Where'd You Go, Bernadette

by Maria Semple

[clq]

I'm generally not the kind of person who struggles to put down a book. Even if I really like it, I'm generally fine with putting it down and coming back to it later. This was a book the made me miss my bus-stops, my bed-times, and almost a flight. It had me hooked from the first couple of pages and never let me go.

The story is told through various forms of correspondence between the characters, as well as occasional interjections by the main character, Bee. This is one of those stories that keeps changing directions, subtly but forcefully. Once I think I've become comfortable with it and know where it's going, it takes a turn and throws me off. In the best possible way.

Telling the story through correspondence makes it very personal, and you have to judge characters based on how they want to appear to others, and how others perceive them. It becomes very immersing, very interesting, and there is always a great deal of anticipation of what will be revealed next.

This is a really good book. It's a very quick read, a great story, and a really effective way of telling it.