On Bear Mountain

*On Bear Mountain* is yet another example of Deborah Smith?s extraordinary talent for writing Southern fiction and romance. It only took me pages to be completely taken in by this tale of love, family and forgiveness. I plan to recommend *On Bear Mountain* to my family and on-line book buddies.Set in Tiberville, Georgia, two families have lived together somewhat less than amicably for the past hundred years. The Tibers are the wealthy, political family with plenty of clout, and the Powells are the dirt poor chicken farmers living outside of town. Obviously, tensions rise at the drop of a hat, and when one of the Tibers (also a Powell by relation) requisitions a giant iron bear to be displayed at the local college, things only get worse. Tom Powell and his daughter, Ursula, do their best to protect the bear from the wealthy Tibers over the years to come.Sculpture artist Richard Riconni, a New Yorker by nature, designs the bear and with its celebrated release, moves to a warehouse hours away from his wife, Angele and son, Quentin. Richard continues to work on additional sculptures while Quentin is essentially forced to grow up with his mother only, and eventually, Quentin?s heart hardens to everyone around him.Twenty years later, Ursula and Quentin meet for the first time. Quentin, now a wealthy civil engineer, has decided to buy the iron bear and give to his mother as a gift. Ursula, responsible for caring for her autistic brother Arthur, wants to keep the bear for fear of Arthur?s emotional distress. These negotiations may lead to a deeper relationship.There are so many wonderful characters in the novel that I would love to read a sequel or related novel that delves deeper into the lives of the people surrounding Ursula and Quentin. *On Bear Mountain* was a joy to read, and I can?t wait to read more from Deborah Smith.

I can't say enough good things about this book. In ON BEAR MOUNTAIN, Deborah Smith gives us unforgettable characters in an irresistible setting, all bound together by an inextricable sense of destiny. She does destiny nearly as well as John Irving, but her voice is all her own--uniquely Southern, by turns gritty and gentle, soft and sassy, and etched with a tender irony that can make you laugh out loud or break your heart. She writes with genuine emotion and sentiment, but never stoops to manipulative sentimentality. Like her protagonist, Quentin Rinconni, she is a brilliant and sensitive artist who can instinctively find and give meaning to the complex patterns that define even the most ordinary of lives. Bravo, Ms. Smith, and thanks for another extraordinary read!

I have been reading everything by Deborah Smith for years and ask myself why she isn't better known. She should be on the best seller list and there should be movies made of her books. My favorite one is "A Place to Call Home," but I loved "On Bear Mountain." I usually don't like novels where the couple are introduced as children and don't meet for 100 pages, but in her novels, the characters are so wonderful that I keep reading, anyway. Both this novel and "Home" remind me of "To Kill a Mockingbird," not because they are about prejudice but because Smith writes about the pecularities of the south like Lee. I found myself laughing and crying at this novel which I read in one night. To heck with sleeping! It took me about six or seven pages to get into, an unusually long time for Smith. Her past books have concentrated on romance; this one is a story of two families and their future links with art, guilt, and redemption. However, it's center is a great romance. It is a novel that would appeal to people who like family stories, as well as those who love romances. It's a cliche that we know a book is good when we don't want to let the characters go. It was with a sigh that I finished the book and I wish that Smith had written it longer or had written a epilogue. I hope that Deborah Smith learns to write faster, as I always adore her novels. Get going, Deborah!

I've read every one of Deborah Smith's books. They just keep getting better! I picked up "On Bear Mountain" yesterday afternoon and finished it last night, putting it down only long enough to fix another cup of tea. My eyes are still puffy from shedding some tears, but my spirit is invigorated.There are few authors who can bring readers to Kleenex and laughter in equal measure. Smith skillfully builds complex and colorful characters who expose the frailties and powerful strengths of the human spirit. In this generation, she is the finest chronicler of a disappearing race, the hill people of North Georgia. As I read "On Bear Mountain," childhood memories flashed through my mind. The poultry trucks that slowed our school bus and the quiet poverty of children who worked beside their parents in the tar paper covered "coops" of 100,000 chickens vividly reappeared. I felt again the gentle dignity of people who had few worldly riches but vast fortunes of character and determination. Thank you for keeping the spirit alive.