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.

This story is loosely based on the fairy tale “Snow White and Rose Red” and is about two sisters, Elena and Sam who live with their terminally ill mother on an island off the coast of Washington state. Like the fairy tale, the sisters, Elena and Sam, are incredibly close and work hard to keep their household afloat and tend to their sick mother. Also, like in the fairy tale, a bear shows up on their doorstep. Elena is fascinated by and forms an attachment to the bear, and that’s about when the fairy tale comparison ends. I am not an expert on wildlife, but have heard those who are (park rangers, wildlife biologists) warn against feeding or getting too close to animals in the wild and I see no reason to doubt this. There are plenty of YouTube videos of idiots trying to get a picture of the “cute bison” or climbing over a fence in a zoo to pet the “pretty tiger.” Usually nothing good comes of these irresponsible actions for the human or the animal. Everyone in the book, except Elena, seems to have the same understanding. This is the part of the book that lost me.
Sam is mad at the world and distrusts everyone except Elena who has acted as a protective mother figure. She is under the impression that once the mother dies, the sisters will sell their valuable property and live off the proceeds happily ever after. The land the family lives on is quite valuable, but the family is drowning in debt. I was not sure if Sam was oblivious or in denial to the reality of their financial situation (medical bills, mortgages), but she apparently didn’t know this. Turns out she also was oblivious and/or in denial about many aspects of her sister’s life.
I just finished Bear yesterday and am still digesting it. I have a hard time wrapping my head around the attraction to a huge smelly wild animal who is as likely to kill me as not and hope Sam gets therapy. I think this would be a good book club selection – lots to talk about.

A sad, sensitive portrayal of a devoted but downtrodden family struggling to survive and improve their lives despite circumstances beyond their control when an unusual event pulls them out of their routine.

dNF. Not sure what,s the point of this story. Writing is very well done, but lacks movement. I was interested in the sisters dynamic,relationship, but even that couldn’t keep me reading.

i love books about sisters, but this read more like a soap opera: everything bad that can happen will happen, with no time for character development along the way.

i wish i read this earlier, i enjoyed it and would recommend. i thought it was unique and i loved the setting.

I tried quite a few times to get into this novel, but unfortunately it felt just a little one-dimensional to me. I'm glad it appears to have found its readers, and maybe at a later time it'll strike me differently!

This one was not for me. Did not connect with the characters at all so it made it hard to sympathize.
Although I can understand why other people may have enjoyed it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Hogarth for gifting me a digital ARC of this fairy-tale like story by Julia Phillips.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own – 4.5 stars!
 
Elena and Sam are two sisters living on San Juan Island off the coast of Washington.  They are just barely surviving financially, with Sam working concessions on the ferry and Elena waitressing, to help keep their family going.  Their mother has lung cancer from chemicals inhaled after years of doing other people’s nails.  Sam dreams of the day when they can eventually sell their family home and escape the small town with her sister.  But everything changes when a bear appears in the area. 
 
I loved this wonderfully written, atmospheric story of these two sisters and their encounter with the bear.  You feel for both sisters, trying to do the right thing for their mother, and still hold on to their dreams and some semblance of a life.  They had a tough childhood experience with a boyfriend of their mom’s that scarred them but tightened their bond.  But Elena is keeping secrets from Sam and their differing reactions to the bear only make things worse.  It’s very atmospheric and tense and I was gripped to the very last page.

I’m a sucker for a good fractured fairy tale, and this contemporary Snow White & Rose Red retelling does not disappoint. Sisters Sam and Elena always dreamed of a better life for themselves, but they are stuck in their grandmother’s house in Friday Harbor, a depressed tourist town in Washington state. Taking turns as caretaker to their terminally ill, co-dependent mother, their vision has always been that once their mother passes, they will be able to sell their home and move on to their own destinies in Seattle or California… but there is a lot of waiting in this book. When the time comes, it turns out the house isn’t worth what they thought–a shock to Sam, but Elena knew–and anyway, Elena doesn’t want to go anywhere, and seems satisfied with the impoverished, dull life they lead, resulting in significant disagreement.

Struggling to recover from a post-pandemic economic downturn, both Sam and Elena do work catering to tourists, but Elena has the cushier job serving at the golf club, while Sam is stuck in food service on the tiny galley of the ferry. Elena gets the hot guys, while Sam screws coworker Ben in the head, keeping it sex-only, allowing a relationship that could develop into something real to stagnate, instead. The sister’s conflict escalates when Elena becomes obsessed with a bear that seems to be making a home for itself in the local woods.

Elena sees this dangerous alpha predator as some noble creature, a thing of power and beauty, a symbol that she is on the right path, and something that she has a special bond with, and thus can tame. Sam recognizes the bear as a threat, to their lives, their relationship, to their home–and enlists support from the local sheriff’s office, who refers the Department of Fish and Wildlife to the case. The agent, Madeline, advises Sam and her sister to stay away, and not to feed the bear. Elena doesn’t listen, even when threatened with fines, jail time, possible death and dismemberment. She’s enthralled.

Phillips masterfully executes atmosphere and tone in the bleakness of the sister’s lives, hopelessness of escaping their and inevitableness of repeating the mistakes of one’s parents, juxtaposed against the natural setting, both sea and shore, and the terror of a bear snuffling around their flimsy cottage. The narrative focuses on depressed, volatile Sam–her voice is refreshing, and her character and actions complex. Threaded throughout is the language of fairy tales: poisoned apples, roses and thorns, curses, villains whose wrath can shake an entire house, Sam’s Cinderella-like scrubbing to scour the house of death when their mother passes away. The homage to the original lesser-known tale of Snow White and Rose Red is skillfully woven in: an excerpt from the original prefaces the story to remind us that the mother endorses the bear.

Elena’s choices to pursue a demon lover examines how history repeats itself and how children replicate the mistakes of their parents–we are more comfortable with the devil we know than the unfamiliar angel. The entire novel could be viewed as a warning for women against men we know are not just bad, but deadly for us. Timely, given the viral “I’d rather be alone in the woods with a bear than a man” meme that took over the Internet in spring 2024.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #Bear via #NetGalley courtesy of #RandomHouse.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing House for this early review copy.

This book had its ups and downs. I enjoyed the relationship of the sisters it started off with, but then as it grew more complicated, I really struggled to enjoy their relationship and where the story was going. You learn as the story goes on that what you're initially presented with as their personalities isn't truly who they are. It was almost reverse character growth and development for me, which I suppose is something I'm not used to. I kind of saw some version of the ending coming, but it was still shocking!

This is a literal adult fairy tale, and it was such a unique reading experience in a good way. I feel like when I saw the "sell" of this book it had something about Snow White and Rose Red which is definitely something that would have drawn me in. While it was a fairy tale, it was set in present day (I always think of fairy tales as being "old"), and it's really also just about sisters trying to figure out life. There is a literal bear that plays all kinds of roles in the story, but it's also just two sisters figuring out how to manage all the "stuff" that happens to them together and apart. The emotions were raw and real, but there's also that layer of magic here, too. This was unlike anything I've read, and again, that's a good thing. Thanks to NetGalley for the look at this June 2024 release!

I requested this book because I visit the San Juan islands to go camping every year and was excited to see a book set there! Phillips did a great job of building the place out and showing the mundanity of Sam’s work on the ferry.

What lost me was just about everything else. I did not care for the short, clipped writing in simple and repetitive sentences. It made the book feel more juvenile than it was marketed as and stopped me from connecting with the characters. It’s promoted as “a dark fairy tale” but that sense doesn’t fully develop until the last half or more of the book. The first third was fairly boring, just laying out a sense of place and the characters and yet I still didn’t feel any sense of darkness building.

By the last couple vignettes of this book, the inevitable ending began to materialize in my mind and the story took on a thriller sense to it. I can’t help but wonder if I would’ve liked this better if indeed the darkness had been pushed and the story set up more like a thriller than literary fiction. The sisters repeatedly talk about feeling trapped in that house and that took on an almost Gothic tone.

By the end, the characters had changed and my idea of who the villain truly was surprised me! <SPOILER> As Sam starts to unravel and become obsessed with making her sister “return” to her, you start to wonder if she is unreliable as a narrator and has actually remembered their promises to one another with her own bent or perception rather than what happened or even as Elena intended. I do think it was crucial to show how Elena had kept secrets from Sam to illustrate her duplicitousness in order to cast serious doubt on her true behavior with the bear.

I liked the overall concept of this story but the weak writing at sentence level ultimately turned me against it. I would recommend this book to fans of Brothers Grimm story tales, close sister relationships, and anyone else drawn to stories set in the PNW. Thank you to Net Galley and Hogarth for the eARC.

I just had such a hard time with this book. I didn't end up finishing it. Didn't care for the sisters. Just wasn't my cup of tea.