Bear

Bear (2024) by Julia Phillips tells the story of Sam and Elena, two sisters whose challenging lives are suddenly shaken by the presence of a black bear near their island home. The bear causes a rift between the sisters as Elena becomes increasingly fascinated with it and longs for sightings of it, while Sam fears the bear and the hold it takes on Elena. The sisters’ bond and their respective aims for the future ebb and flow as they reckon with both the bear’s presence and a life shaped by the demands of caring for their terminally ill mother.

The novel is Phillips’s second and was published to critical acclaim. Her first novel, Disappearing Earth, was a finalist for the National Book Award, the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, and the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award and was one of The New York Times Book Review’s 10 Best Books of the Year. Like Bear, it explores familial bonds and the importance of community. Phillips’s essays and other nonfiction have appeared in publications such as The Atlantic, The Paris Review, and The Los Angeles Times.

This guide refers to the 2024 hardcover edition published by Hogarth.