A Mystery of a Different Sort

Where'd You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple (Little, Brown trade paperback, 2 April 2013).

Reviewed by Marlyn Beebe.

This novel is not marketed as a mystery story, but rather as

an ingenious and unabashedly entertaining novel about a family coming to terms with who they are.  It is also a riotous satire of privilege and an unsentimental but powerful story of a daughter's unflinching love for her imperfect mother. (From the book jacket.)

The "Bernadette" of the title is a Seattle housewife whose husband, Elgin, works at Microsoft and whose teen-aged daughter Bee goes to a private school.   Bernadette and Elgin, both very intelligent with strong personalities, have a mostly good relationship. Bee, also very smart and self-assured, adores her mother, and thinks of her as her best friend.

Bernadette hates Seattle, in fact she's certain she's allergic to it. The other parents at the Galer Street school, which Bee attends, think Bernadette is not only a snob but a horrible mother, mostly because the only way she helps out is by donating money rather than doing any physical volunteer work.

Bernadette and Elgin have promised their daughter  a trip to wherever she wishes as a reward for getting perfect grades throughout middle school, and Bee chooses Antarctica.   Bernadette decides that she can't handle complicated details of planning this trip on her own, so she hires a "virtual assistant" from a company in India.  She leaves everything in the hands of their representative, Manjula Kapoor, giving her carte blanche to make reservations and order supplies for the trip.

I HAVE ATTEMPTED NOT TO GIVE AWAY ANY DETAILS THAT ARE NOT ALREADY ON THE BOOK JACKET OR OTHER PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS.  
IF YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT SPOILERS, PLEASE READ NO FURTHER.

During the weeks leading up to the trip, which is scheduled for Christmas vacation, the family's next door neighbor, whose son also attends Galer Street, decides to have a fund-raising event at her home, and, determined that Bernadette must assist, begins to harass her.

At the same time, Elgin has a major project due at work, and throws himself into it completely.  Between seeing little of her husband, and being hounded by her crazy neighbor,  Bernadette becomes overwhelmed by the stress, and just before the planned trip to Antarctica, she disappears. 

Of course, herein lies the mystery.  What happened to Bee's mother?  How could Elgin's wife have vanished without a trace?   The efforts of Bernadette's family to find her are amazing, and heartwarming.  This book is, as the cover blurb proclaimed, ingenious, no matter how it's classified.



 FTC Full Disclosure:  I borrowed the hardcover edition of this book from my local library.

What Is Truth?

Cemetery Girl by David Bell.*

Reviewed by Marlyn Beebe.

Twelve-year old Caitlin Stuart used to walk her dog Frosty in a park near their house, next to a cemetery. One day, Frosty comes home without Caitlin.

Four years later, her father Tom hasn't given up waiting for her to return. He still leaves a key under the doormat for her in case she comes back and no one's home, and refuses to talk to a counselor or therapist.

Meanwhile, Caitlin's mother Abby resigns herself to the fact that she may never see her daughter again, and organizes a memorial service for her at a church that she's started attending regularly. She even puts up a headstone in the cemetery near the house. Unsurprisingly this difference of opinion has caused a rift in the marriage and Abby moves out.

Then, suddenly they hear from the police. Caitlin has been found walking down a deserted road at 3:30 in the morning. She won't say anything about where she's been, or whether she ran away or was taken.

Tom and Abby take her back to the house, and try to get to know their daughter again. She asks Tom not to ask her any questions about her life during those four years. At first, Tom agrees, assuming that she will talk to the police or their psychiatrist, but when it becomes clear that she came returned against her will, he becomes frustrated.

Pushing her for answers, he gets the response:

"Someday I hope you do find out where I was and everything that happened to me...I can tell you the truth will hurt you more than not knowing".

Tom focuses not on the concept that the truth would hurt him, but that she said "everything that happened to me", not "everything I did". He becomes obsessed with learning where she was, and who she was with, certain that if he knows all the details he will find some peace.

Bell's portrayal of Tom as a father made irrational first by his belief that his daughter is alive, and then by his need to know what she was doing during the four long years were gone is compelling. The story is written in the first person, so we perceive everything as Tom would. Despite that, most of the primary characters are portrayed as neither or both good and bad.

The story does begin a little slowly, but becomes more engrossing as it progresses. By the middle of the second chapter, it's tough to put down.

The trailer for Cemetery Girl is one of the best I've seen:


*FTC Full Disclosure: Many thanks to the publisher, who sent me a copy of the book for review purposes.