Woman and Bear

„What had passed to her from him she did not know. Certainly it was not the seed of heroes, or magic or any astounding virtue, for she continued to be herself: but for one strange, sharp moment she could feel in her pores and the taste of her own mouth that she knew what the world was for.“

Wonderful novel by Canadian author Marian Engel, originally published in 1976 and now available from Daunt Books.
A librarian sets out to catalogue a library on a tiny Canadian island. She finds herself in the company of a bear. They get very close.

It’s perfectly composed and written. I liked the artful way in which Engel weaves cultural references into the text: small notes on the relations between bears and humans across centuries and countries; myths and rituals that connect them.
Since reading Nastassja Martin’s book An das Wilde glauben, this topic intrigues me.

Go read it, you won’t regret it. Also there’s an interesting article about the book at The Guardian which delves deeper into underlying issues such as colonialism.

Marian Engel: Bear. Daunt Books 2021. 978-1-911547-94-5 Dt: Marian Engel: Bär. btb 2022. 978-3-442-75956-9