A NEW YORK TIMES bestseller
Shortlisted for the 2013 Women’s Prize for Fiction
Now a major motion picture, directed by Richard Linklater and starring Cate Blanchett, Kristen Wiig and Billy Crudup
‘Like A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD written by Tina Fey’ RED MAGAZINE
Bernadette Fox is notorious.
To Elgie Branch, a Microsoft wunderkind, she’s his hilarious, volatile, talented, troubled wife.
To fellow mothers at the school gate, she’s a menace.
To design experts, she’s a revolutionary architect.
And to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, quite simply, mum.
Then Bernadette disappears. And Bee must take a trip to the end of the earth to find her.
WHERE’D YOU GO, BERNADETTE is a compulsively readable, irresistibly written, deeply touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter’s place in the world.
Shortlisted for the 2013 Women’s Prize for Fiction
Now a major motion picture, directed by Richard Linklater and starring Cate Blanchett, Kristen Wiig and Billy Crudup
‘Like A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD written by Tina Fey’ RED MAGAZINE
Bernadette Fox is notorious.
To Elgie Branch, a Microsoft wunderkind, she’s his hilarious, volatile, talented, troubled wife.
To fellow mothers at the school gate, she’s a menace.
To design experts, she’s a revolutionary architect.
And to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, quite simply, mum.
Then Bernadette disappears. And Bee must take a trip to the end of the earth to find her.
WHERE’D YOU GO, BERNADETTE is a compulsively readable, irresistibly written, deeply touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter’s place in the world.
Reviews
This divinely funny, many-faceted novel leaves convention behind . . . You could stop and pay attention to how apt each new format is, how rarely she repeats herself and how imaginatively she unveils every bit of information. But you would have to stop laughing first
In what is at times a sad and painful tale about family dysfunction, black comedy waylays sentimentality. Semple's second novel is a witty, thrilling adventure about creation, destruction, the Antarctic - and the maternal bond
Maria Semple dissects the gory complexities of familial dysfunction with a deft and tender hand. Where'd You Go, Bernadette is a triumph of social observation and black comedy by a skilful chronicler of moneyed malaise
The funniest book I've read in a decade. I laughed to the point of crying on an airplane. My wife thought I'd lost my mind until she read it a few days later
A fresh, flamboyantly witty new voice
A delightfully funny book, that constantly catches one by surprise, Where'd You Go, Bernadette combines a shrewdly observed portrait of Seattle life with, of all things, a mysterious disappearance in Antarctica. A pleasure
A clever, witty page-turner with sparkling dialogue, some hilarious episodes and a heart that gradually melts
Fresh and funny and accomplished, but the best thing about it was that I never had any idea what was going to happen next. It was a wild ride
The characters in Bernadette may be in real emotional pain, but Semple has the wit and perspective and imagination to make their story hilarious. I tore through this book with heedless pleasure
The funniest book since the invention of the printing press
I love the extraordinarily well-drawn characters, the plot, the tender, lovely relationship, the humour, and the courage to do daring things
A novel full of honesty and heart
It's intelligent but easy to read; eccentric but never twee
A fabulously kooky tale
[A] deeply touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter's place in the world. A seriously compulsive read
A hilarious, nasty, heartfelt satire about parenting, privilege, genius, resilience and life in Seattle
Extremely funny, often laugh-out-loud so . . . With her penchant for unexpected twists and smart, jet propelled dialogue, Semple has a way of combining a technologically savvy, ice-cool wit with a stealthy ability to show gradually a character's warmer side