nomadreader

The backstory: Although I didn't love Maria Semple's first novel, This One Is Mine , I did love parts of it ( my review .) I liked Semple's humor and writing enough to eagerly read her latest novel, Where'd You Go, Berndadette? Update: it was also shortlisted for the 2013 Women's Prize for Fiction . The basics: Bernadette Fox is a legend, in good ways and bad, depending on the group. She's an enigmatic world-renowned architect who hasn't worked in years. She's a  object or ire and ridicule to her fellow private school mothers in Seattle. She's something of a curiosity to her fifteen-year-old daughter, Bee, and her husband, who works at Microsoft. Bernadette has become agoraphobic and employs a virtual personal assistant from India rather than perform simple tasks herself. When Bee achieves a perfect report card, she asks for her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. When Bernadette disappears, Bee tries to solve the mystery by putting toget...

The backstory: I remember reading several great reviews of This One Is Mine  when it first came out. When the opportunity to review it in support of its paperback release, I jumped at the chance. When my copy arrived in the mail, I ogled the cover quote: "An unexpectedly moving story about the risks and rewards of love, in all its irrational glory." - Tom Perrotta. Tom Perrotta is one of my two favorite authors (the other is Pearl Cleage), so an endorsement from him goes a long way with me. The basics: Violet is married to David, and they are beyond wealthy. Violet was a tv writer, but now she does little, to the chagrin of her husband, who works in the music business. They have a young daughter, Dot, who has a nanny, dubbed LadyGo. Violet unexpectedly meets Teddy, a recovering addict musician and a general mess of a person. David's sister Sally The good: I loved the beginning of this book. I was immediately drawn into the characters and their satire. It was funny....