Book Review: "The Summer of the Bear" by Bella Pollen

Title: The Summer of the Bear

Author: Bella Pollen

Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press

ISBN, PUB Date: 978-0-8021-1974-2, June 7, 2011

Reviewed By: Lee Libro for Author Exposure

I happily chose to receive an advanced reader copy of British author, Bella Pollen's The Summer of the Bear from Author Exposure. Why you may ask? Maybe it was the colorful cover or the enticing title but the synopsis did the trick for me. Described as depicting a world "where extraordinary and rather magical forces are at play" I knew immediately that this piece of literary fiction about a widow, a bear and her three children was for me.

Who doesn't love a story with a bear in it, especially one that may be exceptional and magical? I found the idea especially enticing amidst the backdrop of a grieving widow and her children set in the Hebrides in the 1970s. When Letitia Fleming's husband, Nicky Fleming, dies of an apparent suicide during the course of his diplomatic station in Berlin, the family must deal with not only the loss of a husband and father, but the questionable activities he may have engaged in during the Cold War. Letitia moves with her children from Berlin to her childhood home on the Scottish Islands of the Hebrides, partially to escape the implications, but more so due to economic stress.

During the course of this transition the story is told in a series of flashbacks depicting each family member's relationship to Nicky. To the potential reader this may sound like a bit too much head hopping. At times the author even writes from the viewpoint of the bear, a misplaced and forlorn Grizzly, who is forced to scavenge along the shores of the Hebrides, a far cry from the normal ecosystem in which one might picture his species. How can a writer effectively craft a story through so many points of view? Bella Pollen handles it exquisitely and by this very method, the author delivers the story in a multidimensional manner that exceeds ordinary experience.

The Summer of the Bear immersed me in the depths of each character's experience from the youngest child, the innocent Jamie, who, to an endearing fault, perceives the world literally at face value; to his older sisters, one toughened and prickly to deflect her emotions, the other withdrawn, to nurture them; to his mother, Letitia, brave yet retreating into reticence, the kind of silence that speaks loudly to children.

The interior worlds of each of these characters are carefully woven together to eventually merge and reveal the true meaning of this summer of the bear. The mix of the bear's symbolism with both interpersonal and historical elements make this truly a timeless story, brilliantly unfolded in an eloquent blend of words that this writer/reviewer will savor for a long time to come. Both teens and adults will appreciate The Summer of the Bear and with its release scheduled for June of 2011, it is sure to make a great summer read. I give it my highest rating!