I can't begin to imagine what it would have been like to stroll into a bookshop in 1976 and find Marian Engel's literary-acclaimed novel Bear plonked on the shelf next to classic, traditional literature. A recipient of the Governor General Award, and, apparently a very good book, Bear strikes me as a mix between CanLit's risk-taking success and the gateway to our modern obsession with skewed sexuality.
Less fifty shades of grey, more literary merit, this past-tense novel was recently re-found and brought to the present by a surge of internet trends. Now, revitalized with a new cover image, I can't disguise my curiosity (although I might hide the cover on a busy bus). I want to read this novel. Even if it is about a librarian living in the words having sex with a bear, all the surrounding hype must mean it's a worthwhile read. Right?!
Less fifty shades of grey, more literary merit, this past-tense novel was recently re-found and brought to the present by a surge of internet trends. Now, revitalized with a new cover image, I can't disguise my curiosity (although I might hide the cover on a busy bus). I want to read this novel. Even if it is about a librarian living in the words having sex with a bear, all the surrounding hype must mean it's a worthwhile read. Right?!