Bear Season: On the Disappearance of Jade Hunter by Carla G Young

I absolutely loved Bear Season. The format - part doctoral thesis, part pieced together recollections of a convicted killer, pieced together with footnotes by a journalist, is done brilliantly. It plays into the modern fascination with true crime convincingly.But there’s also far more here than simply a titillating true crime style story. Bear Season ponders isolation in its many forms, through loss, through choice, through sexuality. It infuses its story with the possibilities of the speculative. It knits together it’s two parts expertly and it’s well written.There’s, I think, an influence of Marian Engel’s novel, Bear, here too. I almost feel like Bear Season could have been written in conversation with Bear. Jade’s desire to seek out Bear, to become a bear, to transform, seem a kind of deviation on the themes of Engel’s novel. But I could be way off!This is a great novella, expertly crafted. Highly recommended.

This is one of the best books I've read in awhile (it was so good, I reread it!). I love novels that deal with unreliable narrators and multiple povs. The structure was ingenious and the writing was excellent. I can't believe this is the author's debut. The story flowed and I read it in one sitting. I can't wait to read what's next from the author.

Sometimes you come across a book that manages to do something new. Explore ideas that you may have never come across before, or ideas that have been discussed, but approach them from a new direction. Bear Season is one of those books. It takes a very unusual theme and approaches it in a totally original way so the end result is like nothing you have read before.Jade Hunter goes missing a wild and uninhabited area of Alaska. Nothing is seen of her again, there is no body and no one really knows what happened to her. In spite of this, a reclusive woman is arrested and convicted of her murder. Later, Jade’s thesis is leaked online which may give clues about what happened to Jade and it leads a journalist to start digger deeper into her disappearance. So what we have here is a story told through the eyes of the reporter and Jade’s own words in her thesis.I think this book is a bit like Marmite, you are either going to love it or hate it because it is not straightforward, the themes it explores are a little off the wall and it disobeys a lot of the “rules” of writing. However, I really loved it. I enjoyed its unique approach, the esoteric ideas and the tone of the book. I found it profoundly creepy and disturbing and anything that can make me feel something different, that provokes a reaction, is going to get a thumbs up from me.Bear Season is a short book, but packs a big punch. I think it will appeal to fans of Yellowjackets or His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet (two very different pieces of work I know but trust me on this, there is an area of crossover.) Give it a try, what do you have to lose?

This was a great book to read with several challenging characters. The story held my attention right to the end and left me with lots to muse over. The style of writing is crisp and lucid. It’s a mature style with no wasted words which makes it a short book, but it is beautifully crafted and very imaginative.

Loved it. Beautiful writing. Interesting premise. Recommending it to everyone! Updating this review because I just bought a second copy as a gift: The recipient loves and is going to suggest the book for his book club.

3.5 starsThis book’s narrative unfolds through three distinct characters, each with a unique voice that adds depth and intrigue to the story. The shift in prose and perspective between them is particularly engaging. It's rare for me to find a multi-POV book with distinctive voices, but the author accomplishes it here.The narrator’s style reads like a compelling true crime novel, while Jade's thesis diverges from the typical academic format with its lyrical prose. Jade is a fascinating and complex character and her thesis is both transformative and poignant. Her instability adds to her depth and I found myself sympathizing with her because she has no real support network. She slowly unravels throughout the novel and it was a beautiful mess that I couldn’t look away from, particularly when it came to her fixation on bears.As I read, it became clearer where the story was heading. Ursula’s POV did drag a bit, especially since I was more interested in what was going on with Jade at that point. While Goodreads classifies this as a mystery and horror, it felt more like a character study than anything else. There is definitely no horror but there is quite a bit of folklore mentioned. Overall, this was a solid debut and I’m definitely interested in reading more from this author in the future.

I see what Fairclough was trying to do but she did not succeed. I love books that play with reality and found footage (see anything by Max Brooks, for example), but Bear Season, unfortunately, is just too brief and does not tie together well at the end. I think the author assumed the mystery or mysticism would be enough to carry the book, but instead it comes across as kind of lazy.I did not connect with any of the characters and hated Jade.Easy read though.