Set in medieval times. A young boy’s family falls on hard times when his father dies. He finds himself apprenticed to the local tanner- and he hates it there. He gets along okay with the other apprentices, but the work is smelly and unpleasant, and the Master’s wife is always looking to find fault with his behavior so he can be beaten. One day he is sent on an errand to another Master in town- the Master of Bears. This man runs a business displaying wild bears, baiting them with dogs while the public watches and bets on the fights. The boy is there waiting for a reply to his Master’s message when a new load of bears is brought in. A very young one is frightened and runs up against the boy, standing on the sidelines. His reaction is to calm the animal, and everyone is shocked and awed at his natural ability with the beast. He is simply treating the animal with patience and kindness instead of brutality, but others think he has a special gift, or is even bewitched. Our protagonist finds himself the center of new attention- the Bear Master wants him to train the cub to do tricks and dance to draw the public in, but he is still apprenticed to the tanner. Loyalties divided- well, not really- he’d rather leave the tannery, but his apprenticeship is a binding contract. So he ends up running away with the bear cub, taking up company with some traveling performers. And finding all kinds of trials out on the road. I really enjoyed this story. The only part that felt awkward was near the end, when the boy and a friend are kidnapped (it was the way their assailant talked, I found kind of unbelivable) but most of it I liked. Some short passages are told from the bear cub’s viewpoint, which I thought was well done.
Borrowed from the public library. Completed on 6/17/24.
