Wendy Donahue wrote this review.
An extraordinary novel by Judith Berman, Bear Daughter is a sequel to the story “Lord Stink” (Asimov’s, August 1997, reprinted in Lord Stink and Other Stories, Small Beer Press, 2002). Cloud, a 12-year-old who has lived all her life in the form of a bear, wakes one morning to find she has taken on human form. The daughter of a human mother and bear deity father, Cloud must discover the reason for this transformation and her place and purpose in life. She embarks on a journey through realms both mortal and immortal in a classic coming-of-age tale told from a fresh perspective.
Bear Daughter is drawn from several story-telling traditions. The characters have roots in the oral traditions of the Northwest Coast Native Americans. Though the story contains many elements of a classic fantasy tale — a princess, a wizard, good and bad magic — these elements are presented in a new and different way. The princess is not a formal lady in a castle tower, but rather, a bear-girl uncomfortable in her own skin. The wizard is more reminiscent of a Native American Shaman. However, the place settings for Sandspit Town and Whale Town, the homes of Cloud’s childhood families, do evoke images of typical Anglo-Norman medieval villages more typically found in traditional fantasy. The plot itself brings to mind Old World tales, especially The Odyssey. All of these threads are woven together into a beautiful new storytelling experience that draws readers in and holds them captivated until the end.
Young adult readers will relate to Cloud, the reluctant heroine, whose passage into adulthood is not an easy one. Cloud feels abandoned by her father and failed by her mother, and is in turn angry at or frightened by her circumstances. Cloud’s struggle to understand her own feelings and the desire to run away or use escapism to deal with these emotions will ring true with many readers.
The characters in Bear Daughter develop with the story. Though Cloud has family and friends to help her along the way, she is forced to be mainly self reliant as she makes her journey. The book is not for the faint of heart. Cloud endures several horrific experiences that are described so graphically, the scenes could be considered macabre. However, each experience has a direct impact on Cloud’s development, and she grows tremendously by the end of the book.
The story is beautifully written, told simply enough to understand while bringing forth major life issues for the reader to ponder. Berman describes settings vividly and expresses Cloud’s emotions in a visceral way. As innocence is lost and Cloud grows into adulthood, she learns the value of family bonds and her connection to both the mortal and immortal worlds.
(Ace, 2005)
