I have gotten around to the 40% mark and I just cannot get into this story. It is very slow and uneventful, and honestly I'm bored with it. Guess it's just not my taste in novels.

The book had an interesting premise and the characters made me want to learn more but I felt like it was very slow moving overall. It definitely wasn't like any other books I have read lately.

post apocalyptic books are not my favorite read, and this one is confusing about what exactly is going on in the story. It's a bit of a cross between Revenant and The Yearling, and although the description of the natural surroundings are good -- the characters are very flat and one dimensional.

This is a beautifully written book, nicely placed. But I kept waiting for something "more".
I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.

A simple and yet richly deep story about life, love, loss, and kinship.

All that is left of humanity is a father and a daughter. Their rustic home sits halfway up the range of “the mountain that stands alone.” Roughly a day’s hike above their house, at the top of the mountain, is where the woman the father loved and the mother the daughter never really knew has been laid to rest. The summit of this lone mountain is shaped like the head of a bear.

Initially venturing little beyond this stretch of territory, lessons of survival, remembrances of the past, and insights into nature are shared between this parent and a child. Eventually, a longer journey is called for beyond the comforts of what is familiar and into the great unknown. In that journey is the discovery of the sacred communion and companionship even in the midst of the perceived isolation of a broken world and the seemingly indifferent forces of nature.

While calling to mind both Cormac McCarthy’s The Road and Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist, this narrative boldly and beautifully goes its own way. It refreshingly imagines a post-apocalyptic planet not as some dark, desolate, and fearful place but rather as being gradually reclaimed and renewed by nature. The writing of this tale is subtle and poignant. Filled with poetical imagery and yet tight prose, this is a story that is basic in its plot but thought-provoking and powerful in its message.

The bonds we forge in life are what keep us going — keep us alive. And those bonds are formed by listening carefully and closely — not just to another person but to the world around us — nature itself.

Mesmerizing. Poignant and haunting. Quietly gorgeous.
I strongly recommend this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bellevue Literary Press for providing me with an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A different take on a post-apocalyptic tale, Andrew Krivak's The Bear explores themes of legacy in a story about a man and his daughter surviving in the wilderness as the last two living people to represent the whole of mankind. This book is extremely slow at points and I thought of giving up, but it's worth it to push through. Perhaps, it's illustrative in this way.

I had never read anything by Andrew Krivak, a previous National Book Award finalist, before. His writing is smooth, almost sleepy (in a good way), and poetic. I would definitely recommend this book to any fans of dystopian fables.

Thank you to Andrew Krivak, Bellevue Literary Press, and NetGalley for allowing me early access to the e-book to review. As always, all opinions are my own.

This novel is beautifully written. That said, the story didn't really fit my personal style. The story is very deep and rich. There is a lot there. I think others will enjoy the book immensely. It just wasn't for me.

I loved everything about this book. A man and a girl live at the foot of a mountain that looks like a bear. They are the last humans. It is luminous and spare.
Thank you netgalley for the advance copy.

**2.5 stars, will be posted on blog on 9/28/2019**

Thank you to Bellevue Literary Press and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.

I chose this book to read because it was out of my comfort zone and as I started reading I was like, wow, YES, this is definitely out of my comfort zone. I read romance and ya books, mostly fantasy these days but I like my contemporary stuff too. This story is written like a fable and I put it down so many times I didn’t realize I’ve had it on my NetGalley for more than three months now! Well it was time to finish it.

The writing is poetic and told like a fable but it is sparse and this book only clocks in at 224 pages! It took me three months to finish what I could usually finish in three hours. It was so hard for me to get into the story, I was so bored. There isn’t a plot. There is no punctuation when the characters speak. The characters have no names, on purpose though, but still, it bugged me.

The father and daughter live in a post-apocalyptic world, surviving by living off the land, hunting for their food, preparing it and so forth, same for the next day. The father teaches her lessons, year after year of her life he gifts her something that will help her survive this life. It was a tale of survival, enduring and loss. But because I couldn’t quite get into reading the book, a lot of the message went over my head.

It was definitely different and I did get the message of the book. It’s a story that makes you think, at least to question what the book was trying to say. It wasn’t for me but I think if you like books that read like a fable and don’t get hung up on things like punctuation, you would enjoy this.

I got a little bored by this story in places. A father and daughter live alone somewhere in the wilderness, the implication being that they are the last few survivors after some apocalyptic event which is neither described or explained.

The Bear narrates the story of a father and daughter, the last surviving humans on earth in a world where nature has reclaimed her primacy for all of creation.

The Bear reminded me in a few ways of The Road, which is one of my favourite books so I was hoping to get something more from it. It's about a father and his child surviving post-apocalypse; both characters are nameless and I struggled putting faces to them in my mind too; and dialogue pointlessly lacks quotation marks, which while not a dealbreaker for me, it was a little frustrating. It didn’t bring the hopelessness I was hoping for. Last people in the whole world and I didn’t feel the desperation. The lacklustre is missing, pretty much nothing happens and it's unclear where the story is heading. There is no suspense and I’m not sure where the author was going with his tale.

The first half of the book follows The Man and The Girl as he shows her how to survive, and tells her stories about her deceased mother, and tales of the bear who saved the village. More could have been done to expand the story and really pull at those heart strings. I thought it may even have felt more native American, as the title kind of lead me there, but nope!

The second half takes a bit of a detour, as The Man and The Girl embark on a quest to the ocean. This was probably the only saving grace of the book for me. The prose are stunning and I can see some real genius in the writing the story just fell flat. When tragedy strikes, the young girl is left alone far from home, and so begins the fight for survival. The Father, having such patience and love for his daughter, manages to teach her a lot but its not enough. Queue the bear .It appears into her world as she sinks into a profound loneliness. The bear, he talks to her, helps feed her, provides guidance, and tells her many stories. It takes time for her to trust the Bear and they start the journey of getting the girl home together.

This book could be put with The Dog Stars, and The Overstory.

I wonder if it would be better categorized and edited for a more fable type story. I can see what the author was trying to accomplish, I really can but there is nothing of excitement here.

I give it 2.5 stars out of 5. It actually made me want to see what else the author has done, I know, sounds backwards but I really see the talent here.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Andrew Krivak's The Bear is unlike anything else I've read from this century. While oftentimes quiet, this post-apocalyptic fable is so beautifully written and was really lovely. I really enjoyed the way Krivak showed how the girl's relationship with nature changed throughout her journey and the ways that she developed. This was a much needed change of pace in my reading life.

**Received a digital ARC via the publisher on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

Not quite my cup of tea, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. A simple story with a lot of heart. I'll admit, I definitely teared up while reading it. Some portions of the book dragged a bit. The monotonous nature of staying alive in the wilderness isn't always interesting to read, I also felt myself wanting more. I wanted to read more about the father-daughter relationship. Overall, it's a unique post-apocalyptic tale and a quick read.

Lyrical and visionary, The Bear combines elements of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road and Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist. A young girl and her father are the last remaining humans in a post-apocalyptic world, in which nature is abundant in the form of animals and vegetation. The girl’s father teaches her to make a bow to hunt and to make clothing and food. He tells her stories about her dead mother and about the animals. He teaches her to hunt. Together they visit the top of the mountain shaped like a bear and he shows her the grave of her mother and explains why he made it the way he did. They head for the ocean to gather salt, but the father is bitten by a strange creature and dies. The girl begins to mourn and stops caring for herself, but a bear appears and talks to her, guiding her. They begin a journey back to her home, the bear and the girl conversing along the way. When he hibernates, she tries to leave but almost dies until she is saved by a mountain lion, who also talks to her and an eagle who does the same.
This is a magical story, but the author’s descriptions of nature and the simple tasks that the father and daughter do to keep their isolated life going are captivating. There is an inspirational appreciation of nature and of its creatures at the center of the story. The reader is transported by the tale and the words used to tell it, despite no explanation for the demise of the rest of humanity or the anthropomorphic abilities of the animals, and even the plants. It is difficult not to fall under the story’s spell and appreciate the wonder of nature without humans in it.
The Bear is a very unusual story. It’s point is in its telling. The plot is simple and it charms the reader by opening his or her eyes and ears to the natural world around us. Its only lesson may be that humans are not at the center of that world.
I think The Bear will become a classic and provide much joy as it is discovered and rediscovered by readers of all ages.

A book to comfort the reader who is exhausted by the reality of today and the bleak outlook for the - possibly near? - future. Don't expect a traditional adventure, plot twists or either disaster or solutions. We're beyond that in this tale. Open your heart and absorb the wisdom and peace on offer.

This was such an interesting book. Not very long, but the way the prose felt slow and meaningful pulled me in and made me slow down to read it. The story is of a girl and her father, perhaps the only people left in the world. They travel to the ocean to collect salt and the girl experiences the death of her father and then the comforting presense of a bear as she figures out how to keep going and stay alive. The quiet of the book and it's sparsness add to the story. When I finished, I felt like I'd had an experience, not just read a book.

The Bear is a no frills prose that draws the reader in deep into the inner life of the characters. A girl and her father are the last living people on earth with only each other and the animals they hunt and live in harmony with. When the girl is forced to survive a winter without her father's help, she learns what it means to live with the rhythms of the earth.

This book reminded me of Island of the Blue Dolphins, not in plot but in emotion. I don't know if it is the fear of being left alone to figure out how to make it with only what the earth provides, or if it is the deep love the girl has for the world around her, but the emotion was raw, real and haunting. Much like the fairytales I read as a child.

I received an advanced digital copy of this book from the author, Bellevue Literary Press and Netgalley.com. Thanks to all for the opportunity to read and review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

A excellently written fable about survival, love and relentless loneliness. Dystopian without having a villian around every corner, a must read.

5 out of 5 stars. Highly recommended.

I found this to be just an extraordinary book. I had no idea what I was getting into, and the book was way better than I expected or had imagined it would be.

The main characters are very well done.

I highly, highly recommend this book.. Please consider giving this outstanding book a read.

This review will be posted on NetGalley, Goodreads and Amazon.

3.5 Stars.

"Without you I'd be nothing but alone."

THE BEAR is an enchanting little fable about loss and survival in the wilderness....with some pretty cool animal friendlies.

Although post-apocalyptic, it's not blatantly obvious and is NOT dark. There are no villainous types waiting around the corner to steal what little you have or do you harm; the only fear being the elements, loss and loneliness....which is relentless.

The story is simple. There's a man, a girl, a mountain home, a trip to the ocean and a wise old bear. There's also a loving relationship between father and daughter with many teachings of life and shared memories of man for his wife....girl's mother.

A bit slow going here and there, (for me) but the somber descriptive prose so fit the environment. As for the ending....wonderful.

Many thanks to Bellevue Literary Press and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

A poetically written dystopian fable. I really enjoyed this one. For fans of magical realism & readers who are capable of and enjoy suspending belief while allowing the story to take the reader on a journey.