The Bear Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, New Hampshire's Mount Monadnock and our BookBrowse Review of The Bear.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. From the very first sentence, we're aware that this will be a novel that grapples with human extinction. How do the man and his daughter, described as "the last two," view their place in the world? What do you think the author is trying to say about our legacy?
2. How does the novel portray the father/daughter relationship? Is the role of the man one of teacher or is he simply a father passing along what any parent would pass along to a child? Is he aware of what is at stake? Would anything be different if the main characters were a mother and son?
3. Early in the novel, the girl watches a bear emerge from the woods and walk toward the lake. She asks her father, "Was my mother a bear?" Why does she pose this question? At another point, the father tells his daughter a fairy tale about a talking bear that saves a village. Why do you believe the author included this story within a story? And what other roles do bears play in the novel?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Bellevue Literary Press. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.