To Elgie Branch, a Microsoft wunderkind, she's his hilarious, volatile, talented, troubled wife.
To fellow mothers at the school gate, she's a menace.
To design experts, she's a revolutionary architect.
And to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, quite simply, mum.
Then Bernadette disappears. And Bee must take a trip to the end of the earth to find her.
Where'd You Go, Bernadette is a compulsively readable, irresistibly written, deeply touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter's place in the world.
It's intelligent but easy to read; eccentric but never twee. - ELLE UK
I love the extraordinarily well-drawn characters, the plot, the tender, lovely relationship, the humour, and the courage to do daring things - Nina Stibbe
Extremely funny, often laugh-out-loud so... with her penchant for unexpected twists and smart, jet propelled dialogue, Semple has a way of combining a technologically savvy, ice-cool wit with a stealthy ability to show gradually a character's warmer side - Sunday Times
The characters in Bernadette may be in real emotional pain, but Semple has the wit and perspective and imagination to make their story hilarious. I tore through this book with heedless pleasure - Jonathan Franzen
Fresh and funny and accomplished, but the best thing about it was that I never had any idea what was going to happen next. It was a wild ride - Kate Atkinson
A fresh, flamboyantly witty new voice - Helen Fielding
A delightfully funny book, that constantly catches one by surprise, Where'd You Go, Bernadette combines a shrewdly observed portrait of Seattle life with, of all things, a mysterious disappearance in Antarctica. A pleasure - Matthew Kneale, author of English Passengers
Maria Semple dissects the gory complexities of familial dysfunction with a deft and tender hand. Where'd You Go, Bernadette is a triumph of social observation and black comedy by a skilful chronicler of moneyed malaise - Patrick deWitt, author of The Sisters Brothers
