WOW, this book. This isn't something I would have normally picked up, but it piqued my interest and now I regret waiting so long to actually read it. Andrew Krivak's storytelling is so spare and beautiful and poignant - so much that I read this book in one sitting, and I regret finishing it so quickly! It's the story of a father and daughter who are the last people on Earth after some mystery apocalyptic event. No spoilers, of course, but this book is a fantastic lesson about companionship, love, nature, growing up, and the symbiotic relationship between mankind and the world around us. Absolutely beautiful.

Beautifully written. Reminded me of the lost in the wilderness books I read as a child. I enjoyed the way the characters did not have formal names. I also liked the beautiful ending.

Good read! The author was creative and created a relatable character for the reader to sympathize with.

As a father of daughters, this book hits hard. A story of nature and our role in it, with a substory of family and love.

**I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A beautiful and lyrical look at one family's experience navigating and learning in a post-apocalyptical world. I loved how the daughter not only learned to commune with nature, but speak to animals as well. While the reader who cannot suspend their disbelief may not enjoy this work, fans of Naomi Novik and Katherine Arden will appreciate this modern-day fairytale. Not only a thought provoking read, it serves as a potential origin story for a future full of limitless possibilities in which man is no longer a dominate force. A must read for grown-up fans of C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia.

I was fortunate to receive a free ARC of this book from Netgalley. The above thoughts, insights, or recommendations are my own meek musings.

A classic story elevated with some of the most hauntingly beautiful writing of the year. My words cannot possibly do this justice. ""Without you I'd be nothing but alone."

Civilization as we know it is gone. The only humans that remain are a father and daughter. Mother Nature has taken back over the earth. The father teachers the daughter how to live off the land and live with the animals. The daughter eventually becomes alone and is known as the last one among the animals. Such a great story.

Andrew Krivak's "The Bear" is a post-apocalyptic <i>road</i> novel, that reads more like a fable or mythology than some of the dark, neo noir thrillers of the same genre. The book starts with a man and his daughter surviving as the last of their kind on earth.

The man teaches his daughter all that he knows about survivalist living as a hunter-gatherer. I thought the themes and detailed knowledge Krivak included were spot-on and added the interesting tale.

I enjoyed the subject and the way it was presented. I think themes of nature versus mankind and even nature <i>with</i> mankind were all explored making for an intriguing exploration of mankind's position and role in the ecosystem of earth. It was a new take on an old subject that was worth reading about.

Imagining the end of human civilization has always been a source of fascination for me, so I was eager to pick up Krivak’s book, The Bear. His lyrical and haunting prose quickly drew me in, creating beautiful images of a quiet land no longer overtaken by human destruction. Unfortunately, the second half of the book did fall short for me - it felt rushed and grounded in short, romanticized survivalist excerpts. Even so, I did enjoy the book for the most part, and it has continued to leave me intrigued about the potential beauty of a time when The Bear will become a prophecy.

Thank you for sharing your talent, Andrew Krivak; and thank you to NetGalley and Bellevue Literary Press for the advance reader copy of The Bear.

3.5 stars

The Bear is a quiet survivalist tale that encompasses two people, a nameless father and daughter, who are the last two human inhabitants on earth.

The story is told in a simplistic yet literary way. It’s incredibly beautiful and made my eyes well up with tears more than once.

It seems, then, that I should feel compelled to rate it higher than 3.5 stars. Although I don’t have any criticism for it, I think the rating best expresses my overall impression. I appreciated the meaningful connections, although I enjoyed the first half of the book more than the second half. The ending was breathtaking. I simply wasn’t in love with it, as a whole. I liked The Bear and am glad I was able to spend some time with the story.

Thank you to the publisher for my digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

With civilization gone, a father and daughter are the only two left to fend for themselves. Teaching his daughter the ways of the forest and survival, the father passes on a legacy of human history, knowledge, and wisdom to her. The simplicity of the story, from it's bare dialogue but descriptive prose, will pull you into a world seeming so unlike ours, yet it is our world. If you liked the isolation, survival, and life-learning lessons of "Where the Crawdads Sing", "The Bear" is a great read for chasing those themes.

This book was very unique and the prose was certainly beautiful. The first half was wonderful, and I found myself connecting with the characters and invested in their story. Admittedly, the second half is not as strong and there was something off about the pacing. Still beautiful though, and I look forward to seeing what Krivak writes next!

🐻 Thanks @librofm @netgalley for the gifted copies of The Bear by Andrew Krivak! This book was beautiful, strange, and moving. I'm not sure I understood all of it but I still loved it. -- ♡ M

THE BEAR | KRIVAK

SYNOPSIS: From National Book Award in Fiction finalist Andrew Krivak comes a gorgeous fable of Earth’s last two human inhabitants and a girl’s journey home.

In an Eden-like future, a girl and her father live close to the land in the shadow of a lone mountain. They own a few remnants of civilization: some books, a pane of glass, a set of flint and steel, a comb. The father teaches his daughter how to fish and hunt and the secrets of the seasons and the stars. He is preparing her for an adulthood in harmony with nature, for they are the last of humankind. But when the girl finds herself alone in an unknown landscape, it is a bear that will lead her back home through a vast wilderness that offers the greatest lessons of all, if she can learn to listen. A cautionary tale of human fragility, of love and loss, The Bear is a stunning tribute to the beauty of nature’s dominion.

#deweyrating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I apologize to NetGalley and the author, but I could not finish this book. There were no quotations, which was horribly confusing. The writing was so simple and dull that I thought I was reading a children’s book.

This was a very interesting novel and I really didn’t know what it was about when I requested it. The cover really caught my eye and once I started reading it I fell in love with the atmosphere. This book is loosely based off of a fable and I could see the parallel a little bit. For the most part though I feel as if it was its own story altogether. I will definitely look forward to anything else that he writes because it was interesting all the way through to the end and it kept my attention.

Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgally for review purposes.


This was a tough one for me to review. There were a couple times where I almost didn't finish it and gave up. I kept picking up other books with stronger plots that kept me glued and then sadly forgetting about this.

The writing is beautiful. It has a strong fairy tale charm to it that really kept me with it where I otherwise would've given up. Unfortunately there was a slew of detailed animal violence that would lose me often and then I'd forget about the book after needing a break from it.

When the main character wasn't slaughtering things and their young it was a quaint, almost romanticly written little story...but at the end of the day I just didn't get it. It felt like there was no point. Almost a 'why?' which isn't great to me for reading. There wasn't really a plot so it's easy to not continue.

So while it had its strong points overall it just really wasn't for me.

In a post-apocalyptic world, a young girl and her father live in an idyllic mountainous world. They possess few remnants of civilization: a few moldering books, a pane of glass, a set of flint and steel, a comb.

Though he mourns the passing of his wife, the father teaches his daughter to hunt and fish, to make tools, to use every part of any animal they kill. He teaches her all the tools and skills that would be required of the last two people on Earth.

He is teaching her to respect the natural world around them. He is preparing her for an adulthood in harmony with nature, for they are the last of humankind. They drink pine and nettle tea and gather nuts and berries. The nuisance plants we try to kill becomes their salad.

When they run out of salt, the man and girl journey to the ocean to make more. On the way, the father is injured by a wild animal, and the girl is forced to cope alone as winter approaches. Luckily, a wise bear, who can talk, is willing to act as her guide and lead her home through a vast wilderness that offers the greatest lessons of all, if she can only learn to listen.

The Bear takes a different slant on post-apocalypse fiction. Instead of hard science fiction or zombie horror, the author uses a softer, more ecological treatment. Not only do the humans live off the land, but the talking animals seem both magical and real. And so do the trees, which also communicate with the last of humankind.

Much of the story reads like a folk tale, and there are no named characters, simply the man, the girl, and the bear. The Bear is a parable of sorts, about the last people on earth, and the world and creatures they learn to live with and love. It’s a survival story as well. Think of Jack London, or maybe Cormac McCarthy. But the “human vs nature” story is a much more integrated tale of self-sufficiency, survival, and natural wonders, one that would be suitable for younger readers. While the book describes the last of the human race, it doesn’t feel hopeless. On the contrary, there is a permanence that lasts long after I’d turned the last page.

Hauntingly beautiful, elegantly simple, visually rich. This is a story that gave me a strange sense of peace and a feeling of oneness with the natural world. I now look around my own yard, my neighborhood, and understand more the plenty that surrounds me. Not just the fruit trees, but also the pine needles we rake and toss, the maples and oaks, with their seed pods and nuts. They all have offerings for humans. They all have worth. We’ve just forgotten to see it.

The sparse but gorgeous style of Krivak’s writing, his story of survival and death, the love and respect shown by his characters, are stunning tributes to nature’s dominion. It’s a beautiful read, and a true life examination of humankind’s co-existence with our fragile environment.
I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley, in exchange for an unbiased and fair review.

Winning little fable about a father and daughter that live in isolation in a mountainous wooded area. It’s implied that they are the last two humans left on earth. Aside from some artifacts passed down from their forbears, the father and daughter live off the land and fashion their own hunting tools. The father recounts stories to the daughter that instill in her a respect for nature and the interconnectedness of all living things. He teaches her the skills she will need to survive when, inevitably, she will be alone.

One day they venture forth from their mountain home to journey to the ocean, so they can harvest the salt needed to preserve their meat. The father has made several trips in the past, but it is the first time for the twelve year old daughter. The trip proves to be a life-altering one and the daughter must call upon on all her resources to find her way home.

Nicely done. I recommend this to nature lovers and/or those who enjoy dystopian or metaphysical fiction.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bellevue Literary Press for an ARC of this novel. My review, however, is based on the hard copy version.

The Bear by Andrew Krivak is a post-apocalyptic survival tale about a father in daughter in the deep wilderness on it's face, but in actuality a thoughtful, sentimental tale about communing with nature, solitude, and the fragility of human existence. We meet "the girl" in late childhood as "the man," her father, teaches her all she will need to survive alone on their mountain home.

What I loved the most of Krivak's novel is the mood his writing evokes; I had the calming feeling of sitting alone in the woods watching nature for hours on end, even in the sections where nature truly shows it's brutal side. There is never much in the way of revelations; the reader never learns what happened to civilization or if other people exist. The focus is solely on this tiny human family and the natural world that surrounds them, allowing them to survive if they have the right skills, and that seems perfect for this novel.

Overall, an enjoyable short read that I think would be just right for relaxing in a wooded back yard, or to bring along on a camping trip.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A sparse, slow, but beautifully written book about a father and his daughter, the last 2 people left on Earth, and then about when the girl is left as the last humanity. [author:Andrew Krivak|509654] never gives the cause of what ended humanity, just vague conversations from father to daughter insinuating that it happened possibly before his time or when he was younger. But this is a book where that doesn't matter. What also doesn't matter is that the characters names, their location, or even time in history are unknown. We're not even given that much insight in what the characters are thinking.

Instead, we focus on the vast but slightly claustrophobic world inhabited by the main characters. The first few years of the girl's life involve just the immediate vicinity of their house. Every one of the girl's birthdays signifies an increase in the area explored and an increase in tools needed to survive. One birthday she's brought up to the mountain where her mother is buried. Another birthday she's gifted a bow and arrows made by her father. Her father's final months involve taking her to the sea so she can learn how to obtain salt to help cure and preserve food. A mishap on the way leads to his eventual death and a host of new challenges for the girl. She's still young, but she needs to be able to survive on her own with everything her father has taught her over the years. She needs to bring her father's ashes and bones back so he can be buried with her mother. But she also needs to get back before winter makes the mountain passes impassable, or she needs to figure out how to survive the winter in unknown areas without all her tools needed to survive - all while still mourning the only person she has ever known.

Beyond that, this is the story of the reclamation of nature by plants and animals. The father tells the daughter tales of animals that are similar to Native American myths, about how pumas and bears came to the aid of people when called. How interconnected humans used to be with nature before they stopped listening. But being the last two people or last person in existence means that the bonds between humanity and animals could be reforged.

Even though it is being marketed as such, I'd hesitate to call this post-apocalyptic fiction. This post-apocalyptic world is almost a utopia for the inhabitants. It's more about the relationship between humans and the environment, understanding and appreciating that almost everything we need to survive is provided for us if we only know how to use it (and had the time to do it). Deer sinew can be used as bow string, but I'd have no clue where to even start with that project.

If I hadn't read the blurb, I'd have assumed this was along the same vain as the movie Leave No Trace or Captain Fantastic, about a parent choosing to live off the grid away from the bustling often-cruel ways of society. There is a point in the novel where it's obviously apparent that is not the case, and the animals help confirm the "post-apocalyptic" nature of the story. However, the role the animals play in the story when that happens bends the story into something more akin to magical realism. It's an example of literary fiction that defies categorization.

While it is beautifully written, I do think that someone reading this book does need to be committed. There were a few times where I started to lost patience and my interest started to wane. The book is not driven by plot, but it isn't necessarily driven by character either. If someone wants a book they can burn through, this is not the book to read. It needs to be savored, slowly, patiently, and the reader has to know when to stop reading it and when to go back to it.