The Bear Went Over the Mountain
William Kotzwinkle
- Once
- upon
- a
- time
- in
- rural
- Maine,
- a
- big
- black
- bear
- found
- a
- briefcase
- under
- a
- tree.
- Hoping
- for
- food,
- he
- dragged
- it
- into
- the
- woods,
- only
- to
- find
- that
- all
- it
- held
- was
- the
- manuscript
- of
- a
- novel.
- He
- couldn’t
- eat
- it,
- but
- he
- did
- read
- it,
- and
- decided
- it
- wasn’t
- bad.
- Borrowing
- some
- clothes
- from
- a
- local
- store,
- and
- the
- name
- Hal
- Jam
- from
- the
- labels
- of
- his
- favorite
- foods
- he
- headed
- to
- New
- York
- to
- seek
- his
- fortune
- in
- the
- literary
- world.Then
- he
- took
- America
- by
- storm.The
- Bear
- Went
- Over
- the
- Mountain
- is
- a
- riotous,
- magical
- romp
- with
- the
- buoyant
- Hal
- Jam
- as
- he
- leaves
- the
- quiet,
- nurturing
- world
- of
- nature
- for
- the
- glittering,
- moneyed
- world
- of
- man.
- With
- a
- pitch-perfect
- comic
- voice
- and
- an
- eye
- for
- social
- satire
- to
- rival
- Swift
- or
- Wolfe,
- bestselling
- author
- William
- Kotzwinkle
- limns
- Hal’s
- hilarious
- journey
- to
- New
- York,
- Los
- Angeles,
- and
- the
- great
- sprawling
- country
- in
- between,
- where
- a
- bear
- makes
- good
- despite
- his
- animal
- instincts,
- and
- where
- money-hungry
- executives
- see
- not
- a
- hairy
- beast
- with
- a
- purloined
- novel,
- but
- a
- rough-hewn,
- soulful,
- media-perfect
- nature
- guy
- who
- just
- might
- be
- the
- next
- Hemingway.By
- turns
- sidesplittingly
- funny,
- stingingly
- ironic,
- and
- unexpectedly
- tender,
- The
- Bear
- Went
- Over
- the
- Mountain
- captures
- the
- zeitgeist
- of
- the
- 1990s
- dead-on,
- in
- a
- delicious
- bedtime
- story
- for grown-ups.
