Optional August Book Choice

We usually take August off but this year a few of us decided to journey up to Seattle to visit with Beehive founder Beth...so we picked a Seattle centered novel
Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple

 San Jose Mercury News Review-

"Where'd You Go, Bernadette," a novel by Maria Semple, is a challenging book to review -- or describe. It can be referred to as an epistolary novel (the story is told through e-mails, letters and notes); it can be described as a window into Seattle, where Microsoft, rain, coffee and obligation of community involvement permeate lives like the fog above Mount Rainer. But neither of those descriptions captures the delightful cleverness of the story.

The simple version of the plotline is: Bernadette Fox is missing. She is the mother of Balakrishna, "Bee" Branch and the wife of Elgin Branch, a Microsoft rock star. Bernadette is also an eccentric, creative genius who neither fits in with the Seattle vibe, nor the parents of her daughter's classmates. When Bee learns of her mother's disappearance, she reviews all documentation relating to Bernadette for clues. The novel is a compilation of those letters, e-mails, and reports unfolding the story of events which led to Bernadette fleeing Seattle. Any more detail divulges too much.