Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette

By: Maria Semple
Narrated by: Kathleen Wilhoite
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

A major film starring Cate Blanchett

Bernadette Fox is notorious. 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 an irresistibly written, deeply touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter's place in the world.

2013, Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction, Short-listed

2013, IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, Long-listed

©2012 Maria Semple (P)2012 Hachette Audio
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Mother's Boy cover art
Welcome to Dystopia: 45 Visions of What Lies Ahead cover art
Cherry Blossoms cover art
The Silmarillion cover art
Glitter and Glue cover art
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes cover art
Fractured cover art
The Martian cover art
Watermelon cover art

Critic reviews

I love the extraordinarily well-drawn characters, the plot, the tender, lovely relationship, the humour, and the courage to do daring things (Nina Stibbe)

What listeners say about Where'd You Go, Bernadette

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    149
  • 4 Stars
    118
  • 3 Stars
    52
  • 2 Stars
    16
  • 1 Stars
    8
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    160
  • 4 Stars
    77
  • 3 Stars
    42
  • 2 Stars
    17
  • 1 Stars
    10
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    134
  • 4 Stars
    101
  • 3 Stars
    42
  • 2 Stars
    18
  • 1 Stars
    9

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

fantastic story!

This is one of the best books i've ever read. It's so happy! A whole life opened up to you by mails and notes, it's incredibel!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very enjoyable

I don't know if listening was the best way to first encounter this book. in the beginning there are lots of fragments from different people and I might have wanted to flip back a few pages to get my bearings again. But once I was into it I was hooked. The story is very good and cleverly told. Towards the end I could not stop listening. And I was sad it was finished, which is always a good sign.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

A satire on modern life that rattles along.

Only two out of the twelve members of our reading group appreciated this story. Maybe I was helped by choosing the audio version, with it's sometimes frantic, funny and dramatic, sometimes rather moving narration. I'm very glad I listened.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Enthralling listen!

Captivating story. Really enjoyable! Could not stop listening till I got to the end.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A joyful listen

Laugh out funny at times. Interesting tidbits and well rounded characters. Narrator does well with the many different voices but crashes badly on the English and Kiwi accents! I ignored that bit.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it! An instant Favourite.

This was the best book I read in 2018, and I've recommended it to so many people since. It's so cleverly told and put together. Enjoyed it a lot more than Semple's other books - the style is both witty and endearing. Great characters. A definite recommendation. READ THIS BOOK!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I loved it!

This was a lovely book, beautifully written and wonderfully narrated. Both author and narrator were new to me but perfect together. It’s humorous, ridiculous, joyous, heartbreaking and clever. And absolutely exactly what I needed in my life this week. Thank you. The narrator was particularly brilliant with the child. I wish it wasn’t over.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Awesome

Simply marvellous. Beautifully written exploration of modern life, the joys and heartaches of family, redemption and the experience of taking a road less travelled. Enjoyed every second and will explore the authors other works. But a special gold star for the narrator who brought this all to life, she really did sing for her supper on this one and, as the tears rolled down my cheeks in the denouement I applauded her in the car!! Highly recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Waaaaaaayyyyy too many details

The narrator is really excited about it and makes all kinds of voices.
The book is fun but doesn’t need all these chapters. The editors should have cleaned up a bit more.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Fabulous

Loved this book and narration. It’s full of dark humour and it’s insightfully funny. With a partner at Microsoft it was pretty accurate at times too. Can’t wait to see the film now.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!