This was one of my most anticipated reads of the summer... and wowie - it wasn't quite what I was expecting. But I liked it!

Based on a Brothers Grimm fairytale, BEAR tells the story of two sisters close in age, living on the San Juan Islands in Washington (south of Vancouver Island). They're desperately trying to stay afloat, living paycheck to paycheck while caring for their terminally ill mother and balancing the costs of her medical treatment and their family home.

One day, a grizzly bear arrives on the island and has repeated run-ins with the sisters. Each has a different reaction to the bear, and after this, nothing in their lives is ever the same.

I realized after reading the last page, that I loved the slow-burn progression of the story, the unravelling of Sam, and slowly learning the circumstances of why she is the way she is. We watch the complicated relationship with her sister Elena, the main caregiver of the family.

I really didn't enjoy Sam's character — she was standoffish, angry, and bitter about how her life was going and I often wanted to shake her — but even though I didn't like her, it didn't make me want to stop reading. Julia wove the story in a way that made me want to keep turning pages to find out where things were going. I loved the themes of unmet expectations. And that ending. 🤯 Sure didn't see that coming!

I have yet to read Phillips' first novel DISAPPEARING EARTH, which was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction and received widespread acclaim. I'm now bumping it up my ridiculously long TBR list to compare.

Recommend! Also IN LOVE with the cover art.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Big thanks to @randomhouse and @netgalley for the #gifted copy.

Come for the complicated sister relationship.
Stay for the intense complexity of wild bear fascination.
This story will break your heart a little but you'll feel like it needed to happen.

The author of the Bear, Julia Philips, does a great job with setting the scene.
Her description of the atmosphere is wonderful and the story of two sisters was authentic and real.
The story was a bit slow and plodding and not easy to get through.
Neither of the two characters was likeable to me.
The ending was not satisfying to me but many readers will love this story I am sure.
Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love when you can tell an author respects it’s readers. I feel rewarded for the attention I gave this book. Reading it feels like digging a hole thinking you’ve gone an inch deep, only to find you’ve reached the earths mantle.

One of my top reads of 2024. If the Brothers Grimm were here today they’d be envious of Random House, wishing they could publish it themselves.

OKAY:

What drew my to this book was it’s setting: the islands of the Puget Sound. This one in particular is set on San Juan.
It’s a tale of sisterhood, of surviving, and Stockholm syndrome. As someone who lived on one of those islands during the pandemic, the post-pandemic setting of this novel hit home for me.

But it wasn’t what kept me, no, this novel pulled me in, and didn’t let me go. Even after finishing it it still has me.

The book follows a younger sister, Sam. She is hardwired into routine and beliefs about the world. It’s the only way she can cope with it.
I found her incredibly human; a perfect result of her circumstances. If you struggle admiring Sam I would resist the urge to judge this protagonist at a surface level. She is vivid, she literally changes on the page before you. It’s not often I find an character arc so stunning.
Her and her sister take care of their dying mother, and one day a bear shows up. What could this mean? How will it change their lives forever? Wild, right?
You don’t even know.

The ending is so satisfying, while being one of the most horrifying I could imagine. I had made many guesses of what might happen, but it wasn’t what I expected. This book had a plot rich with momentum, forcing me to finish it in less than a week, but it was the prose, the WAY in which Julia Philips captured the moments she painted that had me mesmerized, my jaw on the floor.

This was the kind of book that had me gushing about it to my husband after every reading session. It’s a GREAT book club book; I can only imagine the wonderful discussions this novel could provoke.

It’s not a slow burn, but it’s a steady build up. One you can feel build, like an unsteady broiler getting hotter and hotter beneath your feet.

Thank you so much to Random House and Net Galley for the ARC eBook copy. All thoughts are my own :)

I have been eagerly anticipating a new book from this author since Disappearing Earth came out a few years back. I was not disappointed. This book was terrifyingly beautiful! It was just a wonderful story that will leave you breathless.

I really wanted to like this book because I had enjoyed Julia Phillips debut novel, Disappearing Earth.
But I just couldn't get into the story. Sam was such an unlikable and immature character and I felt like you really didn't get to know Elena. It may have been a better story if you could have understood the sister's relationship from both their perspectives. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

Blown away. This book starts with a passage from a Grimm's fairytale that made me gasp - it prepares the reader for what's to come. Set on San Juan Island, this is the story of two adult sisters taking care of their terminally-ill mom. The setting is another character in this beautiful, haunting book. The nature comes alive on the page. I could smell the wet leaves and hear the waves surrounding the remote island. Themes of socio-economic inequality is a focus as we get to experience via these vibrant characters the impact of COVID on a job fully-reliant on tourism. A bear swims to the island the plot begins. Throughout the book I wondered if the bear was real. I won't spoil the book but know the novel is one that will haunt you - what does the bear represent? How does the bear's presence affect the characters? I need to join a book club to discuss this one - it's full of wonder and interpretation as the brilliant author doesn't spoon-feed the meaning to us. Go get this one and then reach out to me so we can talk. THANKS TO THE PUBLISHER for the gifted copy.

This didn’t have the vibe I expected it to have at all—the blurb makes it sound like a book about our relationship with nature and each other, but Sam was terrified of the bear and wanted nothing to do with it. As someone without sisters maybe I just can’t relate but I had a hard time getting invested and feeling a lot of emotion from this. I kind of wish it had been told from Elena’s perspective instead. Definitely not bad but didn’t love it.

A few years ago, I read Julia Phillips' "Disappearing Earth" which I thought was terrific. I was excited to read Julia Phillips' latest novel, "Bear" which takes place on San Juan Island in the Pacific Northwest. The story is about two adult sisters who live on a beautiful island, are caring for their sick mother and dealing with massive debt while working service industry jobs. One day, a grizzly bear appears which one sister thinks is a wonderful thing and it leaves the other sister terrified. And you just have to read the book if you want to know what happens! I enjoyed the writing in this book, especially when the author is describing the natural landscape of the island in which the sisters live. I think you will enjoy this book especially if you are interested in reading modern day fairy tales!

Thanks to the publisher for the digital ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Really sharp interesting book. I love stories about sisters and this one fulfilled that brief. I found the middle kind of slow but the ending really stuck the landing and made me reconsider all that had come before.

A sad but enjoyable read.

I was excited to read Bear, having enjoyed Disappearing Earth, also by Julia Phillips. Bear did not disappoint. An atmospheric tale centered on two sisters working thankless service jobs on a small island in the Pacific Northwest.

Sam, the younger by thirteen months, narrates. She works the snack bar for the ferry system and fills out mindless internet surveys for cash. They're struggling to pay the bills, their mother is sick and they tag team taking care of her. It's relentless, Sam dreams about escaping with her sister for bigger and better things.

Their monotony is broken by the appearance of the titular bear. Things take unexpected turns as the sisters respond quite differently to its presence.

I liked the atmosphere, the relationship with the sisters, the description of the island. It's a quiet, emotional, and surprising story.

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC.

Bear is a story about two sisters who live on an island in the Pacific Northwest and work blue collar jobs in order to make ends meet and take care of their dying mother. I’m not sure I liked much of this story, even though I don’t think it’s necessarily poorly written. It is just incredibly slow and a few things happen toward the end but mostly the sisters see a bear and that’s about it.

I found the main character to be very naive and frustrating. She constantly complained about everything in her life and I just wanted her to find some joy somewhere. She also made comments about not associating with people who were “different” from her — referring to the wildlife and fisheries employee who followed up on wildlife calls. She acts like this woman believes she’s totally above her and refers to her as “rich.” In my experience, people who work for the government and follow up with civilians are not making bank. I guess to Sam, anyone making more than her was rich, but to not want to associate with her felt so prejudiced. And then she believes that $500k will allow her sister and her to live in luxury and not work for the rest of their lives. She was in late 20s — that felt a little too old for her to be so out of touch with reality.

Although the older sister held more maturity, I was incredibly frustrated by her continual contact with the grizzly bear. Again, felt incredible naive to me.

This story was very character driven, but I ended up caring very little for the characters and wanted so much more from them. Overall, I think the story carries some good metaphors but I was not in love with it.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for this ARC.

I was really looking forward to this novel since I absolutely loved DISAPPEARING EARTH by Phillips. This story once again follows a pair of sisters, Sam and Elena, who live with their ailing mother on an island off the coast of Washington. A large bear appears on the island and seems to be drawn to them, forcing each sister to reconsider her daily life.

I admit it took me awhile to get hooked in the story, but even so, I was always fascinated by Sam and Elena’s relationship, and the tensions that formed as they grew up. It’s rare for me to not really like any of the characters but still enjoy the reading experience, yet Phillips pulls it off here. I was transported into the story through Phillips’s writing. She explores the sisters’ relationship with depth, and imbues a magical sense of foreboding and wonder to every page.

As the story spirals to a dramatic end, I was hooked and intrigued. Phillips examines at the magic of the everyday, and how grief, responsibility, and the pressure of living can form something otherworldly. This is a unique story that feels isolated and frenzied at the same time, and if you’re interested in sisterhood, then I’d highly recommend.

I kept thinking that this book was going to get more interesting, that there was going to be some sort of twist, or revelation, or surprise that would bring the whole thing into focus. But that never happened. Instead the story plodded along at a slow simmer that never actually reached a boil. The conflict between the sisters comes way too late in the story. This is where the majority of the book should have lived, in the space where the inseparable sisters discover that they didn’t know each other at all, in the discovery that their entire lives were built on a a false foundation. Instead we live day after day with them in boredom and futility, in a quicksand so profound that Elena romanticizes a bear as her means of escape. But because Elena remains largely an enigma until the end we never really feel the tragedy of her death as the gut punch it should be. It’s Sam’s story but she comes across as the less interesting character since she’s the follower in the relationship with no real dreams of her own.

Sam and Elena, two sisters living on an island off the coast of Washington with their sick mother and dead end jobs have been waiting for something to shock them into a change in their life; then one day Sam sees a large bear swimming in the water towards the island. When the bear comes to their house, the two react differently, Sam is terrified and wants to bear to leave, while Elena has an almost mystical fascination to it and welcomes the bear, eventually leaving food out for it and later starting some sort of relationship with it. While the bear is one more thing pushing Sam away from the island, it is one more thing tying Elena to the island. This fairy-tale like novel is a story of sisters, class and nature.

I had read @juliaphillipswrites last novel and loved it so when I saw that she had a new one I didn’t even question that I wanted to read it - this one was just as wonderful but in a completely different way. I loved the relationship of the small nuclear family of the two sisters and their ailing mother (as well as the flashbacks giving background to their story), the subtle tale and how each sister dealt with grief and change. This is a beautifully written novel and while not everyone will love it like I did, it was a pleasure to read.

4.5 stars

Thank you to Random House/Hogarth and NetGalley for the ARC to review

I loved Julia Phillips’ Disappearing Earth, so I was psyched to read her latest book, Bear. It’s hard to compare them, given their very different subject matter, but rest assured that Phillips’ mastery is once again on full display.

The story is very loosely based on the Grimm fairytale “Snow-White and Rose-Red.” It’s about two sisters, Sam (the main character) and Elena, who are barely scraping by with service jobs while caretaking for their terminally ill mother. When a very out-of-place grizzly bear appears on their small island off the Washington coast, taking a special interest in their house, the girls are initially terrified. But soon, the bear becomes only one of many unexpected wedges between them.

Phillips is absolutely incredible at crafting setting, character, and tension — a triple threat. I felt like I could really see the island and feel what it was like to be both of the sisters, even though we only got first-person narration from Sam. She’s so good on a sentence level, too. And the dark undercurrent…whew. You can just tell the story is building and building toward something the whole time, and yet — that ending!! I had expected something different, but it was perfect and inevitable in hindsight. I had to close the book and just sit there for about ten minutes, processing.

The nuanced and layered symbolism of the bear itself, the frustrating messiness of sisterhood, the things we keep from the people we love, the way no two people experience the world the same way — this one nailed it all. Definitely give it a read!



CONTENT AND TRIGGER WARNINGS:
Death of a parent + other family member; Terminal illness; Grief; Domestic/child abuse (in the past); Abortion (minor)

"Bear" by Julia Phillips tells the compelling story of two sisters living on an island in the Pacific Northwest. The stunning setting contrasts with the harsh realities they face as they struggle to pay bills and care for their sick mother. The appearance of a bear introduces a profound new dimension to their lives. While one sister views the bear as a mystical presence, the other perceives it as a threat. The novel’s ending is thought-provoking and sure to spark lively discussions at your next book club meeting. There's so much to unpack in this richly layered narrative.

Bear by Julia Phillips is about a pair of adult sisters who are living in the woods with their ailing mother and struggling to make ends meet. Their world is turned upside down when a bear appears on their property-- at first terrifying them. But then one sister becomes more and more interested, and obsessed, with the bear.

This is a unique story and probably not for everyone. While it's titled "Bear" and the bear does play a big part in the plot, the story is mostly focused on the sisters and their relationship. It hints at some bits of magic/fairytale but stays mainly planted in reality. This is a character driven story and the pacing is fairly slow. The characters are not super likeable, though I did still find them relatable and interesting.

I really liked and appreciated the uniqueness of this story! It's short, and I found it quick and easy to read. It's inspired by the Brothers Grimm fairytale "Snow White and Rose Red," which I was not really familiar with so that didn't mean a lot to me. I might have appreciated this story even more if I read the fairytale first!

The ending will surely be divisive, but I liked it. =)

Bear is the story of two sisters, Sam and Elena, living with their dying mother, on San Juan Island in Washington State. Both women are struggling to make ends meet, working in service jobs. Sam, the younger sister, spots a bear swimming across the channel. After that, the bear shows up at their home. Sam's decision to call a state wildlife official causes dissent between the sisters and reveals Elena's relationship with the bear. Haunting, magical, suspenseful, and ultimately shocking, I could not put this book down.

BEAR
BY: JULIA PHILIPS

I first discovered what a talented and prodigious author Julia Philip's is when I read her beautifully written, work, called Disappearing Earth. I was really excited to see that she had a new novel called, "BEAR," which is an allegorical tale about two modern day sisters who are approximately a year apart in age. It is loosely based on the fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm called, Snow White and Rose Red. It takes place in the Pacific Northwest off an Island called San Juan from Washington State. The two sisters start out seemingly close living in a run down home that their grandmother owned which was inherited by their dying mother whom they both lovingly care for. The sisters names are Samantha and Elena who are both working in jobs that aren't paying them enough, with their mother's increasing medical bills, more debt than they're both cognizant of. Elena is the eldest sister and has carried the weight of too much than a young girl of her age should need to deal with.

Sam works on the ferry serving food and beverages that as she views it, serves wealthier clients that consist of vacationers who are more well off financially, or those that live on the Mainland. It's questionable whether Samantha's vision is skewered. One day at work Sam spots a brown bear swimming in the channel. Her sister Elena, who is a bartender works at a golf course and when they both hear noises they discover a brown bear with dark fur that shows up literally on their doorstep. The sightings of this bear continue to appear which concerns Sam more than Elena. Why is this bear coming so close to their home? What does this bear signify in this allegorical tale? The authorities are called and they are asked if they leave out their garbage containing food or birdseed that could be an attraction to this bear's reason for returning. Could they have mistaken this bear for a deer that has no qualms about rubbing itself up against their house making its presence known?

Sam is more concerned about the bear visitations than Elena who seems enchanted by these bear sightings. What is the reason that this bear deviated on its path north towards Canada? Sam and Elena had planned on selling the family home and have high hopes for an easier life. The two sisters don't want to see their mother suffer, and would never wish she passes on sooner than it's her time.
They have decided when the house that their mother also grew up in, when she died they will sell the home. The land that this shabby home sits on that is worth approximately $500,000, which they think could help them escape the increasing debt, and move on to greater horizons. The area where they live is described as dappled sunshine with lush greenery surrounded with water. The Pandemic exacerbated both sisters falling more behind financially. Their mom whose debilitating medical health continues to be spiraling towards death as more time passes, and her lung problems had been linked to her breathing the noxious fumes when she worked in a nail salon. Their mother is kind and gentle, but Elena and Samantha have a special bond. It's really quite sad that their mom is more uncomfortable as trips to the doctor have given a terminal prognosis which she is mostly confined to her bed. Sam and Elena are discussing their day one evening that Sam has brought her mother to a doctor appointment, Elena tells Sam that she saw the bear that day and no sooner do they again hear noises from outside and the bear is back making a thumping noise against their house.

Sam is horrified that the bear has turned up at their home looking exactly like the one she spotted swimming. She thinks it's dangerous and the Sheriff is called but they're asked if they're certain it wasn't a deer? Elena doesn't seem anything near as alarmed as Sam is about this bear coming from his journey North out of the woods and into a neighborhood seemingly unbothered by close proximity to people. Elena has been spotting it on the trail in the woods on her way to work, and speaks to it and feeds it, which is the exact sort of behavior that makes the bear less wary of people and causes the climbing behavior that Madeline describes when she meets with Sam. Sam lies about Elena's charmed fondness for the bear in the meeting the next day. Sam has already made arrangements with a biologist from the state who works for the Department of Fish and Wildlife in hopes of learning how to be rid of this bear which she sees as a threat. She only knows that Elena brought her to the trail behind their house and witnessed Elena calling out to the bear saying "hello are you there?" Elena seems to have no reservations about the bear's intentions. Elena has been treating the bear like a pet in direct opposition to Sam being frightened by it for both herself and her sister.
There will be no mention of this in her meeting with Madeline, the biologist when they meet tomorrow. Even with Sam's knowledge that how Elena treats it is what causes the escalation of the bear's climbing behavior which is explained thoroughly she still decides to lie.

The night before when Sam and Elena are asking one another how their day went. Sam had taken their mom to a doctors appointment and Elena mentions seeing the bear. At this point Sam informs Elena that a woman biologist named Madeline Pettit, who works for the State has been contacted by Sam is coming to their home. Sam hopes to get more assistance from her in getting rid of the bear than the Sheriff. Elena can't be there since she has to work. Sam has just given her mother lunch when Madeline arrives knocking on their door. The two exchange pleasantries talking about how they have in common different State sponsored employment. Sam feels it important to disclose that she works for Center-plate, the ferries private food vendor, for the Department of Transportation. Madeline makes light of their common employment telling Sam that the benefits aren't any better. Madeline has a career with the Department of Fish and Wildlife, which I mentioned above and is older. Sam is already judging Madeline's appearance and asks Sam to tell her exactly what she saw. Sam described seeing the bear swimming while working on her shift on the ferry. Next, the shock of the bear's first visit to her home. The bear's enormous, muscular body at their door that was unafraid of making noises against their house. Sam showed Madeline pictures, which just consisted of just a brown blur. As Madeline took notes, asking questions such as does Sam's family keep pets or livestock? Were there fruit trees on their property? Was there anything odorous in their cars? All three questions Sam answers with a firm, No!

Madeline goes on to explain that her and her colleagues goal is keeping this bear from climbing using her hand as a visual prompt raising and lowering it. What their department calls climbing is what they refer to as rungs on a behavioral ladder. An example of it could be the bear finding something to eat in a garage. Next, it proceeds to enter an empty house, does damage, making it onto the news coverage. The bear will get tagged by employees she works with, and the plan is to relocate it. She goes on to tell Sam that a bear has a good memory, and it knows to return if it is confused. What does Sam expect to gain by her keeping from Madeline about Elena's mistakes? Finally, if it's unlucky enough to scare somebody out in their yard, they call it a nuisance bear, which ultimately gets the bear euthanized. Sam unlike Elena who I already mentioned above finds these bear visits disturbing, where Elena encourages the bear, but Sam's not telling Madeline about Elena, but asks her if she's saying the bear could enter their house? Madeline tells her no, but then Sam reiterates Madeline's words back repeating that the action taken is the bear gets tagged and gets taken away hopefully? Madeline holds up her hand in an attempt to display an invisible rung on an imaginary ladder, saying it's a response to the bear's escalated behavior such as if the bear returns there's likely a cause. Sam tells her, "But it has!"

As Madeline was telling Sam that the bear was looking to mate and pointed out huge teeth marks into the vinyl siding outside. Elena happened to have been sent home from work and joined the conversation. Sam is angered that Madeline is just leaving her card after asking whether they feared an attack from the bear, which the two sisters gave different responses. Sam expected action where Elena saw the bear as a magical boost to their hard existence. A majestic friendly encounter which offered Elena respite from managing the stress of taking care of everything. Too much reliance is placed on her to support everyone. She thinks the bear is a ray of light acting as a diversion from watching their mom suffer. Sam thought Madeline's appearance reminded her of the rich and rude people she served on the ferry, and after Madeline left she told Elena she was just trying to help. Elena mentions that Sam was the only one that was rude. Madeline explained it wasn't a grizzly bear, but a curious black bear looking to mate. Elena walks through the trail to work looking forward to more encounters with the bear, and for Sam not to involve Madeline regarding this wonderful mythical creature. The bear had appeared to Elena as a delightful, extraordinary beast. A vision from the mysterious world. What had the bear done to them? Nothing. What threat did it pose to them? None at all. So why bring in someone to drive it out of their lives? There wasn't any reason to do that. The bear was only here, briefly and beautifully, teaching them what it felt like to love living again, which signified helping them to make it through their hardship.

There are reasons that this is called a Grimm's Brothers fairy tale of Snow White and Rose Red, and there are usually not happy endings with the Grimm brothers version. This is a very powerful story of so many what ifs? Told with the delicate grace of an author whose both novels I have absolutely loved who captures the reader leaving me so impressed at her character development, plot and setting so vivid that has a feast with my senses. It's worthy of more than five stars by how it captivates and once I got invested I simply couldn't turn the pages fast enough. It's unpredictable and I feel it's another memorable reading experience that will take your breath away if you don't read reviews beyond the star rating. I'd recommend not reading beyond the synopsis. This is haunting and one I highly recommend. My best advice is to go into this as blindly as possible. I know that I will be placing a copy of this brilliant and stunning novel with every reader that I know. This has jumped to the top of the list of my favorite Literary fiction novels. Outstanding! Impossible to forget! Unique!

Publication Date: June 25, 2024! Available for purchase Now! If you decide to read this expect to be blown away with how to be thinking it's a quiet reading experience, only to be shocked as to how much happens by this novel's conclusion. If only my next one could be this fantastic!

Thank you to Net Galley, Julia Phillips and Random House Publishing Group-Hogarth for generously providing me with my unforgettable ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#Bear #JuliaPhillips #RandomHousePublishingGroupHogarth #NetGalley

"Elena would explain to Sam how special the bear was, how strange and how tender their love is,
their connection, and how it would never intentionally hurt her."