HOW TO SURVIVE A BEAR ATTACK
by Claire Cameron
Unlike Isola with its mysterious Italian title, How to Survive a Bear Attack has its main thesis right up front. This niche little Canadian book totally won me over, despite not being interested in either bears or living an outdoorsy life.
The genesis of this book is the author’s obsession with a particular attack by a black bear in Algonquin park in 1991 that left a middle-aged couple dead and mostly eaten. Cameron had spent most of her life camping and canoeing, occasionally encountering bears with no negative results. But as she dug into this story, following her fixation, she began to be interested more in the bear’s side of the story. And so, the author writes an imagined narrative following the black bear who killed the couple.
The third thread of How to Survive a Bear Attack is Cameron’s own journey from the death of her father when she was nine, through all her experiences in the outdoors. Finally, she must face a battle of her own: not against a bear, but against cancer. And while her focus on the details of bears and the famous attack feels repetitive at times, I admire how she weaves the three narrative strands together to make something that becomes greater than its parts and is quite moving. This book won’t be perfect for everyone, but if it sounds intriguing to you, give it a read. It’s quick and very interesting. (Lily)
