A review by taylesium
Bear Daughter by Judith Berman
5.0
I think this book is seriously underrated; it was definitely one of the most unique and intriguing books I've read in a while.
I would call it a "realistic epic fairytale." The fairytale part is obvious: it's full of robes that allow someone to change shape, magical boxes and tools, houses located at the edge of the world, trips to the underworld, and monsters that lure people away to eat them. Although the mythology is apparently based on Canadian First Nations/Native American folklore (I actually saw a lot of similarity to coastal British Columbia in the setting), it definitely taps into a much broader sense of legendary tradition. If you wanted to, you could identify many similarities and comparisons to Greek mythology and Germanic fairytales, for instance. In the sense of drawing on a sort of collective mythological consciousness, it has a kind of universal appeal.
The story is epic in that it covers long journeys, heroes facing off against villains, and battles among spirits and wizards. And it is realistic in the sense that the author makes you almost taste the food, smell the scents, and feel the injuries. Even more than that, it is realistic in that the people are very believable. The villains are often victims of their own worst natures, like one driven insane by jealous obsession, and the "friendlies" are often flawed and less than accommodating.
Overall, it's very much a story about people, about growing up and overcoming one's weaknesses...or not overcoming them, all woven into an amazingly vivid tale of immortals, wizards, monsters, and humans. I highly recommend this book.
I would call it a "realistic epic fairytale." The fairytale part is obvious: it's full of robes that allow someone to change shape, magical boxes and tools, houses located at the edge of the world, trips to the underworld, and monsters that lure people away to eat them. Although the mythology is apparently based on Canadian First Nations/Native American folklore (I actually saw a lot of similarity to coastal British Columbia in the setting), it definitely taps into a much broader sense of legendary tradition. If you wanted to, you could identify many similarities and comparisons to Greek mythology and Germanic fairytales, for instance. In the sense of drawing on a sort of collective mythological consciousness, it has a kind of universal appeal.
The story is epic in that it covers long journeys, heroes facing off against villains, and battles among spirits and wizards. And it is realistic in the sense that the author makes you almost taste the food, smell the scents, and feel the injuries. Even more than that, it is realistic in that the people are very believable. The villains are often victims of their own worst natures, like one driven insane by jealous obsession, and the "friendlies" are often flawed and less than accommodating.
Overall, it's very much a story about people, about growing up and overcoming one's weaknesses...or not overcoming them, all woven into an amazingly vivid tale of immortals, wizards, monsters, and humans. I highly recommend this book.