A friend told me I needed to read this book, so I did and found that I liked it quite a bit.
It generally got Seattle right - I lived there 9 years and can relate. My friend says Bernadette is like her and she may be correct! Bernadette is a genius - so is my friend, although she won't admit it. And Bernadette tells things like they are! She is definitely a character worth getting to know.
Semple writes the story in a unique way - it is written as emails, letters, FBI documents, legal documents, a psychiatrist's evaluation and more.
Bernadette's daughter Bee, is the heart of the book, as she is what is best about children raised in a place like Seattle! The book made me laugh out loud and feel sad at the same time as I watched Bernadette and Bee and the pain of their relationships with the people around them.
Near the end of the book Bernadette writes the following to Bee about Seattle weather:
"All those ninnies have it wrong. The best thing about Seattle is the weather. The world over, people have ocean views. But across our ocean is Bainbridge Island, an evergreen curb, and over it the exploding, craggy, snow-scraped Olympics. I guess what I am saying: I miss it, the mountains and the water."
I agree. I miss it too, but this book gives some of Seattle back to me.
Sorry though, one quibble. I am a retired law librarian and I get a bit irritated with authors who get the legal parts wrong. Semple quotes the correct Revised Code of Washington, but a police report is headed,
STATE OF WASHINGTON
CIRCUIT COURT
KING COUNTY
King County has a District Court and a Superior Court - no Circuit Court!!
Despite this quibble, this is a funny family story well worth reading, even if you have never had the pleasure of living in the Pacific Northwest.
