Rate this book

L'été De L'ours (2000)

by Bella Pollen(Favorite Author)

3.62 of 5 Votes: 4

languge

English

genre

review 1: (3.5 stars) This book involves a British diplomatic family in the 1980's. They are stationed in Bonn where the father has died of an apparent suicide from the roof of the embassy. Notes found in his desk lead the authorities to believe that he may have been a spy. Reeling from the death, his wife and possible betrayal of both family and country, Letty takes her three children back to her family home in the Hebrides, small islands of the coast of Scotland. Each of the children deals with their grief in a different way: Georgie, the eldest at 17, longs to get away to school, and dabbles in a romance with a boy, Alba is angry at the world and particularly at her family, and acts up by stealing, while the youngest, Jamie, at nine, believes his father to be on a secret mission ... moreand merely lost, as no one has explained to him that his father has died and he did not attend the funeral. Jamie appears to have a learning disability or to possibly have Asperger's or a mild form of autism. He dotes on his older sister Alba, but she rebuffs him. We see in flashback some of the events that cast suspicion on their father. The bear in the title is a talisman of sorts for Jamie and connects him to his father. They were bound to go to the circus to see a trained bear before his death, and upon arrival on the islands, a bear belonging to a wrestler has gotten lose and is wandering the island. There is an element of magical realism/mysticism involving the bear, and the story takes a few unexpected turns along the way as each of the family discovers something about themselves and the father/husband.
review 2: WOW: how to describe this one: a bit dense, but compelling story of a family whose father is a spy; father falls off a roof at work (?traitor), the mother can’t bear to be honest to the young children, affecting the youngest (and wildest) son the most. Drama after drama with a really dramatic ending. Spiritual overtones (not offensive to me)…oh, and I didn’t even mention the bear. Once I got into it, this was a v. good read: chaps. are short (always a plus with me), characters ARE characters that I really wanted to see evolve—well, that they did. less

Download links for: L'été de l'ours

Advertising