by Irving, John
First published 2012
John Berry watches his father chase two impossible dreams. The first involves keeping bears as pets, believing these wild animals can adapt to human domestic life. The second centers on running hotels, convinced that people can build meaningful lives in these transient spaces. John serves as narrator for his family's adventures, documenting the eccentric Berry siblings as they follow their father from one scheme to another. The family becomes hoteliers and bear owners while befriending Freud, an animal trainer who works the vaudeville circuit. Mad fate pulls them through a series of strange encounters, unexpected deaths, and peculiar love affairs. John records each bizarre episode as the Berry family refuses to abandon their dreams. The story moves between funny moments and heartbreaking losses, showing how this unusual family persists through outrageous circumstances. At its center lies the question of whether dreamers can survive in a world that seems determined to crush their illusions. The Berrys keep pushing forward anyway, finding meaning in their shared commitment to hope despite overwhelming evidence that their father's visions cannot work.
Genres: fiction, family, literary-fiction, 20th-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: New Hampshire
Period: 20th-century
544 pages · Kindle Edition · Transworld Digital