Beyond her husband and beloved daughter, Bernadette's life in Seattle, Washington, is a solitary one. Well, as solitary as she can get. Preferring as little contact with those outside her family as possible, the trip to Antarctica that her daughter is planning has her tied up in knots. One disaster with a next door neighbor leads to one misunderstanding to another until, at her breaking point, Bernadette checks herself OUT. Those left behind have to pick up the pieces and put together the puzzle of Bernadette.
Clever, clever book. It made me laugh out loud. It made me (a tiny bit, there at the end), teary. It surprised me with the way things tied together. I loved the epistolary format that would take what I knew of Bernadette and shuffle it around, showing events from different points of view, reminding us that nothing - and no one - is quite what it seems on the surface. I loved Antarctica as both a setting and a plot device - this wild wilderness that can both terrify you and enchant you. I loved the Seattle love - and the Seattle commentary :) Microsoft, Starbucks, it's all splayed out under Bernadette's razor sharp wit and uncompromising expectations, I even really appreciated the depth of her anxiety and mental illness, and how she chose to handle it. I loved Bernadette's daughter and their relationship. There was one part of the book that chronologically made no sense to me and it threw me off a bit, but other than that, I found myself absolutely smitten with the delightful and quirky Bernadette. Loved the ending. Such a fun listen.
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