This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Bernadette Fox is many people. To her fifteen year old daughter, Bee, she is wonderful – an adored mother and a close confidant. However, others don't share the same high opinion. To the fellow mothers in Seattle she's an arrogant, terrible parent, to her workaholic husband she's an opinionated partner and in architect circles, she's a revolutionary artist. But one thing they all agree on; Bernadette Fox is a woman who is not afraid to be disliked
When Bee gets the perfect report card, she reminds her parents that they promised her anything she wanted as reward, and what Bee wants is a trip to Antarctica. So begins the quirky novel, detailing Bernadette's ambitious plans, (via a virtual assistant in India) to create the perfect family holiday amidst her agoraphobic tendencies and domestic upheavals. Then, without notice, just before departure, Bernadette disappears. She vanishes without so much as leaving a note or taking her toothbrush. In an attempt to find her mother, Bee gathers together all of her mother's correspondence leading up to her disappearance. The result is a compelling novel that left me laughing so hard in places that I had to put the book down for a moment before I could continue reading.
I know that this style of writing, the unconventional narrative of collected emails, school reports, notes and newspaper articles, will put some readers off, but I found it refreshingly different, and once I got used to the style, very impressive. I was lost in the developing plot, which is hilarious and touching. The unraveling of the relationship between Bee and her mother is heart-rending and the character development, told through email exchanges and short notes was wonderful. I flew through this book, loved the witty prose and found it such a pleasurable read that it left me desperate to read any other work by Maria Semple.
9/10