At B & N Reads Somers tagged "five novels in which parents ran off and left their children to fend for themselves—with powerful consequences," including:Where’d You Go, Bernadette?, by Maria SempleRead about another entry on the list.
After having suffered the sort of betrayal and professional setback that destroys people, Bernadette Fox is living (more or less as a recluse) in Seattle with her husband and her precocious, brilliant daughter, Bee. Bernadette’s decision to run away and leave her family behind is sparked by what can only be seen as a complete emotional breakdown, but this is communicated in such caustic, hilarious episodes that the gravity of Bernadette’s mental and emotional condition is obscured. Her flight to, of all places, Antarctica, and Bee’s detective work in tracking her down to bring her back (in more ways than one) is equally hilarious and heartwarming, as Bernadette grows and evolves into a better person, and her daughter Bee sees her mother in a more realistic if no less affectionate light, as the murky details of her past are brought into clarity.
Where’d You Go, Bernadette is among Chrissie Gruebel's seven great books for people who love Modern Family, Charlotte Runcie's ten best bad mothers in literature, Joel Cunningham's seven notable epistolary novels and Chrissie Gruebel's five top books for readers inspired by Nora Ephron.
--Marshal Zeringue
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