There is probably no book I’ve recommended more often across a broad swath of readers than Maria Semple’s “Where’d You Go Bernadette?”
The first thing I would say to people is that the book is funny, as in genuinely comic, you will laugh out loud while reading it. This is distinct from writing that is humorous, the stuff that will give you a wry smile at best.
The second thing I would say is that you have to just roll with where the novel goes and enjoy the ride.
I would say the same things about Semple’s new novel “Go Gentle,” though there are some very interesting differences that mark a writer who knows her strengths, but is also interested in fresh challenges.
“Go Gentle” is the story of Adora Hazzard, a professional philosopher, an expert in the Stoics, who taught that it is better to accept what fate throws at us, rather than lament that which we cannot control. Adora is the author of an unexpected bestseller of ancient Greek works in translation, and works as a personal tutor to the tween boys of an ultra-wealthy New York couple. The opening finds her relatively recently divorced with a spirited teenage daughter Viv, and plotting the establishment of a “coven,” a group of women who will live in the same apartment building, sharing resources and supporting each other into old age.
The plot that spins from this opening includes a series of events involving philosophy, parenting, mental health, disability, romance and international art terrorism that would take several columns worth to summarize. Some of what unfolds perhaps strains the limits of believability if you pause to consider the sequence of events, but don’t pause, just keep going.
It’s interesting to compare “Go Gentle” with “Bernadette” to see the different territory Semple is mapping this time around. The protagonists in both books are brilliant in very specific ways (Bernadette is a designer), a brilliance focused in a passion that is conveyed through the novel. You will appreciate the Stoics by the end of this book. Mrs. Biblioracle said she wants to read this Epictetus guy after finishing “Go Gentle.”
Bernadette is deeply alienated from her Seattle home and indeed flees it, as the title indicates. Adora is in love with New York, and through the coven is trying to build the personal infrastructure that allows her to lay roots deep enough to sustain her.
Both books also feature difficult loving relationships between a mother and a teen daughter. In “Bernadette,” Bernadette goes missing, and it is her daughter Bee who goes looking for her. In “Go Gentle,” Viv seems to be trying to escape her mother Adora.
Bernadette is married to a solid and stolid Microsoft executive, and it seems like she has no reason to flee. Adora has already escaped a past as an aspiring TV writer, where she was subjected to a horrifying experience that nearly destroyed her, but which she managed to survive.
Bernadette chooses to run from a life she doesn’t understand. Adora is trying to hold on to the life she’s built for herself. But a dashing and mysterious man enters the story, threatening Adora’s hold on the life she’s worked so hard to make for herself.
But maybe he’s also offering an additional layer of happiness, a layer she thought was lost when her husband drifted away in a miasma of political grievance and latent misogyny revealed by time and the events of the world.
“Go Gentle” is a fun, rollicking read, but it’s not only that. It’s a moving portrait of an interesting person that may also make you reflect on yourself.
Book recommendations from the Biblioracle
John Warner tells you what to read based on the last five books you’ve read.
1. “One Good Thing” by Georgia Hunter
2. “Cat’s People” by Tanya Guerrero
3. “Where the Rivers Merge” by Mary Alice Monroe
4. “The Red House” by Mary Morris
5. “Plainsong” by Kent Haruf
— Karen H., Glenview
I think Karen will take the drama and sweep of Min Jin Lee’s “Pachinko.”
1. “In the Kingdom of Ice” by Hampton Sides
2. “The Deserters” by M.G. Lamb
3. “In the Distance” by Hernan Diaz
4. “The Nightingale” by Kristin Hannah
5. “The Shipping News” by Annie Proulx
— Mike S., Evergreen Park
For Mike, I’m recommending one of my recent favorite historical novels, “Mercury Pictures Presents” by Anthony Marra.
1. “Buckeye” by Patrick Ryan
2. “Out of the Dust” by Karen Hesse
3. “The Vanishing Place” by Zoe Rankin
4. “The Antidote” by Karen Russell
5. “Flesh” by David Szalay
— Pat G., Downers Grove
Usually, I don’t recommend something I’ve reviewed recently, but Benjamin Markovits’ “The Rest of Our Lives” is the right call for Pat.
Get a reading from the Biblioracle
Send a list of the last five books you’ve read and your hometown to biblioracle@gmail.com.
John Warner is the author of books including “More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI.” You can find him at biblioracle.com.
