leaving the mother/daughter relationship behind in the dust of my teen years. This wasn't totally a good thing; while it was awesome to share my life as an adult with my mom and see our relationship morph into something new, it became harder to separate myself from her to really explore my adulthood. Ironic, in a way. I wanted her to treat me like an adult and respect me like a friend, but I didn't want to be her only friend and listening post. Trying to hang out with other people meant leaving her out of things; the guilt was heavy (and having her remind me of this as she grew lonelier didn't help). I suppose it was both of our faults for letting things progress wayyyy too far into friendship territory: she lost her authority as a mother and I lost the respect she should have been paid. We never really got it back, especially after I moved out.
Bee's relationship with her dad, though, was a different story. Her dad works a LOT, and she doesn't get to see him very often. Growing up, my dad worked long hours as a salesman, and sometimes I'd be lucky to see him during the week at all. Weekends were precious times to play and laugh and be 'airplaned' on Daddy's feet. After Mom died, despite that their marriage had ended years before, Dad and I still mourned together. We continue to do so to this day. Bee and her father share some lovely moments in Antarctica, speaking of her mother. Bee refuses to accept that Bernadette has flown the coop, never to be found, while Elgin is more willing to (sadly) face the reality of the situation regarding his wife: she's gone. It broke my heart to read some of those exchanges.
'I miss her too, Bee.' His chest jerked violently. 'I know you think you have a monopoly on missing her. But Mom was my best friend.'
Bee and I do share this most important thing: no matter what happens with our mothers or fathers, no matter how they love us or leave us, from the bottom of our hearts, we love them. We love and adore them so deeply that when we turn away from their requests, their simple words of encouragement, or the silly jokes they tell, with eyes rolled and scowls on faces, well, we smile. Because we understand that everything they do leads back to us. (Cue the Bryan Adams.)
Mom would have enjoyed this one for sure.
Mom would have enjoyed this one for sure.