false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174411137m/394047.jpg 394047 7 <P> <I>So it's kind of like a parlor game, then?... <P> The question is apparently of Ancient Eastern extraction.... <P> It seems to be a gut thing. The answer just feels right and then you come up with reasons.... <P> Given a relatively level playing field -- i.e., water deep enough so that a Shark could maneuver proficiently, but shallow enough so that a Bear could stand and operate with its characteristic dexterity -- who would win in a fight between a Bear and a Shark?</I> <P><BR> In this brilliant satire of our media-saturated culture, the sovereign nation of Las Vegas -- the entertainment capital of the world -- is host to Bear v. Shark II. After a disappointing loss in the first matchup between the land and the sea, the bear is back with a vengeance and out for blood. All of America is obsessed with the upcoming spectacle, so tickets are hard to come by. With an essay entitled "Bear v. Shark: A Reason to Live," young Curtis Norman wins a national writing contest and four tickets to the event. The Normans load up their SUV and embark on a road trip to Vegas. <P> As they head cross-country, the family is besieged by a dizzying barrage of voices: television and radio personalities, public service announcements, bear and shark pundits, Freudians, theologians, and self-published authors, in addition to the Bear v. Shark fanatics, cultists, and resisters they meet at roadside gas stations and restaurants. Overwhelmed by factoids, statistics, and ten-second debates, the Normans -- along with the rest of country -- can't seem to get their facts straight, much less figure out a way to actually communicate with one another. Sound bites and verbal tics predominate; misheard, misunderstood, and just plain mistaken information is absorbed, mangled, and regurgitated to hilarious effect; and the most inane subjects -- from the disappearance of Dutch culture to the Shakespearean bias toward the bear -- are vigorously and obsessively debated. These meaningless exchanges of misinformation leave Mr. Norman disenchanted, world-weary, and ambivalent about the impending show, but the family eventually makes it to Vegas for an apocalyptic and surprisingly emotional ending. <P> Written in quick, commercial-like segments that mirror the media it satirizes, Chris Bachelder's debut is a fiercely funny, razor-sharp novel about the odd intersection of zealotry and trivia, about the barriers to human connection in a society that values entertainment above all else. Through a clever act of novelistic subterfuge, Bachelder makes us laugh at our penchant for absurd and useless information while drawing us into a dazzling spectacle of his own imagination. 1351682 2001 Bear v. Shark: The Novel total:239|5:70|4:89|3:54|2:19|1:7| 239 913 335 46 2 1 false false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Jun 03 20:12:02 -0700 2007 Sun Jun 03 20:14:04 -0700 2007 Bear V Shark was Chris Bachelder's first novel, U.S.! was his second, and reading them, you can really tell that they were written in that order. U.S.! is much more accomplished, whereas Bear V Shark, while clever, suffers from being far too one-note. It's also more bleak and depressing, eviscera...more...]]> 3 2 false false Wed Mar 05 10:02:51 -0800 2008 Wed Mar 05 10:04:06 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 02 19:09:04 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 02 19:14:31 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon May 05 13:54:38 -0700 2008 Mon May 05 13:54:56 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Oct 06 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 06 16:24:40 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 06 16:27:07 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Mon Mar 19 07:33:00 -0700 2007 Tue Mar 20 19:18:57 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Jul 13 22:04:07 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 13 22:11:29 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Fri Sep 26 06:16:20 -0700 2008 Fri Sep 26 06:29:07 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Dec 02 20:46:15 -0800 2007 Sun Dec 02 20:53:01 -0800 2007
The premise of Bear v. Shark is simple. Given an even ...more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Nov 06 13:38:40 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 06 13:39:47 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Wed May 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue May 19 08:22:50 -0700 2009 Wed May 20 09:51:10 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Nov 03 07:54:49 -0700 2007 Fri Nov 16 12:15:43 -0800 2007 more...]]> 1 0 false false Wed Sep 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 14 13:36:48 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 16 19:54:31 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Sun Apr 19 15:26:32 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 19 15:28:36 -0700 2009
Actually this book tickles. It's not just a post-modern pummeling. Sure, like Pynchon--except readable. ]]> 0 0 false false Fri Oct 09 08:32:12 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 09 08:33:11 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Mon Apr 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 02 13:44:04 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 20 13:34:39 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Mon Jun 09 09:07:02 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 09 09:10:34 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Aug 25 15:06:30 -0700 2007 Tue Sep 11 08:34:09 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false true Sat Aug 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 11 20:23:47 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 22 09:42:13 -0700 2009 1
I had a few qualms with such a bleak view of media, but not enough to really hurt my enjoyment of the book.

I also felt that the ending was a little ant...more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Jul 25 03:15:37 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 18 07:01:20 -0700 2008 "Savage, bone-crushing fun for all the family". Very tightl...more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=394047