mntrtwke
Citizen of Zooville
Title: Bear
Author: Marian Engel
Genre: Novel
Year of Publication: 1976
Description:
"Marian Engel's 1976 novel Bear, which tells the story of a relationship between a woman and her ursine lover, has been called one of the most controversial books in the history of Canadian literature."
"It also won the Governor General's award that year, when the committee who chose the winners included Margaret Laurence, Mordecai Richler and Alice Munro."
- Why the classic Canadian novel Bear remains controversial — and relevant
View attachment 413265
"It was the night of the falling stars. She took him to the riverbank. They swam in the still, black water. They did not play.They were serious that night.They swam in circles around each other, very solemnly. Then they went to the shore, and instead of shaking himself on her, he lay beside her and licked the water from her body while she, on her back, let the stars fall, one, two, fourteen, a million, it seemed, falling on her, ready to burn her. Once she reached up to one, it seemed so close, but its brightness faded from her grasp, faded into the milky way. Loons cried, and whippoorwills. She sat up. The bear sat up across from her. She rose to her knees and moved towards him.When she was close enough to feel the wet gloss on her breasts, she mounted him. Nothing happened. He could not penetrate her and she could not get him in. She turned away. He was quite unmoved. She took him to his enclosure and sent him to bed. She dressed, and spent the rest of the night lying on the coarse marsh grass. The stars continued to fall."
- BEAR by Marian Engel, Chapter 19