Initially found this book too whimsical and nearly abandoned it after a few pages. Then had another stab at it and enjoyed it. The bear did not really come alive for me but I enjoyed both being in the Outer Hebrides and the Bonn, Berlin, London interludes.The structure of the book worked well - better than the content which was OK but a bit sentimental. James was written very well the whole way through, Georgina came alive eventually, but Alba and the mother Letty sounded like two sides of the author herself and probably suffered from a lack of insight. ( )

It's the summer of 1979, and Letty is reeling from the sudden death of her soulmate and husband, and struggling to hold her family together -- there is sensible late-teen Georgina, who is going through new feelings her mother is clueless about; Alba the angry middle child who rebels against everyone and everything; and innocent 8 year old James who has some unnamed cognitive disorder that makes him understand the world in a literal and odd way. So Letty flees with her children to the Outer Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland, her lifelong safe place.

Her husband worked for the British government in Bonn, and had constant secret dealings with East Germany. His death by fall from a building is viewed with suspicion. Did he commit espionage and then suicide? Was he murdered? How did he come to fall to his unexpected death?

And what about the escaped from the circus grizzly bear on the island? How is it speaking to young James? Is his lost father inhabiting the bear?

Short chapters and shifts between threads keep this story moving to a satisfying ending that wraps them all together.

Rating: Somewhere between 4 & 4.5 so I'll tip up to 4.5 stars.

Recommended for: people in the mood for a good story more than stunning prose and deep thoughts.

Why I Read This Now: A good friend recommended this, so I ordered it from England as it was a bit of an unusual book to find here on the west coast of Canada. I haven't heard of it or the author anywhere else. When I thanked her for it, she said that she stumbled on to it too but didn't say how (I'll ask her next time I see her). She spent some time in the Orkneys a few years ago so maybe she picked it up in Scotland. ( )

A family portrait/spy novel mashup that works very well. Beautifully characterized. I thought the author did a particularly good job with the children. ( )

Part spy novel, part family drama, and the Outer Hebrides to boot. Lovely lovely novel. ( )

A family portrait/spy novel mashup that works very well. Beautifully characterized. I thought the author did a particularly good job with the children. ( )