Bailey's/Orange Women's Fiction Group discussion

here is our October book from the current list - its quite short!

cool -- i have a copy of The Bear, by Claire Cameron and think it will be better read with others. i have heard it can be a bit creepy!

(would it be possible to add the book title to the title of the thread?)

Done

thanks!! makes it easier when i am scanning my groups. plus my brain can be a bit funky. i appreciate the accommodation, val!!

I read this in one day over last weekend! Will save my comments until the 15th when all discussion is welcome. It is gruesome but not as bad as I thought when I first started reading it!!

I have cancelled the library reservation and bought the kindle version, so will be reading it soon.

OK - what did everyone think? I read it very quickly and thought it was good. I didnt like the jumping into adulthood - I wanted to know more about what happened immediately afterwards and to know exactly what took place. Who did the bear attack first, what did the other adult do, how did they try to distract it from the children etc So I felt some of it was skipped too much. On the plus side I thought the child's voice was done very well and the immaturity came through. I was glad that the gore stopped just short of what I could have stomached. There was real tension in those first chapters - I felt so much for the mother who even as she lays dying tries to send them to safety.

I thought a lot of it was very good and I did not really mind not knowing what happened. It is told from a child's point of view; she was in the cooler during most of the attack and too young to make sense of the things she did see at the time. I would assume that their mother was attacked first, because their father had some time to try to save them, but we don't know what happened after that. He may not have had time to run away and been attacked after shutting the children in the cooler or he may have attacked the bear to try and save his wife. We just can't know and the fact that their marriage was rocky adds to the doubt.
These opening scenes were well done and I agree with you that the level of gore was enough to show the horrible event without going into too much graphic detail. (I have read some crime novels which seem to revel in the gory details.)
I'm not sure she always got the children right for their supposed ages, but she did keep them young. It is ambitious and difficult to have child narrators and at least she made the attempt.

I thought the opening chapters were really well done, I was very impressed. Really heard the child's voice, her fears, anger and misunderstandings seemed realistic. Sometimes the way the 5 year old girl did not use real names for things bothered me as I remember my own girls and at five the were beyond "baby names" for everyday items.

The way her brother was annoying her as she remained unaware of the danger rang true (and humorous in such horrific circumstances!). The parts in the brush, for me, while still realistic just seemed to drag a bit, but I kept reminding myself that it surely dragged more for a 5 year old!

I liked how Cameron had the doctors and therapists continually getting it wrong, almost doing more damage than good when "helping" the children. It seemed they could not conceive of how much trauma there had been, how little she really understood about what had actually happened, and they really had no clue how to reach and help this poor girl. PhD's and book knowledge were useless in this instance, only the grandfather relied on his instincts with her, and he had to move past his grief to get there.

I could have ended without the adult part, but I didn't mind it, and I think it was well done. Great fast read!

yes Ruthie - the Grandfather was their saviour really. I suppose for me I wanted a little more from him and the brother on how they got through those middle years. But yes a good read - I would read this author again!

i am so sorry i didn't get to this read, and join in the discussion as i had hoped and planned. it's been a tricky month, and my reading went off the rails. :/

The discussion stays open, so if you do get around to reading the book sometime you can add your comments then.

i am hoping i will get around to it soon...but i have no idea right now. i am glad the threads stay open...when i do get to it, i will definitely weigh in here. (i feel like such a bad canadian!! i have met claire - she's great! - and i truly should have read this book by now!!)

When you do get around to reading it, I will be delighted to read your comments.

aw, that's so nice. thanks, val!

It is a very fast read and well worth reading IMO! I think it took me just a few hours...

thanks, ruthie!! i had that feeling about it. i am just dealing with some stuff, and since i tend to be a mood reader, it's just not a good fit right now. :/

Yes it is def. a book that will sit in your brain, you will need a "happy" book sitting nearby to jump into right after reading The Bear!

Ruthie wrote: "Yes it is def. a book that will sit in your brain, you will need a "happy" book sitting nearby to jump into right after reading The Bear!"

yes - I do a lot of balancing out of darker books with something more light and fluffy, When too much 'stuff' is going on you definitely need a good choice of book!