In this hilarious, richly imagined bears eye view of love, music, alienation, manhood and humanity (Publishers Weekly), Zabors knack for detail makes the absurd premise (a walking, talking, Blake- and Shakespeare-quoting bear) believable (The New Yorker). n nThe hero of this sensational debut novel is an alto-sax virtuoso trying to evolve a personal style out of Coltrane and Rollins. He also happens to be a walking, talking, Blake- and Shakespeare-quoting bear whose musical, spiritual, and romantic adventures add up to perhaps the best novel, ursine or human, ever written about jazz.n