Where’d You Go, Bernadette

Maria Semple

I read this book last year but have been reacquainted with it through the movie adaptation, which was excellent (Can Cate Blanchett do anything badly??)

The focus of the book is on Bernadette and her daughter, Bee. As for most mothers of teenage daughters, she is embroiled in the life of the school and other parents, none of whom she likes. There is a humour in the early part of the book, as Bernadette and the author take swipes at middle class snobbery. The author allows us into the heads of minor characters through emails and letters which gives it a choppy but multilayered feel. An incident at a school function will have you laughing out loud.

But there’s something more seriously wrong with Bernadette. For good reasons, she’s thwarted parts of her personality that provide her with fulfillment. We discover wonderful and fascinating facts about her notable past, all of which she walked away from. It has left her with high levels of anxiety and avoidance of social situations. One of the most disturbing aspects of the book is how a series of disconnected events are perceived as evidence of a mental breakdown and how easily we could all be misjudged. At a crisis point Bernadette disappears, thus giving voice to the title.

I found the final third of the book less satisfying but only, I believe, because the beginning and middle was so engaging. Nevertheless, the story concludes satisfactorily (NB: the movie ending is different) as Bernadette if tracked down by her family. Throughout it all, the primary thread revolves around mother and daughter. Whatever Bernadette does or thinks, her love for Bee is profound and that love is returned, by her daughter, by the bucketload. It is what makes her downfall so painful because, despite all her inner demons, she is wonderful mother.