Our September meeting was again via Zoom. COVID-19 has not relented! Present were Betty, Carla, Colette, Janet, Linda, Marg, Michèle and Shirley. We discussed Colette's book choice Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple. Ms. Semple is an American novelist and screenwriter. She has written 3 novels and written scripts for television programs such as 90210, Mad About You and Ellen among others.
This novel is about a family living in Seattle. Bernadette, an architect suffered a catastrophic event in her career when in Los Angeles and has been dealing with psychological problems since impacting her family, husband Elgin and daughter Bee. Bernadette and Elgin promise their daughter anything she desires if she gets all A's in her last year of middl school and Bee chooses a family trip to Antartica. The majority of the story is told through correspondance, mainly Bernadette's emails, notes and documents.
Opinions from our members was quite varied, some enjoyed it, some saw it as "magical realism", some as a comedy with laugh out loud episodes. Some found the whole book absurd and unrealistic and difficult to finish. Many found it difficult to get into the story but it picked up after Bernadette disappeared and daughter Bee began to search for her. We learn a lot about Bernadette's accomplishments and her downward spiral into agoraphobia.
Part of the variety of opinions on this book was probably the effects of COVID-19 that has impacted all of our lives. Some who have yet to see it might want to watch the movie that is apparently better than the book.
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