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Thursday, July 18, 2013

WHERE DID YOU GO BERNADETTE by MARIA SEMPLE


This review is long overdue and I do not know how on earth I missed it. 

The story was a good one but there was no punch at the end and that deflated me. 

Bernadette is a high flyer - eccentric, opinionated, different to all the other mothers who come to pick up their children but she is also someone who has the unswerving loyalty of her daughter Bee who realizes Mom is strange but she is anyway my Mom sort of thing.

Bernadette is an architect with winning awards behind her but someone who dislikes interaction with real people. Her life - every bit of it - is run by a virtual assistant from a call center in India and she finds this wonderful. The pinch comes when a trip to Antarctica promised to Bee for getting excellent grades has to be fulfilled. For someone who is averse to people this is going to be a tough call. Cooped up for weeks first on a ship and then on a station in Antarctica is impossible and Bernadette disappears.

I think this would be a book that could be turned into a movie. The drama and the entertainment are all there. The characters - all three of our main ones are quirky and eccentric in their own way and would make for wonderful copy. 

In the minority here where I did not love it. Maybe it is difficult for me to visualize the suburban parents of America and did not empathize with the family and neighbours enough! I liked to read this one and did finish it though I did not love it.

Weather here is good. Intermittently hot and humid with heavy rains as well, its certainly better than being hot all the time.

On the wedding side, we have got down to sari shopping and have narrowed our selection. Its nerve wracking that the bride just wants her Mother and elder sister to decide and buy!!!!




7 comments:

  1. Everyone seems very keen on this book, and I suspect that I probably will read it when the hype dies down a bit. It will no doubt be a film by then!(Re your clothing dilemma -- I agree that it would be so much easier if I had someone to tell me what to wear! Good luck!)

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  2. I liked 'Bernadette' but didn't consider whether it would resonate with readers from other parts of the world.
    Good luck with the sari decision. Not sure my daughter would trust me to make the choice!

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  3. You are not alone! I didn't love it either. I think I gave it a 2.5!

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  4. I haven't been taken by the idea of this book, even though others have. It's just not really my kind of read.

    On the wedding side - Oh, my gosh! I can't even think of the pressure if I had to pick out a wedding dress/sari for any of my daughters ... I cringe at the thought!

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  5. I still need to read this one - I read another of her books that I did not like at all but I have heard good things on this one.

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  6. I liked it. It was so different and a bit quirky. I can understand where someone from another part of the world would have trouble relating to Bernadette though.

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  7. I've been interested in this but not enough to buy it yet. Your review kind of makes me think it's not for me since we overlap a lot! Good luck with the sari shopping!

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