Where'd You Go, Bernadette?

I'd heard about Where'd You Go Bernadette on a few lists recommending good summer reads for 2013. I didn't get around to it until a bit later, but I'd call it a good read for just about any time of year.

(#1) Read 26 Books
1. Firestarter by Stephen King
2.World War Z by Max Brooks
3. Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer
4. Red Hook Road by Ayelet Waldman
5. A Wolf at the Table by Augusten Burroughs
6. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
7. Open House by Elizabeth Berg
8. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
9. The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman
10. The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman
11. White Noise by Don DeLillo
12. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
13. The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
14. MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood
15. Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Where'd You Go, Bernadette is the story of an eccentric ex-architect trapped in the world of perfect Seattle soccer-moms. Her only daughter, the genius and sweet-tempered Bee, and her Microsoft executive husband and kind-of-a-big-deal husband Elgin accept her for her eccentricities (such as purchasing a former school for her family to live in as a home), but the same can not be said for the other moms in the neighborhood.

After a series of escalating run-ins with a particularly gnat-like neighbor, Bernadette disappears. The novel is structured in part as a variety of emails and letters that Bee compiles to try and find her mother. A lot comes out in the search that explains some of Bernadette's most odd behavior.

This book was unique, fun and memorable. I don't always enjoy epistolary novels but I thought in this case it worked. There was enough variety and enough depth for me to follow along, and enough mystery to keep me reading.

I hate to say that I could relate to the bizarre Bernadette, but as a fellow artist with occasional eccentric tendencies I could certainly sympathize. And when it comes down to it, she is the best mother that she knows how to be, and her daughter loves her. So that makes it hard to view her as a villian-  at least entirely.

I also enjoyed the look at the private-school parents who were basically what you would expect them to be. And it presented an interesting look at Seattle, told from the perspective of the seemingly only person in the entire city who does not absolutely adore living there.

All in all, I'd recommend this book. It's a great read for the beach or a plane. Or just a rainy day, to get you in that Seattle spirit.