From the beginning, Andrew Krivak's The Bear held my attention. The story drew me in. I wanted to know what was happening. The details, though, pushed me away. They did push me away, but without making me want to abandon the story. So my solution was to skim past description, even though much of it was clear and even lush, and to skip on to follow the action. So I read to find who the characters were and what they were up to, skipping back now and again for context. This gave me a very satisfactory read of what became an enjoyable book about the last two humans in the world, and about a bear. ( )

The Bear by Andrew Krivak is a beautifully written fable about the last humans on Earth. A father and daughter who live close to the land and to nature. When the girl is eleven, they travel to the ocean to gather salt. Unfortunately, tragedy strikes, leaving only one human to travel on. It is here that the tale swings into fantasy as a bear now arrives and is willing to keep the last human safe and accompany them home.

This unusual tale, set far in the future is a story of survival as the last human must survive a long winter alone in the wilderness. The bear guides them to a cave but he must hibernate and so the human must cope on their own. In many ways this tale resembles the legends of indigenous people as it closely interacts with nature and animals and has the feel of a story that has been handed down through the generations. We never learn the names of the characters, where they are located or even how they came to be the last humans. Instead this is a simple tale of survival and the processing of grief accompanied by lush descriptions of nature.

While I loved this book, I can see that it would not appeal to all as it is emotionally moving but melancholy. I found I became wrapped up in the deceptively simple story, and very invested in the character so I wanted to find out how it was going to play out. The Bear is a dystopian folktale that I won’t soon forget. ( )

This book simple, yet beautiful. I don't quite know how to explain how it felt, it wasn't happy, but it was incredibly serene. I was captivated the entire time.

It reminded me of a mix of Station Eleven and Island of Blue Dolphins. Also, I really love bears.

Read this while camping, my soul feels at home. This book makes me want to lay next to a stream and run through the woods and climb a mountain and walk a forest path. This book makes me feel at peace and alive. ( )

In short, this book is so good. Short, but powerful ( )