"Jack the Bear" by Dan McCall

Damn, now THIS is a story. I haven't been so moved since So Long, See You Tomorrow. In the early 1990's, Jack the Bear was made into a great movie with Danny Devito. Which I also highly recommend. If you are unlucky enough to have Time Warner cable in San Diego, it will be on TRUEE (channel 510) tomorrow at 5PM.

But back to the book. It's what this previously blogged-about moral dilemma centered on. The story's told by twelve-year-old Jack, who lives with his toddler brother and father. (You don't often see three-year-old characters in fiction, do you?) Jack and Dylan's parents had been separated when his mother passed away. The father, John, hosts the late-night horror film program on local TV. In the daytime he's the monster who plays with the neighborhood kids, all the while trying to tame his own private beasts. The story grabbed me around the collar on page one and only let go at the end, when it released its grip and sunk back into its own Loch Ness.