Rafi Zabor

As the title suggests, the hero of this novel is a bear. But he is no ordinary bear; he is a pants wearing talking bear who is shy, literate, mystically inclined and plays the alto-saxophone. Arrested one night for sneaking into a New York jazz club and jamming with some of the resident musicians without a valid permit, Bear is thrown into jail where he discusses philosophy with the prison psychiatrist whilst pining for fresh salmon before being sprung by a group of supporters who spirit him off to a house near to Woodstock to live with his human girlfriend. Once there Bear cuts an album with his band before heading off into the Midwest on a promotional tour.

Zabor, a jazz drummer and music journalist, introduces us to a number of real-life jazz musicians and obviously knows a lot about jazz music and the existential angst that comes from dancing and passing the hat on New York's mean streets in order to make a living in the music industry. There is the frustration of constant practice and the occasional epiphanies of creation. Most of the human characters are cool and cynical, tolerant and likeable. There is a duality about the Bear as the author explores human nature, sometimes animal sometimes saint.

I should point out at this juncture that I'm not a jazz fan so large parts of this novel left me totally perplexed and whilst I know that many jazz jams can be rambling I believe that they do have an overall structure if only a loose one. Therefore whilst the initial idea was interesting as the story progressed I found it overly verbose with far too many navel-gazing sections on the imperfections of love, art and the sleaziness of the music business. Nor did I particularly enjoy the open ended finale. That said, there are also moments of satiric genius which were enough to see me through to its conclusion however unsatisfactory.… (more)

In a nutshell:The Bear Comes Home is a story about a talking, walking, pants-wearing, saxophone-playing bear. Wrap your brain around that for a moment and then consider this: the bear is an avid reader, talks philosophy and emotionally and physically loves a woman. I knew from the inside flap this book was going to be an interesting read, especially when I read, "a vexed, physically passionate and anatomically correct inter-species love affair with a beautiful woman named Iris." Um. Okay. It's the "anatomically correct" piece that really puts it into perspective. But! Trust me when I say this is a deep book. I mean deeeep. Zabor is a little long winded when it comes to subjects he is passionate about. There are pages and page about jazz music and the musicians who perfected it, but somehow the entire thing works. The Bear is a little too angsty but considering his circumstances, stuck in the human world, who could blame him?… (more)