Comments on: “Where’d You Go, Bernadette” by Maria Semple http://www.girldetective.net/?p=5022 Reading, Writing, Movies and Mothering in Minneapolis, Mostly Sat, 23 May 2026 20:26:04 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: girldetective http://www.girldetective.net/?p=5022&cpage=1#comment-33525 girldetective Sat, 26 Jan 2013 15:01:49 +0000 http://www.girldetective.net/?p=5022#comment-33525 Kerry, my sister has been urging me for some time to watch The Good Wife, and now that she and I have finished watching Friday Night Lights, I think it's the next series I'm going to catch up on, maybe when some of the current shows finish up, like 30 Rock. Kerry, my sister has been urging me for some time to watch The Good Wife, and now that she and I have finished watching Friday Night Lights, I think it’s the next series I’m going to catch up on, maybe when some of the current shows finish up, like 30 Rock.

]]> By: Kerry http://www.girldetective.net/?p=5022&cpage=1#comment-33499 Kerry Fri, 25 Jan 2013 17:28:58 +0000 http://www.girldetective.net/?p=5022#comment-33499 It was a very good, laugh out loud read for me. What I loved though, was the part near the end where someone cuts through the bs and simply tells Bernadette that no wonder everything's a mess--she gave up the true part of herself when she left off architecture and creating, and all that energy has no where to go and is in turn destroying her "life" as it breaks free. Kind of like the Big Bang. But also a pretty powerful statement about being female in modern American society, and about being a smart/gifted woman in general. Which brings up another fictional connection--the character of Elsbeth Tascioni from The Good Wife. She's another character for whom the brilliance is that she is different, and when allowed to indulge her brilliance and apply it in the way she does best, excellence happens. In the most recent episode, she was hilariously schooled by Alicia on passing a psych eval to get out of jail, which of course is a lesson in becoming more like Alicia--more measured, more careful in her words, more hidden. And of course Elsbeth fails the psych eval. Reining in her mind and forcing it to work unnaturally ensures that. It was a very good, laugh out loud read for me. What I loved though, was the part near the end where someone cuts through the bs and simply tells Bernadette that no wonder everything’s a mess–she gave up the true part of herself when she left off architecture and creating, and all that energy has no where to go and is in turn destroying her “life” as it breaks free. Kind of like the Big Bang. But also a pretty powerful statement about being female in modern American society, and about being a smart/gifted woman in general.

Which brings up another fictional connection–the character of Elsbeth Tascioni from The Good Wife. She’s another character for whom the brilliance is that she is different, and when allowed to indulge her brilliance and apply it in the way she does best, excellence happens. In the most recent episode, she was hilariously schooled by Alicia on passing a psych eval to get out of jail, which of course is a lesson in becoming more like Alicia–more measured, more careful in her words, more hidden. And of course Elsbeth fails the psych eval. Reining in her mind and forcing it to work unnaturally ensures that.

]]> By: Jennifer http://www.girldetective.net/?p=5022&cpage=1#comment-33487 Jennifer Fri, 25 Jan 2013 14:27:07 +0000 http://www.girldetective.net/?p=5022#comment-33487 I loved Bernadette, too. One of my favorite reads of 2012. Can't wait to see what Semple delivers next. I loved Bernadette, too. One of my favorite reads of 2012. Can’t wait to see what Semple delivers next.

]]> By: Patricia http://www.girldetective.net/?p=5022&cpage=1#comment-33469 Patricia Thu, 24 Jan 2013 18:09:29 +0000 http://www.girldetective.net/?p=5022#comment-33469 Complete agreement. Complete agreement.

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