Sam and Elena, two sisters, live together and care for their ailing mother on a small island off the coast of Washington State. With inspiration from and echoes of the Grimm Brothers’ “Snow White and Rose Red,” we dip into the lives of these two women. Both lead almost stilted or half-lived lives; they are very close to each other and they love their dying mother dearly, but there’s a pervading sorrow surrounding the way they’ve never really gotten to leave their physical and emotional confines. Mounting medical debt and low paying jobs mean their personal dreams are on hold. Sam works as a concessionist on the ferry from the mainland to the island. One day, much to everyone’s surprise, a bear is seen in the water, swimming. Quite suddenly, this bear changes everything!
This is a really good interview with Phillips about the book:
Jennifer: What did you think?
Lara: I loved it. There’s a lot at play here. Two adult sisters, who really only have each other to rely on, are scraping by to make ends meet. They both work jobs that cater to the wealthy residents and tourists of the San Juan Islands. They both rely on each other for everything, which is both freeing and a burden. They keep secrets from one another, despite indicating that they don’t. And they both dream of lives, after their mother succumbs to her illness, in which they can sell the house and move on. And then, one day, the bear appears. It takes everyone by surprise.
A few days later, this same bear (we presume) shows up at Sam and Elena’s house – and that’s where the story really takes off.
Jennifer: I guess I might say that I liked it. I didn’t love it. It’s solid, captivating, original. I’m glad you loved it. It’s always intriguing when books hit us hard. Can you remember the last time we were both simultaneously hit hard by the same book? I think we felt the same about Colm Tóibín, but I’m not sure it was intense. I think you liked this one more; I liked Paul Murray’s The Bee Sting a little more?
I remember! We both loved Emily Habeck’s Shark Heart!
Lara: How dare you not remember that I also loved The Bee Sting; I even encouraged you to read it! Shark Heart will always have my heart. But, yes, it’s not often we both fully love or fully loathe the same book.
So, the sisters have different takes on this bear. Sam is freaked out. Elena is enamored. Sam, conflicted in going against her sister, seeks help from local Game and Fish, and their neighbor, a childhood acquaintance (Danny Larsen) who Sam never liked. Despite what Sam learns from Game and Fish, and shares with Elena, the older sister actively seeks out the bear.
The sisters are at odds over this bear. Sam is actively working to keep the bear away, and Elena is baiting the bear and finding ways to engage with it. Elena goes so far as to tell Sam that the bear is the only good thing in their lives and sees no danger interacting with it and wants Sam to connect with the bear as well. Sam is worried that Elena has romantic feelings for the bear. (By the way, I never thought this was the case.) She even accuses/asks Elena if she wants to kiss it.
Why was the bear such an important figure for Elena?
Jennifer: Well, I’m not really sure I thought about anything romantic between Elena and the bear–the book does not give off any pervy vibes–but I do remember when Elena declared how the bear was the best thing in their lives. It struck me. I think the bear suggests something magical to Elena. Her life is utterly unmagical. There’s a deep sorrow there. And the bear is extraordinary.
So this extraordinary quality is also a recipe for disaster. Readers know that this is unlikely to end well.
Lara: About two-thirds into the book, their mother dies. This isn’t a spoiler. In fact, the story is set up for this to happen. The surprise is that Sam learns Elena is not willing to sell the family home and start the life the two of them have dreamed of. Actually, Elena seems compelled to stay on the island for the bear, and another reason (which would be a spoiler).
Neither of us has sisters, but I found their relationship complex, layered, and realistic. They were at times honest, manipulative, and secretive. What did you think?
Jennifer: Curious? Envious? Is that what it’s like to have a sister?
I have sisters for children. I think they’d say that there is something exclusive about it–they know their world because they are the only ones who have lived it like they have. Together.
And that’s here, in this book.
I was struck by a quote. In that interview above, Philips writes,
“To be somebody’s everything is a real burden, although it can be joyful or validating.”
And that’s a difficult plight. It’s where they’re at. The bear disrupts this.
Lara: That’s such an accurate quote. One thing that kept my interest was that I had no idea how this story was going to end. I could see that there were a few options, and a couple of them would have been disappointments. But she chose an ending that some might say is controversial, and I would say was well-earned. Without giving anything away, what is your take on it?
Jennifer: Appropriate. The way this book was meant to end. I won’t say more.
Is there anything that didn’t work for you?
Lara: As much as I thought her choice of ending was bold, I think we needed a little more time with it. I think the characters should have had a little more time dealing with it.
Jennifer: Do you think this is magical realism?
This is a lovely passage:
“Elena explained: a creature that did not exist on their island, did not belong in their lives, had nevertheless come. It swam long miles in the wet black night to arrive at their home. Made an exception of itself, and of them, to every rule. It was supposed to be gruff but was instead tender. It was supposed to be wild but behaved like it was tamed. It came to Elena on the path as gentle as a suitor. Is that not wonderful? She asked Sam. Doesn’t that seem like magic to you?
“‘Is a raccoon getting into a garbage can magic?’ Sam said. ‘It’s an animal. Messing around where it shouldn’t be.’”
Lara: I don’t think it’s magical realism (and I am not just saying that because I am not a fan of magical realism). I think that Sam and Elena are having equally realistic reactions to this bear. I also think the bear is engaging with Elena in realistic ways (I mean she’s seeking him out with food!). Elena also bears (no pun intended) the majority of the household decisions and financial management. It’s a lot. This bear, dangerous or not, is a bit of an escape for Elena. It’s an escape when she knows that the girls will never be able to get off the island, despite what she’s been telling Sam year after year.
Jennifer: (I like your pun. I wonder if Phillips is playing with it, with Elena bearing the burden.) I can’t claim to know much about bears, but I sorta doubted some of the cozying up this bear did.
I did want to mention that Phillips references this 2005 documentary, Grizzly Man, about this dude who loved bears in Alaska and he imagined that he had this amazing companionship with the bears–like he was really communing with them. And, then, they killed him. I saw this doc, and–for whatever reason–it made an impression on me back then.
The guy truly believed in that relationship–like Elena seems to. Maybe she believes in a magical realist story, but there is none.
Did you like these characters? I think I felt for them. They were real in their dissatisfactions and sorrows.
Lara: Like you, I felt for them. I actually liked the men in the book.
Jennifer: Funny, but yeah. I think the men sound nicer.
Lara: There was Danny, the neighbor who was always around to help with the bear and who Sam distrusted, and Ben with whom Sam was secretly more involved than she led on about with Elena.
Jennifer: Danny, especially, is a nice guy. What have you been reading, besides this?
Lara: Not as much as I would like. I decided to jump into the Colleen Hoover pool with Verity. Twisty. Crazy. I am good with that one book and will likely stop there. I devoured foodie memoir, Finding Freedom: A Cook’s Story by Erin French, founder of The Lost Kitchen. I can’t put down Liz Moore’s The God of the Woods and I am working my way through Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s Long Island Compromise which has a doozy of an opening third—not for the sexually faint of heart.
What about you?
Jennifer: I’m the sexually faint of heart. So, Um, no.
I think my fave was Your Fathers, Where Are They? And the Prophets, Do They Live Forever? by Dave Eggers. I always seem to strongly love his stuff, don’t I? I read Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, and that was amazing and sad. I quit a few too. Right now, I’m dipping into some Zora Neale Hurston and Mark Twain.
Next Up!
Speaking of books we both loved (Leave the World Behind), Rumaan Alam’s latest, Entitlement, comes out on September 17. Stay tuned for our review. Until then…. Happy Reading!