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A review by oversherin
Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This book was hard for me to finish. I considered putting it down but was hooked on the mystery element and was hoping it would redeem itself. In some ways it did, I found the ending satisfying and was happy that Bernadette and Bea's relationship had some growth. I thought the format of the book was intriguing and I liked that it became a part of the story in the end.
My central complaint with this book is that it feels like a never ending list of Karen-style rants that felt tired and hateful. I did not need 3 characters to spew all their annoying complaints of "street thugs" and "pit-bulls" for 10 hours (I listed to the audio book). This book was written in 2012 before "Karen" was in common vernacular but I'm sure it felt old then too. I understand that some of these (particularly those from Bernadette) were an important part of her character development, but there was no growth. The characters did not resolve their complaints in the end or god forbid learn anything, they were totally excused. It was like hearing stories from your neighbor who feels the need to identify every person's race or ethnicity in every story they tell and it is truly not related to the story at all. The accents done in the audio book version were particularly painful and lilting into unnecessary stereotypes. I don't need a Simpsons-style accent for an email written by a woman in India. No thank you.
Bernadette's character was complex and grappled with interesting themes of failure, misogyny, and reputation. She was flawed, but I understood why and I could empathize with her. Sue Lynn and Audrey were cartoons and showed no growth. Honestly, I see why they were called "gnats." Elgin was unnecessarily cruel to Bea, Sue Lynn, and Bernadette in the 3rd act in a way that I found inexcusable and not redeemed in the conclusion. Bea's character was full of life and optimism in a way that was sorely needed in the book. I believed that she was a 15 year old, grappling with these large family dramas but also in the midst of her own self-discovery and high school dramas.
Overall, I did not really enjoy this book. The plot and format were interesting, but some of the characters were flat and I had to skip large sections of totally dated and useless character rants.
My central complaint with this book is that it feels like a never ending list of Karen-style rants that felt tired and hateful. I did not need 3 characters to spew all their annoying complaints of "street thugs" and "pit-bulls" for 10 hours (I listed to the audio book). This book was written in 2012 before "Karen" was in common vernacular but I'm sure it felt old then too. I understand that some of these (particularly those from Bernadette) were an important part of her character development, but there was no growth. The characters did not resolve their complaints in the end or god forbid learn anything, they were totally excused. It was like hearing stories from your neighbor who feels the need to identify every person's race or ethnicity in every story they tell and it is truly not related to the story at all. The accents done in the audio book version were particularly painful and lilting into unnecessary stereotypes. I don't need a Simpsons-style accent for an email written by a woman in India. No thank you.
Bernadette's character was complex and grappled with interesting themes of failure, misogyny, and reputation. She was flawed, but I understood why and I could empathize with her. Sue Lynn and Audrey were cartoons and showed no growth. Honestly, I see why they were called "gnats." Elgin was unnecessarily cruel to Bea, Sue Lynn, and Bernadette in the 3rd act in a way that I found inexcusable and not redeemed in the conclusion. Bea's character was full of life and optimism in a way that was sorely needed in the book. I believed that she was a 15 year old, grappling with these large family dramas but also in the midst of her own self-discovery and high school dramas.
Overall, I did not really enjoy this book. The plot and format were interesting, but some of the characters were flat and I had to skip large sections of totally dated and useless character rants.