THE BEARS OF BIG STREAM VALLEY

The indeterminability of a point of view makes this story (based on fact) about Swedish brown bear Ramti and his fellows remote and difficult to track down. Ramti et al. are observed by a human they never see (unless he appears undisclosed as one of the men encountered); they respond openly to humans they do meet, also investigate reindeer and wasps and other neighborhood fauna. At first with sister and mother, then with old-timer Toivo, still later with Norwegian Arjo (after he crosses the border), Ramti just rambles, stumbling onto food and situations. His sexual urges give way to wanderlust when Toivo wins a disputed female (thus relieving the narrator of supplying details); he returns to his native land and finds a ready-made family. The story lacks a major episode to vivify the experiences; although the narrator readily avows his own feelings and motivates the bears too, Ramti has no inherent charm to endear him to readers.