Bear: Marian Engel

I read 'Bear' for a course on Canadian literature and when it came to discuss this book in class you could have heard a pin drop! Dealing with such a taboo subject as bestiality and using, as she does, generic tropes from pornographic literature, Engel has created a rod for her own back - who would read this? And who would admit to enjoying it? But actually Engel has written a beautiful short novel full of questions about the nature of female sexuality, love, loneliness, literature and nature/the wilderness. I have recommended this book to friends but in discussing it with them I have found it is very difficult to get beyond the subject matter to the real issues Engel is attempting to illuminate, or rather complicate. Nevertheless I recommend this book and encourage you to test your own response to such a challenging and controversial concept.

4 helmsPlease follow me on my blog :) Review originally posted on Vellum Voyages.I randomly stumbled upon this link (IMGUR) and THIS was what made me want to read this book. That IMGUR post made me LOL so hard that I just HAD to find out for myself what all the fuss was about...Hahaha yes, it does contain erotic love scenes between a woman and a bear but that should not be the main reason this book should stand out. Do not expect a romance novel with bestiality but expect a great book with strong undertones of female sexual empowerment and feminism.Lou, our 27-year-old female protagonist, is an educated big city librarian who has been chosen to catalogue an unconventional nineteenth-century colonel's library on a remote Canadian island. Lou accepts the job eagerly, wanting a break from her unfulfilling work and personal life. After her arrival on the island, Lou becomes aware of just how remote the island is and also learns a bear shares her backyard (he is chained to a wall in the yard). She is wary and afraid of the bear at the beginning, but learns her way around the bear with the help of Lucy Leroy, one of the indigenous elders. As Lou grows accustomed to her new lifestyle, her relationship with the bear takes on a new turn and becomes both sexual and emotional. As her work draws to a close, she leaves the island spiritually renewed.This actually was a very difficult book for me to review. It's an anomaly from my usual book choices and I don't even know what genre this falls into! At 150 pages or so, it is a shorter length novel with a huge impact. As I finished the book, it left me feeling bittersweet melancholy, as Lou had found the happiness she wanted, but not in the way she might have originally envisioned. After some lengthy mulling, I knew Lou had grown as a person from this forbidden relationship and therefore had become happier, so why shouldn't I be happy for her?Women liberating themselves in the 1970s had to face many adversities. Marian Engle demonstrates their own self-pressure, emotional struggles, society's expectations and battles against a male dominant workforce via Lou. Lou breaks free from the mould and finds happiness and fulfilment from her relationship with the bear. Her own acceptance of her happiness is empowering as she allows herself to feel liberated through her experiences.Lou finally having been touched by love, had found what she had been seeking all this time. Most gratifying is the thought that she finally snubs her nose at the various pressures from society and takes what life offers without apology. Marian Engle's writing is so well-done that she makes the entire experience seem almost normal.Reading this in 2017, females all over the world can still relate to Lou from the 1970s. Sure, things have changed over the decades and society is a little less restrictive with women's sexual freedom, but this brave novel does send a clear message: Dare to be different!

to copulate with furry four legged animals in the woods?If you go down to the woods today you're sure of a big surprise... I was shocked when I discovered this was Canada's most famous work of literature, I mean really shocked.Then I read the background of the author; English libber desperate to never do a proper days work, seeking something sensational that would appeal to the masses. What's more mass-market than Bestiality!Combining bestiality with native Indian folk-law really was a work of genius, I mean, to criticise it is literally racism. All cultures are equal. Grab yourself a furry friend today.

A strange story with unexpected and unusual eroticism. Certainly different!

Another member of my Book Club chose this book. It’s not a book I would ever have picked up myself but I’m very glad to have read it. It is very odd but rather beautiful and stimulated a lot of discussion in the book group . All of the book group enjoyed it. It’s evocation of Canada was beautiful and it was fascinating to read about the interesting architecture of the house.I would definitely recommend this book

I found the book gentle like being rocked yet it had punch.

This actually has bear sex in it. Canadians are hilarious. I'm starting to wonder if it's even a real country?

I can’t look at bears the same way since. Or librarians.

Well written, moves quickly, sensual and entertaining. Not for faint of heart! Engaging and thought provoking, I enjoyed it. Great

...aber die - recht kurze - Lektüre war trotzdem anregend, die Spannung trägt - man wird das Buch wohl nicht vergessen....Am oder vielmehr nach dem Ende mangelt es aber wohl doch einfach an "Tiefgang", da nutzen dann treffliche Beschreibungen, prägnante Sprache und guter Rhythmus auch nichts...Statt das "Rätsel" zu erforschen, wird es einfach abgehakt....

Real fast read, interesting and well written. Worth the read!No, it is not a book of erotic beastiality like I’ve seen some joke...I apologize in advance if that spoils it for anyone LOL

Beautiful edition for a beautiful story. Don't believe shallow readers when they say they laughed out loud while reading this. Especially recommended for readers interested in (eco)feminism, interspecies sex, and breathtaking setting descriptions!

Short but interesting read. Different, but not a bad read.It is a little dated, but worth the time. Not ,what I expected.