Reviews with content warning for Animal cruelty - Bear

Her relationship with the bear didn’t go where I thought it would <spoiler she has and wants to have sex with the bear> which makes for unsettling reading.

Content Warnings

anacoelho's review against another edition

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reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Content Warnings

taysa_gzd's review against another edition

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challenging medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? No

2.0

Pls wtf was that even.
It's starts of not that bad, really, it's a woman alone in a house, doing documentation work, research on the history of both the house and the region. She's sad, she's alone, she takes the opportunity to recenter herself, treating the bear as a big dog. And it's alright, really. The attachment she shows the bear is the one you would show to any pet when they are your sole companion on an island as you work. I mean at first, it is that. And then she finds the notes of the previous owner of the house, and her ancestors, all talking of the bear, research notes on what bears are to different cultures, their significance, their symbolism, and frankly I was led to believe that the bear was a guardian god of the lands around, that it was the reason it had survived so long.

When the relationship between Lou and the bear evolves, when she starts to let him into the house, into her room, he shows so much ease as he navigates the space, and you know he's been welcome in before. When Lou crosses the line, I understood the bear's behavior as if that wasn't the first time humans got frisky with him. When Lou herself asks herself what did the previous owners did with the bear, it's honestly chilling to even imagine. I really didn't like the implication.
I went into this book fully aware that Lou and the bear's relationship would become bestial, but I was also promised a great contrast between the sheer disgust those scenes would provoke, and the writing of the rest of the book, and I got a bit of that, even some very nice writing in scenes involving the bear. It was very jarring, however, to have a whole scene about a woman confronting a man about his expecting sexual favors, and the way a woman intellectualizes the situation, to then turn the page to read about the same woman being graphically described touching a bear's genitals. It's not very fun, but then again I was warned before reading it, so.
Also pls she realizes what she's doing is "pushing too far" (in her own words) when she didn't manage to get it in? and that the devil himself tells her that bestiality is fine, but a bear is not a classy animal, therefore she lacks of class. WTF.

Honestly still flabbergasted by this, really confused, will probably push it in the back of my mind. Thread carefully.

Content Warnings