Bear

After reading the brilliant The Pisces by Melissa Broder, I've been almost desperate for weird/slightly unhinged literary writing on a “real-not real?” relationships with animals, or in the case of Pisces... fish?

While an outrageous concept, I think it opens up on something regarding emotions surrounding isolation, loneliness, grief, and our uncertainties for our brief human lives and the world we inhabit. Unconventional, unreal scenarios can open up a true vulnerability with an authors characters on these topics because usually even with our most beloved friends we can struggle to tap into a place of pure honesty. But when sharing with a ‘fish' or a bear, whats there to lose?

Bear succeeded in all the ways I was hoping for. Our main character is essentially alone in a cabin, in the wilderness when she meets a bear and there unfolds a strange descent of interactions with the animal. We touch on a good majority of the ideas I mentioned above, and Engel just gives. I could've read a thousand more pages in this story but the length in the end felt appropriate for our main characters life/story.

If you enjoyed the Pisces, Bear should be on your priority as a next read.