By Julie Sara Porter
Bookworm Reviews
Spoilers: I am going to give a warning before I begin the review. Bear with me now.
Donnalyn Vjota’s book Hope in Paris: The Teddy Bear Chronicles is NOT a children’s book. Yes it is narrated by three plush teddy bears. Yes, it’s a cute concept and there are even some moments that could be considered adorable. But this is a book that is written for adults (maybe teens but adults are the central target audience.) Adult themes like domestic abuse, mental illness, sex, stalkers, mid-life crises, familial abandonment, addiction, and murder are important plot points. Now that's over, on with the review.
The idea of an adult novel told from the point of view of stuffed animals has potential to be an overly cutesy saccharine fluff piece or a Contemporary Fantasy in which the humans interact with the toys ala Ted or the toys talk to each other ala Toy Story. But despite the odd premise, Vjota actually writes the book, Hope in Paris, as straight and as realistic as she can. With of course the added caveat that the narrators of the book are a trio of stuffed bears belonging to some damaged and helpless humans that need some assistance to make their difficult lives more bearable.
The three bears are:
Fair Bear was won at the Illinois State Fair by Mark as a gift for his girlfriend, Haley. Haley left and now Fair Bear lives with Mark and his new girlfriend, Kelly. However, the relationship between Kelly and Mark is becoming toxic and abusive and Fair Bear has to be an eyewitness to various violent acts, particularly getting thrown around by this pair of angry humans.
Love Bear is owned by Richard, who is perpetually unlucky in love. He promised his deceased mother that he would settle down and marry the right woman but his ideas about romance are overwhelming. On the third date, he tried to give an expensive gift and Love Bear to them as a marriage proposal which they turn down leaving him alone with his plushy ursine friend.
Sleepy Time Bear is the companion of Ms. V, an American former actress turned drama teacher living in Paris and working at an orphanage. She has mental health difficulties and a mysterious past that gets revealed through the course of the book.
The three bears and their humans are thrown together in Paris where they end up linked to each other in surprising ways that will give them and the Readers great paws.
One of the most interesting and endearing touches to the book are the bears themselves, their narrative voices, and their relationships with their human companions. It's particularly amusing how the humans take their bears everywhere they go to the store, to a cafe, on a date, on vacation, and just about everywhere else. Of course Vjota did this for narrative purposes so the bears could report on important plot points but there are deeper possibilities. It could be that they are that lonely and desperate for someone, anyone to talk to, confide in, and hold onto even if they can't move or talk back to them.
The bears awaken those inner children who used their imaginations to find a temporary escape from their sadness and despair. Having a Bedtime Bear Care Bear on my bed who watches with Grogu, Sadness, Hilda The Plush Witch, and Trixy The Plush Black Cat as I work from home, get depressed, have panic attacks, stress about deadlines, get lost in a book, and ruminate about middle age, I completely understand the need to have those comfort objects when we just can't bear it any longer.
These characters’ emotions run the gamut between too hot, too cold, and just right.They alternate between childlike naivete and deep awareness. There are things that they don't completely understand about the human world that surrounds them. For example, Sleepy Time Bear confuses one of Ms. V's psychotic breaks with a play rehearsal. It just assumes that she's talking in character and playing a role when one of her alternate personalities or delusions take over.
This childlike innocence gives them an empathetic understanding towards their human friends. Sleepy Time is presented by Ms. V at night to orphans who can’t sleep. It is also there as a friend shaped shoulder to cry on when Ms. V is overwhelmed by her illness and estrangement from family members. Sleepy Time Bear is a silent observer that loves her and never judges her and instead opens its furry arms in comfort and acceptance.
Sometimes the bears are wiser than the humans. That is particularly true with Love Bear and its relationship with Richard. While it is a bear that represents romance, Love can be very sardonic and frequently snarks about the human friend. After observing Richard missing flirtatious cues from a woman named Rachel, Love Bear practically face-paws with embarrassment from inside its bag. “The man does not know flirting even when it's standing in front of him and named Rachel,” Love fumes.
At times, Love practically acts as Richard’s wing man uh bear observing his companion’s dates and commenting on his failures and successes. However, Love is also aware that Richard is lonely and wants to love and be loved. He just doesn’t know how to pursue it and has overblown fantasies about what it should mean. Once he learns to slow down and let a relationship take its course, Richard is able to show himself to be the nice sweet slightly geeky but solid dependable guy that Love Bear knows him to be. The type of man who anyone would be interested in taking their relationship fur-ther.
The book gets incredibly dark particularly during Fair Bear’s chapters that focus on Kelly and Mark’s troubled relationship. There are moments of anguish when Fair observes Kelly getting beaten and threatened by her boyfriend. It wants to do more to help but knows that it is limited since it's just an inanimate object and unable to physically help her. It’s just an object for her to cuddle and pour her heart out to when she can't take it anymore.
However, a twist occurs in which Fair turns out to contribute more than just comfort for Kelly. In fact, it becomes an important clue that inspires Kelly to leave Mark and find evidence against him when she learns of his criminal history. She is grateful for Fair Bear’s unintentional assistance and when she finally departs, she takes the grateful bear with her. Kelly definitely chose the bear but this time the bear also chose her.
The teddy bears in the book may be inanimate and unable to actually communicate with their human friends but they are also catalysts for them to change and improve their lives. To leave broken relationships and dead end jobs. To find real love. To rediscover their roots and reunite with people they thought were gone from their lives. To reinvent and rediscover themselves. To become self-actualized and authentic. They reached for the bears for companionship and to soothe aching hurts and instead changed their lives for the better. Thanks to their furever friends.
