The Summer of the Bear

(Paperback)

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Description

In the summer of 1979, a tamed grizzly bear is tempted by the lure of freedom and the wild open sea... Meanwhile, the sudden death of British diplomat Nicky Fleming has left his wife closed down with shock. Relocated from Cold-War-riven Germany to a remote Hebridean island, Letty Fleming is haunted by the unthinkable - was it an accident, murder or suicide And how can she ever begin to explain to her three children that their father may have betrayed his country Struggling to find solace in a place she loves, Letty begins to unravel the mystery of Nicky's death, but her determination to protect the children from the truth blinds her to the demons they are already battling. As the family's secrets threaten to tear them apart, it is only the strange but brilliant Jamie who manages to hold on to the one thing he knows for sure: his father has promised to return, and Nicky Fleming was a man who never broke a promise...

Reviews

--"O Magazine "Summer Reading Pick
--NPR "Books With Personality" (Nancy Pearl's 2011 Selection)
"Affecting . . . Riveting . . . A thrilling tale that unravels mysteries of the human heart, "The Summer of the Bear" is spine-tingling."--"People" (4.5 stars)
"There's magic at the margins of "The Summer of the Bear." . . . The novel has a bit of the style of Lemony Snicket and a smidgeon of" The Secret of Roan Inish." Pollen's writing is clean and clear enough that you can really smell the peat smoke and feel the wind."--"Los Angeles Times "
"What's real and what's imagined is at the heart of this gem of a novel, which is one part fairy tale, one part international thriller, and all-parts engrossing family drama. . . . Pollen's lyrical and often witty prose makes this a stirring tale of loss and self-discovery."--"More"
"Full of vivid detail . . . Pollen is an acute observer of people and places . . . a skilled dissector of the subtleties of sibling warfare."--"The Washington Post"
"Pollen creates magic in "The Summer of the Bear.""--"Vanity Fair"
"In the time it took me to finish the first two or three sentences, I was already hooked: the characters, their feelings and their behavior seemed entirely real and true to me. . . . The Outer Hebrides are so vividly described that I am obsessed with going there for a visit."--Nancy Pearl's 2011 Book Picks for NPR
"A haunting, unsentimental look at estranged families and hidden secrets . . . Magically melancholy . . . Tender and wistful, Pollen doesn't shy away from harsh truths, but at the heart of her story there's an unquenchable belief in love and redemption."--"Marie Claire" (UK)
"Pollen's vivid descriptions of nature have the power to transport even the most harried city-bound reader to a cool, secluded, distant island."--"O Magazine "(Summer Reading List)
"[A] show-stealing, fantastic portrayal of under-parented children."--"Publishers Weekly"
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Author Bio

Bella Pollen is a writer and journalist who has contributed to a wide variety of publications, including the Sunday Telegraph, American Vogue and the Observer. She is the author of four other novels, All About Men, Daydream Girl, Hunting Unicorns and Midnight Cactus. She lives in Ladbroke Grove, London.