Setting Free the Bears: A Novel

· Sold by Ballantine Books
4.5
2 reviews
Ebook
304
Pages
Eligible

About this ebook

“Truly remarkable . . . encompasses the longings and agonies of youth . . . a complex and moving novel.”—Time

“Astonishing . . . a writer of uncommon imaginative power. Whatever [John Irving] writes, it will be worth reading.”—Saturday Review

It is 1967. Two Viennese university students, Siggy and Hannes, roam the Austrian countryside on their motorcycles—on a quest: to liberate the bears of the Vienna Zoo. But their good intentions have both comic and gruesome consequences in this first novel from John Irving, already a master storyteller at twenty-five years old.

“Imagine a mixture of Till Eulenspiegel and Ken Kesey . . . and you've got the range of the merry pranksters who hot rod through Mr. Irving's book . . . tossing flowers, stealing salt shakers, and planning the biggest caper of their young lives.”—The New York Times

Ratings and reviews

4.5
2 reviews
Tyler Talkie
May 31, 2022
This books is absolutely hilarious. Every bit of it is ironic in the best ways. Although, not much of it made sense. Yet, it still did what it seemed like it was trying to do, which, in this case, was good. It is nonsensical in the best ways and, for that reason, deserves praise. John Irving's voice is simply electric. Nothing is more satisfying that it. Honestly, it could go on endlessly and would still keep the attention that it attempts to keep. It also sounds like what the seventies sounded like, so, that is good. Overall, this book rocks.
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About the author

John Irving has been nominated for a National Book Award three times—winning once, in 1980, for the novel The World According to Garp. In 1992, Mr. Irving was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In 2000, he won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Cider House Rules—a film with seven Academy Award nominations.

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