Where’d You Go Bernadette By Maria Semple

When I think about certain books, you can’t help but laugh about how they come into your life. One of those books stems from my fascination with the Gilmore Girls. I was a late convert to the show, in fact I only started watching when it first went into syndication on what was then ABC Family. Once hooked, I was OBSESSED. Alas, as all good shows do, it ended and I was left with a void.

Then came Bunheads, the Pallidino’s (Amy and her husband Dan) first forray back into television. The premise centered around Michelle, a dancer turned showgirl who was wooed by a stale but dedicated fan. When she hits rock bottom, she marries him and moves to his small hometown, literally called Paradise. In a surprising turn of events, he dies suddenly and she is left in the town trying to figure out her next move. There’s a complicated mother in law who owns a dance studio and a foursome of high school aged ballerinas who the story also centers around, alongside many other local townies who were all apart of the original Gilmore Girls. Fast forward into the series and one episode Michelle decides she is going to an audition for a dancer. We get a sampling of what that really looks like. As she spends the painstaking hours in line, she picks up and reads this book, Where’d you go Bernadette.

Much like I picked up the book in the tv show Lost, Everything That Rises Must Converge, I just had to see what all the fuss was about. I was certainly not disappointed! The style was uncharacteristic, written in a series of emails, and other short forms of communication. Leaving the reader to piece together what is happening. Maria Semple is a hilarious and smart author, who so brilliantly paints a true to life portrait of people.

Bernadette is a wonderfully eccentric and complicated character. Struggling as a mother and a wife, Bernadette’s daughter is trying to piece together what caused her genius mother to disappear, and in turn find her to bring her back.

If you loved this one and how motherhood is depicted I am certain you will want to pick up Maria Semple’s next book Today Will Be Different.When you read Today Will Be Different, you can find one of the most true depictions of early motherhood I had come across as a young mother myself. You will laugh, you will cry, but mostly you will root for the characters, albeit flawed, because you can see yourself, and your own flaws in each one.

A true favorite!

If you’d like more information on the book head over to my quick peak to get the details: https://wishyouwouldhave.com/whered-you-go-bernadette-quick-peak/