Part fictional memoir, part social history, In the Bear’s House details the lives of two Scottish immigrant families – the Dunlops and Lockies – in Calgary as they raise a deaf child.
The novel opens when seventeen-year-old Clare Dunlop gives birth to a son while her husband serves a penitentiary sentence for a serious crime. Clare Dunlop’s own dreams as a gifted student are now thwarted. She turns her creative and brooding spirit to her family, raising her deaf son and four other children against the odds of poverty and depression. The deaf boy’s ninety-nine-year-old great-great-aunt gives him a conch shell she brought overland to Alberta by ox cart and stagecoach before the railway. It becomes a kind of hearing aid in which he hears not the sea, but the stories of those around him.
Nicknamed Trout for his family’s love of the wild and his own attachment to the watery and silent world of fishes, he is traumatized at the death of his aunt and spirals out of control. His mother, who is pregnant with her sixth child, wavers between depression and clarity, and can no longer cope with Trout. She sends him to live with relatives in the wilderness. There he thrives, emerging from the claustrophobic and ironically noisy world of deafness, finding love, connection and belonging with his partially deaf, forest ranger great-uncle and his musician wife.
Trout discovers that while he can not always hear the world, he can feel it and he can learn to listen for its rhythms.
In the Bear’s House is an exceptional book written by Bruce Hunter, and wow, what a stellar and unique book! In the Bear’s House, for me, was moving, captivating, and addictive right from the start, and I felt this from beginning to end. In the Bear’s House was captivating to me from the start, thanks to the premise of the story and the bewitching literature courtesy of the author, Bruce Hunter, who from the start hooked me with his fantastic story that was unlike anything I have read before. It is rare to find a novel that combines the themes this book does, and that is refreshing to me. That is why I already recommend this book; however, if you need more convincing, then continue to read more to learn about In the Bear’s House!
In the Bear’s House is a novel that blends elements of fictional memoir and social history, as we follow the intertwined lives of two Scottish immigrant families in Calgary. The story centres on Clare Dunlop, a talented young woman whose dreams are cut short after she gives birth to a deaf son while her husband is imprisoned.
As Clare struggles to raise her children amid poverty and depression, her son finds comfort and meaning in a conch shell passed down through generations. However, after the loss of his beloved aunt leaves him adrift, the son, nicknamed Trout, is sent to live with relatives in the wilderness.
It is here that, among family who share his experiences of deafness, he learns that while he may not always hear the world, he can still connect deeply with it and those around him, which makes for an incredibly poignant message, and this book lovers is the short premise of the incredible In the Bear’s House!
The premise of In the Bear’s House is exceptional, original, and unlike anything I have read before. I loved the many themes and elements explored throughout the book, and all themes are explored by Bruce Hunter wonderfully, and he does this by lacing these interesting themes throughout the text flawlessly and weaving them with the story. The result of this makes In the Bear’s House a highly addictive and fascinating read that is never once lacklustre or predictable.
Bruce Hunter is a phenomenal writer who knows how to grasp his readers’ attention from the first page. Hunter, instead of writing long, drawn-out builds up which are commonly found in novels, decides to ditch this approach and thrust his reader into the heart of the story straight away so that the reader is instantly captivated and immersed. I personally love this approach, what is the point of having a long build-up with little excitement? This is only necessary if the author in question can’t develop the characters in the story quickly, but with In the Bear’s House, the reader will not encounter this issue because Hunter instantly develops his characters and makes the reader invest in not only them but also their journey.
Overall, In the Bear’s House is a moving, compelling, and thought-provoking novel that will easily entertain readers for many days and nights, and so I, of course, have to award this stellar gem of a book five stars! So be sure to have a read of the book below, you won’t regret it!
Thank you so much for reading book lovers! I appreciate it so much.
Goodbye for now book lovers,
P.S. Below I have attached some links about the author and this wonderful book so if you would like to learn more about the author and the book then please have a browse. Thank you so much again for reading book lovers!
Amazon US – Amazon UK – Italian Edition – Goodreads
Author: Website
