Julia Phillips
Bear
Hogarth, June 2024

Julia Phillips's second novel, “Bear” (Hogarth, 2024), takes place on the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington State. Isolated, remote, and in the thick of the Covid-19 pandemic. The tourists are few and far between, while the working-class island dwellers who rely on tourism dollars to make ends meet are fraying at the end of what remains of their ragged ropes.

Our narrator, Sam, and her older sister, Elena, live with their chronically ill, disabled mother in a bedraggled home they can no longer maintain or afford to leave. The bond between the sisters, especially through ever-fluctuating financial, caregiving, and psychosocial dilemmas, continues to strengthen despite COVID-19, unusual guests, and climate change eroding the backyard wonderland where they once played.

In 2019, a bear was spotted on San Juan Island. Phillips utilizes this news bite, integrates it with the themes of isolation and sisterhood she introduced in her debut novel, “Disappearing Earth,” and expands them further with the Grimm fairy tale “Snow White and Rose Red.”

If you like your novels multilayered, ominous, contemporary, filled with social commentary and the power of connection, then Julia Phillips's “Bear” is the book for you. (Good Morning America, Vulture, New York Times Book Review, and Electric Literature all agree!)

Thank you kindly to Julia Phillips, Hogarth (a Random House imprint), and Netgalley for the eARC.

Two sisters live in the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington. They take care of their mother, and live in their tiny house, but they are waiting for a time when they can sell the house and go live on the mainland and start their lives. Sam works at the concession stand on the ferry, selling snacks and hot chocolates to tourists, hooking up now and again with one of the other ferry workers. Elena works at the golf club as a waitress, and takes on more of the work involved in caring for their terminally ill mother, but she's the oldest and takes on this burden. Things seem smooth, if not comfortable, after all, the pause in Sam's employment caused by the pandemic has left them in a hole, but they have the future to look forward to. Then a bear appears in their front yard, a rare, but not unknown occurrence. Bears do swim between the islands, mainly in search of mates. While Sam is wary, Elena is fascinated and although she tells Sam she's catching rides to work with co-workers, and not walking through the woods alone, this may not be true.

Bear is written by the author of Disappearing Earth, a brilliant collection of tightly connected short stories set on the cold and wild eastern coast of Russia. While the setting is not dissimilar, being on the isolated fringe of an empire, this novel has a simpler plot, told entirely from the point of view of one of the sisters, and moves straight-forwardly through time. That said, Phillips is doing some interesting work here; the bear is both a metaphor and an actual bear. The way that Phillips tells this story through Sam's unreliable eyes, the vivid way she describes the island setting with its beauty and lack of opportunities and affordability for working class people, and of wanting to escape a place you love is beautifully done.
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This is the most unusual/ original book I have read this year. In some ways, it's familiar, with conflicts between sisters, complications of a dying mother, a remote location. Bur in many ways it is unique, startling, and a bit weird. But honestly I enjoyed it as I think it gets to how complicated our relationships to those we love can be, how often we want to leave our childhood behind while still being inexplicably drawn to it, and our desire to have something no one else has, even at great risk to ourselves. Highly recommended for anyone looking for something a little different.

A thrilling read. The familiar setting of Friday Harbor was honestly my catalyst for reading and I felt so much for Sammy and her need to leave-need to stay dilemma. Really liked this one!

This was a story about 2 women named Sam And E l e r a. They lived on friday harbor which is in washington state. Their mother.
Was dying but they had a home. Sam worked on the ferry system and her sister worked in the country club. They have two different types of life's going at the same time. One night sam saw a bear swimming to the island. This was the base of the story and how it was important to it. Sam had a boyfriend named ben who worked with her. E l e r a had a secret boyfriend. The bears showed up one night at their house and this led to a lot of crazy stuff.. Sam called the wildlife people and they came out to investigate. That was a motherly dying thing's got kind of crazy. Everybody in the town was concerned about the bear. It has a crazy ending in this book and you'll be shocked

Weird and dreamy in a great way. I loved the characters, the setting, the location. The feeling of desperation colored by wisps of hope. A really American story. There was a gut-punch I saw coming, and one I did not. Fabulous book.

I so deeply loved Disappearing Earth that I was so anxious and excited to read Bear--and Bear was a good, solid book, but after her debut novel, it was a bit of a let-down. Her characters didn't zing as much, and the plot felt like it wasn't blending quite the way I wanted it to, though months later, I remember the protagonist working on the endless, endless tourist boat, the gorgeous stillness of the woods. I would have loved to read another version of this book from the other sister's point of view; I think her falling in love with the bear was important, and getting her perspective (what if the novel switched between the two sisters, maybe once in a while included the neighbor and the boat worker who became the protagonist's lover?) would have strengthened this book.

No doubt about it, Julia Phillips is extraordinarily talented, and I look forward to her next work.

I really did try to get through this book, but the plot was going nowhere and the writing too simplistic. At least it has a beautiful cover!

Thanks to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me to read an electronic ARC copy in return for my honest review. Pub date 6/25/24

thank you netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review. i liked the setting but not much else. sam was the worst main character ive read in awhile. she was selfish and condescending to her sister.

A really strange and boring tale about sisters living in a gorgeous setting where absolutely nothing happens. The writing felt juvenile compared to her previous work and I was overall mostly irritated with Sam.

While I usually love the writing style and point of view of this author, this book ultimately failed to keep my attention. The pacing of the story was incredibly slow and did not pay off in my opinion. I would have liked a little more concise editing and faster pace. It felt like a lot of wondering and inner dialogue and not enough action. I look forward to seeing what this author puts out next!

Sam is annoying. She is beyond annoying. She is one those people who won't let you be with anyone else in fear of losing you. She is suffocating Elena while victimizing herself. She is focused on this dream that she kept saying it was Elena's to begin with. She thinks she is going to save her sister, while she might be the one needing saving.

Elena, on the other hand, is more realistic. She is doing her job, trying to look after her mother, and making sure money hits their account. Sam makes her to be this crazy girl who is fascinated with this particular bear. I wonder if that is really a bear they are seeing. Is it a symbol for something else? For some other person? some other dream? At the end, whether it is a bear or not, I understand why Elena would need that. It must be hard to be the reasonable one.

I wish we had more chapters focused on Elena instead of Sam. Sam sounded like she was suffering from some delusion, some type of mental illness. Not that I won't care for it, but she is too whiny for my taste.

I will not soon forget this read, which I read through to the very last word. Am still thinking about it. At a loss for how to "star" it. . .the story was not what I wanted. . . as in it didn't end how I wanted it to end. I believe I'm pouting about this, and so need to ponder more. Ann Patchett said it best about this author: ". . .She has my complete attention." That means something.

This story takes place on an island among a handful of beauties off the Washington state coast. The chug of ferries are the music of transportation in those parts. Another world completely, one that takes a rider / reader back in time just by the very journey. Remote is an adjective that wraps round all the day-to-day living details. A bear on the front porch is unusual, dangerous, but believable.

Born to the island (and their ailing mother) are Elena (oldest) and Sam (youngest). Three women in each other's company too long, trying to ferret out a way to live separately that doesn't mean losing their binding ties. Mother finds her way out. Two remain. There are reasons and worries, and hopeful moments. And there's a bear. He's beautiful and compelling. There are warnings from Those Who Should Know, and one wants to dismiss them out of hand. Two sisters heading in opposite directions, yet who know each other by heart like no other, like sisters. At the side doors Plan Bs present. And don't forget. There's a bear.

[I reserve the right to up-star]. Pondering on. . .I still don't "like" this read. . .but I can't stop touching it. . .

*A sincere thank you to Julia Phillips, Random House Publishing Group, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.* #Bear #NetGalley

Phillips's prose is evocative, vividly describing the landscape and its impact on the characters' lives. While some may find the pacing slow, the emotional depth and character development offer a rewarding experience. Overall, it's a poignant exploration of survival, both physically and emotionally.

3.5. Unusual story line. Although the book is entitled "Bear", the bear is really the catalyst for much of what happens to the humans in the story. Through their various encounters, fear, and/or euphoria, the characters learn a lot about themselves, their relationships, and their connections. The main theme of the novel is the relationship between the two sisters, Elena and Sam. The character development is good and the book is well written. It is staying with me. Recommend it.

A grizzly haunts the pages of “Bear.” It’s hard to identify at first, and so unlikely that everyone’s giddy with excitement, but there it is: a bear swimming in the San Juan Channel, where they’d never seen one. Folks on the ferry take pictures and call out to the animal.

This was a pensive and sort of somber story that was well written but it didn’t seem to click with me.

Sisters Sam and Elena grew up with their mother on a small island in Washington state’s San Juan Channel. As children, they would roam the forests, imagining the place as their own little kingdom, but now as young adults they find themselves toiling away at dead-end jobs in the islands’ tourism industry. Elena works as a waitress at the nearby country club while Sam spends her days manning the concession booth on one of the ferries that service the region, while both take turns looking after their mother as she slowly loses her battle against the cancer she obtained by breathing in fumes at the local hair salon.

Told from Sam’s perspective, we are acutely aware of how much the drudgery of her days is wearing on her, with only the plan the sisters once made of selling the house and moving off the island helping her to withstand it. But one day, she spots a bear swimming alongside the ferry. Some try to claim it must have been something more innocuous, but Sam is certain what she saw. Even more so when, “they woke the next day to a bear at the door.”

The bear winds up leaving their stoop of its own accord, but its appearance has a profound effect on the sisters. Sam is fear stricken after having the massive animal so nearly inside her home, but Elena is in awe, taking its arrival as a sort of minor miracle. Sam is dumbfounded by her sister’s new lighthearted attitude and even more so by her attempts to communicate with the creature further. She attempts to continue about her life, going to work, hooking up with an attractive deckhand from out-of-town, and tending to her mother, but she can’t help but worry over her sister, especially once Elena begins walking through the woods on her way home with food in her pockets.

Their conflicting responses begin to drive a rift between the sisters, and Sam increasingly feels the need to question everything she’s ever known to be true, leaving her even more lost and adrift than she was before. When she reaches out to the local Fish & Wildlife department, an agent tries to help only to be rebuffed by the sisters due to their distrust of authority figures. But Sam feels she has to do something, before Elena manages to put herself in any further danger.

Phillips’ lovely prose walks the line between realistic and dreamlike, taking cues from the fables that inspired the story and are referenced throughout. The stress of their mother’s impending death combined with their divergent reactions leads to long-simmering tensions erupting forth and secrets being revealed. Their relationship and its fracturing feels wholly believable, even if it is brought about by a highly unusual (though possible) event.

Using their story to look at the delicate nature of familial bonds, the ways people look at incredible occurrences, the act of losing a parent, and America’s sharp class division, particularly in tourist areas, Phillips has crafted something truly special here. She adeptly juggles tones, at times breaking readers’ hearts while at others having them turning pages in suspense. Bear is an engaging read that feels tailor made to launch many a book club conversation.

Julia Glass has my respect and gratitude for bringing back plot. This is a book that does not ponder or preach; it tells a story. And it's an understandable, and clear, and entertaining story with a fantastic wetting and memorable characters.

Kind of made me wonder if the whole man vs. bear thing was PR for this book. I liked the length, the writing, and the ambiance. I didn't love any of the characters; and even though the ending made me feel sick, it felt like it was the only way it could end.

I rated this two stars because I finished it thinking - what was the point?!

Bear is a beautifully crafted tale that intricately weaves themes of sisterhood, ambition, and the mysteries of nature. Set on a remote Washington island, the story follows Sam and Elena as they navigate their struggles for a better life, drawn into a conflict when a bear becomes a symbol of freedom for Elena while representing fear for Sam. Readers will appreciate the lyrical prose and rich imagery that bring the island to life, as well as the profound exploration of family bonds and the allure of the wild. This novel is perfect for those who enjoy character-driven stories that invite reflection on our connections to each other and the natural world.