The Coming of the Bear: A Novel - Hardcover

Namioka, Lensey

3.82

33 ratings by Goodreads

9780060202880: The Coming of the Bear: A Novel

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060202882 ISBN 13: 9780060202880

Publisher: HarperCollinsPublishers, 1992

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Two unemployed samurai are saved from drowning by the Ainus, a primitive people on a northern Japanese island, and are torn in their loyalties when the possibility of war arises between the Ainus and a band of Japanese settlers.

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From School Library Journal:

Grade 5-9-- Around 1600 in Japan, Zenta and Matsuzo, two lordless young samurai, flee the wrath of a local strongman. Their boat washes them ashore in a strange land that they soon discover is Ezo (present day Hokkaido), where they are taken in by the indigenous Ainu. They become involved in the increasing tension between the Ainu and the Japanese colonists who are trying to gain a foothold on the island. A bear that keeps attacking the Japanese settlement (in the dead of winter when these animals hibernate) becomes the casus belli between the two peoples. Amidst heart-pounding suspense, the two stalwarts courageously solve the mystery of the bear and halt the war. The writing is taut and effective, the plot well worked out, and the major characters convincing, although some minor figures are little more than etched in. Particularly noteworthy is the attention paid to the minutiae of Ainu life, including fascinating details about food, medicine, hunting, self-defense, and religion. Presentation of issues of racial and cultural conflict is done with great sensitivity and as an integral part of this vivid recreation of time and place. More than a mystery, the story will appeal to a wider than usual audience and provide an exciting multifarious adjunct to social studies. On top of all this, it's a real page-turner. --John Philbrook, San Francisco Public Library
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews:

In the newest entry in this action-packed series, Namioka's two wandering samurai are shipwrecked on the northern island of Ezo (modern Hokkaido) and find themselves trying to avert a battle between a new Japanese settlement and the indigenous Ainu. As in their previous adventures, Zenta and Matsuzo have a mystery to solve: a bear has been attacking the Japanese, and it soon becomes evident that it has been trained to do so. By whom? There are suspects on both sides. The two ronin are given complex character traits--young Matsuzo's optimistic enthusiasm plays off Zenta's moodiness and experience, often to comic effect--and the author throws up a few red herrings to complicate the otherwise simple, quickly paced plot. There is some violence--the culprits and several bears die--but it's emphasized less than the theme of working toward peace. (Fiction. 11-14) -- Copyright �1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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