Where'd You Go, Bernadette

i'm conflicted about how to rate this because the last quarter was really, really great but the majority of it was mostly “ok.” it does build up to a touching, cute ending that made me tear up a bit.

Bernadette, as a character, is quite compelling and fun to think about. her quirks, mannerisms, status as a failed, depressed, renowned genius architect who hates people makes her day-to-day interactions a joy to read.

the rest of the cast... are fine. Bee and Elgie really come into their own in the last quarter of the book and i wish they were more interesting earlier.

i started reading this after seeing the movie, which presents Bernadette in a more positive light, i'd say. the movie itself felt very disjointed, so after reading reviews that indicated the book pulled off the same story in a more satisfying way i just had to know for myself.

the book indeed does an overall better job with its collection of various emails, invoices, documents, dialogues, etc. of making an interesting story than the movie does. however, while it is indeed interesting, it's not enough to truly make me gush over its structure. it's cool, but i wish the book leaned way harder into things like invoices, receipts, all the different pieces of litter that one accumulates as they live live to convey narrative. a lot of the material used, like for example the documentary of people being interviewed who had associations with Bernadette, wouldn't have really been different if it was presented as a conversation between a few people. i might even say some of it is more effective in the movie.

as i mentioned in the beginning, the first three fourths of this book was ok but by itself wouldn't have been enough to keep me going through the novel had i not had an utter compulsion to compare its version of events with the movie (as well as maybe how much i related to, or liked to think i related to, Bernadette as a character). in the end i'm glad i did.

i did find this book to be weirdly inspiring.

“people like you must create. if you don't create, Bernadette, you will become a menace to society”

if you're someone who used to work on neat little projects but stopped for one reason or another, you might find a lot of yourself in Bernadette.

alright, now i'm off to go kick the shit out of life. thanks Bernadette ❤️