It is 1979 and the Cold War is still in progress in Europe. Nicky Fleming, a British diplomat based in Bonn, West Germany, falls from the roof of the British Embassy and dies leaving behind his wife Letty and their 3 children - Georgie, Alba and Jamie. Devastated by Nicky's death Letty and the children retreat to North Uist where she owns a house. It is not clear whether Nicky's death was suicide, an accident or murder but Letty is determined to uncover the truth. There is also the possibility that Nicky was a spy and betrayed his country. Letty is so grief stricken that she doesn't notice that Alba has become consumed with anger and hatred for her siblings, especially Jamie, that Georgie has started a romance with the mobile shop owner's son or that Jamie doesn't understand that is father is dead. Meanwhile a bear has escaped in the vicinity of the cottage and Jamie tries to track him down.
I read the whole book in a day, which is very unusual for me and a measure of how good I thought the book was that I didn't want to put it down. The characters are flawed and believable. The mystery of Nicky's death is solved at the end and Alba is reconciled. However I found the character and actions of the bear less believable. Despite the title of the book this isn't really about the bear but is about what happens when people lose the ability to communicate.
The chapters in Summer of the Bear are told from the perspective of different members of the family and the bear. Each of them has their own appropriate symbol, which is shown at the beginning of each chapter e.g Alba = basking shark, Jamie = binoculars.
The bear of the story is based on a real life grizzly bear called Hercules, who escaped from his owner on the island of Benbecula in 1980 while he was filming a TV advertisement for Kleenex. He evaded detection for 24 days before he was recaptured. He lived with his owners as one of the family in Perthshire until he died in 2000.
Islands covered - North Uist, Benbecula and South Uist.
Our Lady of the Isles, South Uist
- this statue is mentioned in the book
Beach near Howmore, South Uist
- all the members of the family spend time on similar beaches
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