Scan barcode
bronski's review against another edition
3.0
The opening chapters are truly horrifying to read, even when you feel as though you've braced yourself. I've read "Room," the only other child narrated book I can think of, and didn't enjoy this one nearly as much. The plot felt fairly linear and predictable and the ending didn't sit quite right with me in terms of realism. That said, it was a challenge to take on writing from the perspective of a five year old and I think she did it fairly well. I've camped in Algonquin and am sure this book will be on my mind when I do it again.
readwithtoni_'s review against another edition
It is narrated from the POV of a 5 year old child and this made it hard for me to get into. The plot is slow so I found there wasn’t much momentum or anything to really hold on to. I wanted to love to this book so was disappointed.
emilyheil's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
chelseatm's review against another edition
2.0
While this was a great concept for a story, I felt like it dragged for a large part, especially with the narrative voice.
katykelly's review against another edition
4.0
At the time of writing, there are 4 reviews of this book on Amazon. Two award it 5 stars, the other two give it just 1 star. So why is it polarising readers?
If you've read 'Room', you'll know about child narrators. Like 'Room', 'The Bear' sticks with a five year old's perspective of horrific circumstances for its entirety, barring an epilogue. Anna and her nearly-three-year-old brother Alex (known as Stick) are camping with their parents on an island when a bear attacks them one night. It isn't immediately obvious what is happening. Seeing through a five-year-old's eyes is confusing, scary, and utterly heart-breaking. As adult readers (or at least a decade older than Anna), we quickly see what is going on. We understand the danger Anna and her brother are in, we see her parents' fate even though Anna can't.
I applaud Claire Cameron for a truly authentic voice. I have always felt that I could remember quite clearly what being that age was like. It's only in reading this that I know my memory of language and my view of the world has disappeared into a clear adult picture. Anna talks and thinks as a real child would. She has a limited vocabulary, she makes things up to make sense of the world, she loves and in turn hates her little brother. She hates her parents for leaving her alone. She needs a cuddle to feel safe. It's emotionally a very sad read.
So the reason for only 1- and 5-star reviews? If you're not willing to forsake narratorial convention and read stream-of-consciousness, immature grammar and back-and-forth time streams inside a child's head, then this isn't for you. If you want to experience superior writing that makes you feel you are seeing out of a five-year-old's eyes, try The Bear.
I wanted to reach in and grab Anna and Stick and pull them to safety, their innocence is so precious and fragile.
Only once, about two-thirds through did I find the writing drifted and I lost concentration on Anna for a few pages, but Part Three and then the ending had me in absolute sobs of sorrow. Readers can see so much more than Anna can, and having that knowledge is really difficult. Little Stick is my own son's age at the time of reading, which certainly made me connect strongly to their family's tragic tale. I actually wanted to see more from his perspective at times, though the language barrier would have been impossible to overcome I think. He seems so silent throughout, I sometimes forgot he was there in some scenes.
I hope Richard and Judy's production team take note of this one, it's one for the Summer Reads most definitely.
If you've read 'Room', you'll know about child narrators. Like 'Room', 'The Bear' sticks with a five year old's perspective of horrific circumstances for its entirety, barring an epilogue. Anna and her nearly-three-year-old brother Alex (known as Stick) are camping with their parents on an island when a bear attacks them one night. It isn't immediately obvious what is happening. Seeing through a five-year-old's eyes is confusing, scary, and utterly heart-breaking. As adult readers (or at least a decade older than Anna), we quickly see what is going on. We understand the danger Anna and her brother are in, we see her parents' fate even though Anna can't.
I applaud Claire Cameron for a truly authentic voice. I have always felt that I could remember quite clearly what being that age was like. It's only in reading this that I know my memory of language and my view of the world has disappeared into a clear adult picture. Anna talks and thinks as a real child would. She has a limited vocabulary, she makes things up to make sense of the world, she loves and in turn hates her little brother. She hates her parents for leaving her alone. She needs a cuddle to feel safe. It's emotionally a very sad read.
So the reason for only 1- and 5-star reviews? If you're not willing to forsake narratorial convention and read stream-of-consciousness, immature grammar and back-and-forth time streams inside a child's head, then this isn't for you. If you want to experience superior writing that makes you feel you are seeing out of a five-year-old's eyes, try The Bear.
I wanted to reach in and grab Anna and Stick and pull them to safety, their innocence is so precious and fragile.
Only once, about two-thirds through did I find the writing drifted and I lost concentration on Anna for a few pages, but Part Three and then the ending had me in absolute sobs of sorrow. Readers can see so much more than Anna can, and having that knowledge is really difficult. Little Stick is my own son's age at the time of reading, which certainly made me connect strongly to their family's tragic tale. I actually wanted to see more from his perspective at times, though the language barrier would have been impossible to overcome I think. He seems so silent throughout, I sometimes forgot he was there in some scenes.
I hope Richard and Judy's production team take note of this one, it's one for the Summer Reads most definitely.
doritobabe's review against another edition
3.0
The Bear is a fictitious interpretation of true events that took place in Ontario, 1991. Two campers were mauled to death by a male black bear. This event remains unexplained.
Cameron took this true story and added two children: one, a narrator (Anna) and her two year old brother (Alex, or Stick).
The story is told through the perspective of six year old Anna probably in order to make the story as much of a "thriller" as it is. Mainly this plays off of the reader's parental instinct. However, because of this choice of narrator, I cannot decide my feelings for this novel. The book itself is very good in terms of creativity and the presentation of a six year old's prose. I don't know how a six year old speaks though as I never interact with children, so I question the presentation of run on sentences and the erratic thinking taking the form of flashbacks or childish imagination. Additionally, Anna is six. She is six and calls the bear a "black dog" even though she knows what bears are??? I am really confused by this word play but it does add a youthful and interesting element to the text. Additionally, my next problem is along the same lines where Anna forgets or doesn't know what rain is???? What?
Additionally, throughout the novel Cameron employs a flashback narrative in order to give a history to the little family: they have problems like everyone else in that the parents at one time were separated. If this has anything to do with the greater theme of the tale, it has been lost on me and the book could have potentially done without this.
Later Anna abandons her childishness (Gwen) and animal instinct takes over (the internal black dog) in order to save herself and her brother. This last character push for survival is what brings the story back to the strength it had at the beginning and allows it to remain a recommended "fluff" read for me in spite of the drawn out ending.
Cameron took this true story and added two children: one, a narrator (Anna) and her two year old brother (Alex, or Stick).
The story is told through the perspective of six year old Anna probably in order to make the story as much of a "thriller" as it is. Mainly this plays off of the reader's parental instinct. However, because of this choice of narrator, I cannot decide my feelings for this novel. The book itself is very good in terms of creativity and the presentation of a six year old's prose. I don't know how a six year old speaks though as I never interact with children, so I question the presentation of run on sentences and the erratic thinking taking the form of flashbacks or childish imagination. Additionally, Anna is six. She is six and calls the bear a "black dog" even though she knows what bears are??? I am really confused by this word play but it does add a youthful and interesting element to the text. Additionally, my next problem is along the same lines where Anna forgets or doesn't know what rain is???? What?
Additionally, throughout the novel Cameron employs a flashback narrative in order to give a history to the little family: they have problems like everyone else in that the parents at one time were separated. If this has anything to do with the greater theme of the tale, it has been lost on me and the book could have potentially done without this.
Later Anna abandons her childishness (Gwen) and animal instinct takes over (the internal black dog) in order to save herself and her brother. This last character push for survival is what brings the story back to the strength it had at the beginning and allows it to remain a recommended "fluff" read for me in spite of the drawn out ending.
amorgan43's review against another edition
1.0
The entire book was narrated by a 5yr old. I assumed that at the very least it would have been written as a reflection from an adult perspective, not in child speak. Children's books are easier to read than this one, I didn't make it past the 1st couple of pages.