Spotted this and could not resist picking it up.

As the title suggests, the hero of this novel is a bear. But he is no ordinary bear; he is a pants wearing talking bear who is shy, literate, mystically inclined and plays the alto-saxophone. Arrested one night for sneaking into a New York jazz club and jamming with some of the resident musicians without a valid permit, Bear is thrown into jail where he discusses philosophy with the prison psychiatrist whilst pining for fresh salmon before being sprung by a group of supporters who spirit him off to a house near to Woodstock to live with his human girlfriend. Once there Bear cuts an album with his band before heading off into the Midwest on a promotional tour.

I should point out at this juncture that I'm not a jazz fan so large parts of this novel left me totally perplexed and whilst I know that many jazz jams can be rambling I believe that they do have an overall structure if only a loose one. Therefore whilst the initial idea was interesting as the story progressed I found it overly verbose with far too many navel-gazing sections on the imperfections of love, art and the sleaziness of the music business. Nor did I particularly enjoy the open ended finale. That said, there are also moments of satiric genius which were enough to see me through to its conclusion however unsatisfactory.

Going out as a Brucie Bonus. I hope that it isn't something that you would normally pick up and consequently haven't already read. Enjoy!

Thanks for the Brucie Bonus. This book sounds utterly bizarre, but I've read a few other utterly bizarre books since joining Bookcrossing. I love music, but not necessarily jazz. I will give it a go when Plum gives me the chance!