324 pages
English language
Published Dec. 3, 2012 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
"Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she's a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she's a disgrace; to design mavens, she's a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom. Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette's intensifying allergy to Seattle--and people in general--has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic. To find her mother, Bee compiles email messages, official documents, secret correspondence"--Publisher information.
I loved this book! It's been a long time since I've burned through a reading quite like that (only looking up at the television for replays during the games!)
It was steam-rolling to five stars when Semple left the epistles for first person narrative. It didn't exactly grind at that point, but it was an abrupt shift in tone that left some of the fun behind.
Engrossingly witty, and surprisingly warm, tale of a quixotic family of over-achievers - it gently makes you look in the mirror and notice your own minor faults as reflected in the characters, but without much hint of malice
