1996; 306 pages. New Author? : Yes. Genres : American Humorous Fiction; Americana;
Satire. Overall Rating : 8½*/10.
Arthur
Bramhall, a literature professor at the University of Maine, has taken a
sabbatical. It won’t be a vacation; he plans
to write a best-selling novel set in the picturesque Maine countryside.
Writing it turned out to be an uphill
battle. The first version, titled Destiny
and Desire, was completely reduced to ashes when Bramhall’s rural farmhouse
burned down.
Undeterred, and now living in a
little cabin, Bramhall sets forth to write an even better story. And, at least according to himself, he's succeeded. The next step is to find a
publisher, but in the meantime, he needs to make sure it can’t be lost in a fire.
So Arthur packs the precious
manuscript in a briefcase, and takes it out into the meadow across from his
cabin, then hides the briefcase under the boughs of a spruce tree. Safe from any fire, Arthur is sure.
Too bad a bear was watching
Arthur stash the briefcase. After Arthur departs, the bear’s curiosity takes over, which naturally involves the
subject of food, since bears are always hungry.
Maybe there’s a pie in that there briefcase!
What’s To Like...
From the very beginning of the tale, the bear
in The Bear Went Over the Mountain is an
amazing creature. He can read, he can
open briefcases, he can even talk with humans.
More advanced things, such as selling things for profit, or having
ulterior motives are beyond him, at least at the beginning of the story. But the bear is a quick learner, especially
if it’s something that can fill his belly with all those sweet foods that
humans enjoy.
The main storyline of the tale
becomes apparent early on, and revealing it is not a spoiler. As the bear ventures further into the human
world, he begins to become human.
Meanwhile, Arthur Bramhall, trying to locate the bear/thief in the wilds,
gains a greater understanding of forest creatures, and begins turning into a
bear.
For me, the biggest joy of reading this book was watching our two
protagonists adapt to their new environments.
The bear can talk, but only barely, or should I say “bearly”.
Most of the time he utters "food" words, because that's what he mostly thinks about, but
his utterances are usually misinterpreted as being keen insight into the humans he’s
interacting with. But the bear is undeterred; his
dream is to become recognized as a human.
I enjoyed the many cultural
references in the book. Rachmaninoff’s “Vespers” gets mentioned in passing, so does Proust’s “In Remembrance of Things Past”. I chuckled at the mention of the “Dalton
bookstore”; that franchise used to be in just about every shopping mall around;
now I don’t think they even exist anymore.
The ending is good, albeit
straightforward and without any startling twists. Both the bear, who along the way acquires the
name “Hal Jam”, and Arthur end up
happy and content. Things close with a
brief epilogue, which leaves the door open for a sequel, but I don’t believe
William Kotzwinkle has penned one in the three decades since The Bear Went
Over the Mountain was published.
Ratings…
Amazon:
4.4/5
based on 246 ratings and 121 reviews.
Goodreads: 3.72/5 based on 2,293
ratings and 348 reviews.
Excerpts...
Wheelock said, “We’ve all been concerned
for you, Arthur.”
Bramhall’s nose twitched. The smell that was coming from Wheelock was
ambition, a sweet greasy smell, as if Wheelock were roasting a pig in his
shirt.
“The department was wondering if you’ve had
trouble with your mail,” said Settlemire.
“I don’t open mail anymore.”
“Ah.”
Wheelock was noting Bramhall’s filthy pants. And he seems to be sprouting hair on his
forehead. Glandular disturbance? (loc. 1128)
“Something in that window upset you. What was it?”
A taxi pulled toward them, and the bear
jumped in. Zou Zou climbed in after
him. He was looking out the back window
apprehensively.
My god, wondered Zou Zou, is he going to
crack the way Hemingway did? Or is he on
some weird drug?? And if he is why
doesn’t he give some to me?
Gall bladder of bear, thought the
bear. This is the real human world. They act civilized they wear frilly panties,
but when they feel like it, they’ll put you in a bottle. (loc. 1404)
Kindle Details…
The
Bear Went Over the Mountain costs $12.99 at Amazon right now, which
makes it the highest-priced e-book by this author. William Kotzwinkle has nine other books
available for your Kindle, including a children’s book titled Walter the Farting Dog. Those e-books cost anywhere from 2.99 to
$9.99. I don’t think all
of his novels have been converted to e-book format yet.
“What I always say
is if you ain’t got a noseful of porcupine quills, you’re doing okay.” (loc. 283)
There are a few nits to pick. William Kotzwinkle has written a number of
children’s books (see the previous section for his most famous series), and
since this book’s title references an old children’s ditty by the same name,
you might assume it’s also a children’s book.
It is not. I didn’t notice any cusswords in the first
10% of the book, but 14 showed up in the next 10% of the book, including a
couple of f-bombs. A number of adult
situations also occur, and you really don’t want little Timmy or Susie asking
about those.
There are no chapter divisions in the
book. Terry Pratchett would be proud,
but most of us readers like to have easily identifiable places to stop. The Kindle version also had no page numbers, although in fairness, the “location numbers” are
there which can be a substitute for page numbers.
The editing was good; I only spotted one typo: break-through/breakthrough.
Overall, I enjoyed The Bear Went Over the Mountain. It’s a fast, easy read, and there’s plenty of
satire, which are a nice balance for the author's insights into
a world where humans and feral animals search to find a way to coexist.
I have one other e-book by
William Kotzwinkle on my Kindle, his 1974 breakthrough bestseller, The Fan Man.
Since the selection of his books for the Kindle is limited, I might have
to go looking for some of his yet-to-be-digitalized books at my local used-book
store.
8½ Stars. Go back and re-read the second excerpt, which mentions “Gall Bladder of Bear”. I thought this was some silliness invented by the author for comic effect, but it's real. Go to Wikipedia and look up “Bile Bear”, and be ready to be outraged.
