The Bears

by Katie Welch

When a terrible oil spill occurs in British Columbia due to a ruptured pipeline, the ensuing environmental disaster provides an immediate crisis for activist Gilbert Crow, arctic researcher Anne McCraig, and a young idealist named Jonathan Fuhrenmann. When they converge on the embattled community at the heart of the crisis, their passionate attempts to save the bears that they love will forge their beliefs in lasting and profound ways. A race against time, this passionate and spiritual journey leads them on a path that forever cements in their hearts a new morality for an anthropocentric planet.
 The Bears takes readers on a spiritual and environmental journey through the parallel stories of the human protagonists and their bear counterparts. With each person having a totemic relationship with a specific bear and its plight, this dramatic new novel creates a unique mythological structure that asserts each animal has their own spiritual beliefs. The bears’ mythological stories, beliefs, and backgrounds are mixed in with the human plot and are integral to its growth and development. Taking a unique and spiritual route to addressing the morality and concerns in humanity’s multiple threats to nature The Bears is a dramatic and fulfilling story that keeps readers mentally and spiritually engaged until the very end.
Written with a profound respect for nature and the spirituality that it possesses, The Bears offers a rare touch to readers’ souls as well as their hearts. Taking on tough environmental issues that face the world today and relating them to the noble and spiritual journeys of nature’s inhabitants, the novel creates a stunning adventure that will appeal to all readers who care about environmental issues and even those who have a passing interest in the natural world. Broaching themes of environmental morality, innovative spirituality, and forgiveness, this wonderful novel by Katie Welch possesses a message that is deeper and more fulfilling than most.

228 pages, Paperback

First published December 20, 2012

About the author

Katie Welch is a Canadian author. Her latest novel, LADDER TO HEAVEN, will be published in 2025. Her debut MAD HONEY was nominated for the Ontario Library Association's Evergreen Award. A finalist for the 2023 CBC Short Story Prize and a two-time alumnus of the Banff Centre, her short stories have appeared in EVENT Magazine, Prairie Fire, The Antigonish Review, The Temz Review, The Quarantine Review, Split Lip Magazine and elsewhere.

Reviews

[Charlotte Gill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having spent time in the parts of British Columbia featured in this book, I found myself falling right into the smells and textures, right into the story, actually. Much of THE BEARS unfolds along the route of the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline--only in this version of reality the pipeline has already been planned, built, and ruptured. You'd think this would be a somewhat dystopian story, and it is in a way (unavoidably given the subject matter), but any mild darkness is tempered by the big-hearted love story that runs through its pages. A love story involving people (no spoilers here!) and also the bears who show up mythically, as characters in their own right. You can sense Welch's deep affection for the wilderness and for the creatures who call it home. She's got enormous passion for her topic--it's on every page. In a way I found it refreshing that those sentiments emerged so straightforwardly, without any fake debate or sleight of hand. I got attached to those wise old bears. If you're interested in all those complicated confrontations between humans and wild spaces, then you'll enjoy this book.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an environmental fiction novel. "The Bears takes readers on a spiritual and environmental journey through the parallel stories of the human protagonists and their bear counterparts." An oil pipeline has been built in Northern British Columbia. After the pipeline inevitably bursts and creates "an unpardonable crime," people with a connection to the environment step up to help clean up the spill and the wildlife in the area. Activist, Gilbert Crow, biologist, Anne and sustainability student Jonathan are compelled to help, especially when a spirit bear is in trouble.

I appreciate this story and enjoy the way it was told, with hope. A poignant story in today's world, where oil spills are happening more and more frequently. I loved that the story was told through alternating human and bear points of view. I also liked how the Great Bear creation story is the foundation and we learn of how animals, humans, and climate are created and regulated by the Great Bear. The human characters as well as the bears were well developed and even though the bears were anthropomorphized, the voice was still very much one of a wild bear.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

So often environmental stories risk coming off a preachy or trite, but this story is both beautiful and accessible to those who are active environmentalists or brand new to an ecological way of thinking.

The bears, some of which are perhaps mythical and others which are real, are personified in certain chapters, allowing us to read their thoughts and understand how they interpret their quickly-changing world. I worried this would be campy, but Katie Welch does an excellent job of sucking the reader in and pulling you along for the ride.

There is a human side, too, in the form of researchers, activists, and denizens of British Columbia, where the book takes place. There is love--for the land, for each other, and of course for the bears. Poignant, funny, and informative, this book does what so many environmentally-minded books fail to do.

[Shelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel raises awareness of the environmental dangers of pipelines and brings it to readers on a very personal level. Mixing First Nations style myth with keen storytelling, this book should be required reading for those on both sides of the pipeline issue. A very enjoyable first novel, I am looking forward to reading more from Ms. Welch.

[Andree · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rare read: the real becomes surreal and myth a memory from a collective unconscious. Prose with animal voices echoing in poetic tones. An awakening to the unity of life and its environment.

[Sara Reis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel so honored to have won "The Bears" here on Goodreads. To be honest I've never read anything like it.
This Ecofiction book was an extraordinary achievement it teaches us about the value of biodiversity, the importance about environmental sustainability mixed with First Nation's spirituality.
The characters Gilbert Crow, Anne and Jonathan are very endearing. The Bears that intertwine with their lives soften our hearts.
For me it was impossible to not read this book without crying and it kept me awake all night since I could not rest till I finished the book.
Thank you Katie for this AMAZING read.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm really not sure how I feel this book, which I received through a Goodreads giveaway. It's well-written, and the characters are really well-written, but it isn't a happy story. There's lots of darkness in it.

[Leah Western · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book over a couple of days as it's relatively short but i really enjoyed it. It's written from quite a different and interesting perspective and really highlights the plight of nature and the planet. Would recommend reading :-)

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book that I won from Goodreads, a story about a pipeline oil spill and its consequences written in protest of a pipeline that was to be built. The parts told from the perspectives of bears were very interesting.