This quirky, funny and deeply touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughters place in the world has achieved a real word-of-mouth buzz and will be very successful in this paperback edition. The characters in }Bernadette{ may be in real emotional pain, but Semple has the wit and perspective and imagination to make their story hilarious. I tore through this book with heedless pleasure Jonathan Franzen Shortlisted for the Womens Prize 2013.