Pearly Everlasting Hazen is born in a cabin on Greenlaw Mountain in 1920, and grows up in remote logging camps, alongside a black bear she names Bruno (Brunnie), which her father rescued when abandoned as a newborn. As Brunnie grows to adulthood, greed inserts itself in the form of a cruel camp overseer who sells him to the Outside. Bereft without her brother, Pearly sets off to find him. Occasional logging-camp visitors Song-catcher and her companion, Ebony, collect stories and write articles about the remote mountain dwellers, and Pearly heads to their Smoke River home for help. Her short sojourn with them is poignant, heart-breaking and delightfully humorous. When Pearly feels it’s safe to find her way home again, her adventures with Brunnie prove more arduous and dangerous than she anticipated, as she is tested to the extreme. Brunnie is, after all, a bear!

Armstrong’s language is reminiscent of her poetic roots, yet highly colloquial, using unusual grammatical phrasing—‘dinnering out.’; ‘It queered things.’; ‘Howlish March and still storm-stayed.’; ‘mossed-up blowdown.’ —and unfamiliar words (shagamaw, wampus, wanigans, peavey, kinnikinnick). Snow? In March there are three kinds: Smelt, Robin and Grass. Many descriptive passages are understandably based on colour and weather, which plays such a vital role, and Armstrong’s skill at this is evident.

The story is based on an orphan bear suckled alongside a newborn human at a Maine lumber camp in 1903, and Armstrong’s eclectic cast opened their arms and lives to me in this barren, unforgiving world, introducing an uncomplaining, dirt-poor family eking out a living in Depression-era New Brunswick. This is a deeply felt tale about our connections with the natural world, in which kindness and mean-spiritedness walk side-by-side. Ultimately, a story of a courageous young woman, of hope, of family and belonging, written with obvious affection and tenderness.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper for the eARC!

This reminded me of the importance of stories that don't span great distances, have epic battles, or endless drama. There are great stories in every day lives and the extraordinary in the ordinary. This story was slow and purposeful. I really got to know the characters, the setting, the atmosphere, and the culture.

The writing was so enjoyable due to the unique metaphors, similes, and turns of phrase specific to the New Brunswick logging community of the early 20th century. I never knew about this area or the history there but I was sucked in. The colloquialisms were descriptive and creative and you could easily pick up on the meaning which made me feel like I knew my way around this group of people despite never knowing of their existence.

A great, slow story with a lot of loyalty, determination, and discovery.

I went into Pearly Everlasting thinking it was on the magical realism side. I have since learned the book though fiction, was based on something a wildlife photographer caught in a picture: a woman nursing her child alongside a bear cub. Sometimes life is stranger than fiction.
The book tells the story of Pearly Everlasting and her family's struggles during the depression while working in a logging camp for which the father is a cook. To make the story magical, Bruno the bear cub grows up alongside of Pearly as her "brother". Both Pearly and Bruno got under my skin and I was all in for wherever they lead me.
A tragedy happens, Bruno disappears and I followed Pearly's life threatening adventure as she headed out of the camp and into the "outside" to find her brother the bear. A cast of colorful characters of every type are encountered along the way.
Parallel to Pearly's adventures are those of Ansell, the young man who works alongside of Pearly's father in the cookhouse. Ansell is determined to find Pearly and bring her back before anything can happen to her. His story was just as engaging as Pearly's and I found myself wanting to know more of him.
Pearly Everlasting is a wonderful book that I'd recommend.

My copy was provided by Publisher Weekly and HarperBooks via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

A young woman’s life revolves around a very special bond with a bear in Depression-era New Brunswick. Pearly Everlasting was raised alongside orphaned bear cub Bruno in a remote logging camp. Their bond is tested when Bruno is blamed for the death of a cruel supervisor and sent away. Pearly vows to find her ‘brother’ and return with him, but to do so she must navigate the dangers of the big city and the superstitions of the deep wilderness. Rich with heart and atmosphere, this is a fantastical tale of heroism and family.

I was lucky enough to win an e-ARC of PEARLY EVERLASTING by Tammy Armstrong from PW’s Grab a Galley promotion. Thank you for the early look, and enjoy the rest of your summer!