It's always fascinating to me how one book can make you think about another, even if they are completely different from each other in many ways. After finishing and thoroughly enjoying Maria Semple's Where'd You Go, Bernadette, I was oddly reminded of a well-known children's book by Eileen Spinelli called The Dancing Pancake.
I was struck by how Bernadette's daughter Bee responds to the marital problems her parents are having. She totally sides with her mother and hates her father for ruining their family (a somewhat understandable reaction, given the circumstances). Spinelli's younger heroine Bindi also has to deal with a family breakup. Although Bindi is younger and less experienced than Bee, her reaction to her parents is the same -- especially the anger she feels toward her father. Fortunately both Bee and Bindi are ultimately able to reconnect with their fathers in a satisfying way.
Why Semple's book made me think of Spinelli's, I haven't a clue. Reader psychology is intriguing -- as is the magic of fiction.
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