I have always found history to be quite interesting.

However, unfortunately, this book is not for me.

After a while, you will know what their food is, what weapons they use, and what the relationships and rules are within the tribe.

Ultimately, I just found it to be too long-winded and it even made me sleepy.

No, in that regard, I would have preferred to read a short and concise story about this tribe instead of it being so extremely drawn out.

Perhaps if the author had presented the information in a more engaging and succinct manner, I would have had a different opinion.

As it stands, this book failed to hold my attention and left me feeling rather disappointed.

Nevertheless, I still maintain my interest in history and will continue to seek out other sources that can provide me with a more captivating and informative experience.

Jean is a researcher who has dedicated her life to the study of Neanderthals.

She often jokes that her story telling skills are roughly equivalent to those of her subjects.

Jean firmly believes that fiction should be written in the form of a dull and tedious encyclopaedia.

She feels that this approach will allow readers to truly immerse themselves in the details and facts of the subject matter.

Jean's work is not for the faint of heart, as it requires a great deal of patience and attention to detail.

However, she is passionate about her research and is determined to share her findings with the world in the most accurate and comprehensive way possible.

Despite the challenges she faces, Jean remains committed to her work and continues to strive for excellence in everything she does.

Her unique approach to writing and research has earned her a reputation as a respected and innovative scholar in the field of anthropology.

When it comes to this book, one should first start with the fact that the very idea of the story is really quite good: the encounter of Cro-Magnon (or otherwise early anatomically modern humans) with Neanderthals, and more precisely, the story of one of the Cro-Magnon girls who ends up in the Neanderthal clan.

I'm not a big history lover in this way, but at least from the perspectives of lifestyle and culture, almost all historical periods are interesting to me, including the early Stone Age, during which the plot develops. And the Neanderthal VS human plot line is very, very favorable for writing a novel. Currently, there are five theories as to why Neanderthals became extinct:

a) They assimilated with humans (because, it turns out, interbreeding between species was possible and a large majority of us carry approximately 1.8 to 2.6% of Neanderthal-derived genes in our genome);

b) We physically wiped them out;

c) We lived peacefully beside them for a long time and they simply died out due to demographic problems (competition with us smarter ones, of course, didn't help either, but shit happens, it's not our fault);

d) Due to a different immune system, they couldn't withstand the bacteria and parasites we brought;

e) Climate change, due to which Neanderthals couldn't adapt to the era and the changed rules;

The most interesting part is that there is actually no information that would more convincingly support any of the theories, so it can be said that they are all equally likely, which leaves a very, very wide freedom of action and theories for writers.

Jean Auel herself prepared for writing this book more than what are called "method actors" prepare for a role - for months and months she didn't deviate from the pursuit of paleologists, joined a survivalist group to learn how to prepare hides, tan skins, start a fire, chip stone, spent a lot of time learning and researching medicinal plants. All of this is very impressive, but it also has its price: the book sometimes more resembles not a novel, but a manual for handicrafts, and the biggest minus is that all these stories about daily tasks and the gathering of medicinal plants and the making of tools simply never end. This is not bad, to be honest, I read a not small part of the information with great interest, and the research work should also be separately mentioned. The only problem for me in the English language are the descriptive nouns, especially the names of birds and plants. There were so many names here, and not only that, such that I haven't even heard them much in Lithuanian, and here they also had to be translated from another language.

In any case, this is a rather not bad coming-of-age novel, true, in very unusual circumstances. But I really liked it just because of its originality and non-traditional plot. Of course, there is a not small part of the "really?" factor, but there's nothing to be done about it - if we're talking about what was 40,000 years ago, there are certain moments that will ultimately come down to take it or leave it. I'm among those who took it. 4*, although with a bit of an advance - but three, I think, would be too few, because I really read this book with great interest and pleasure.

Fantastic! Phenomenal! The ultimate in creative, imaginative story telling.

\\n  How else can I describe a book that transports the reader back to a time in history where there were no books, writing or pictorial records to chart early life forms but makes it so believable you think this could have actually taken place?\\n
What an extraordinary imagination author Jean M. Auel tapped into by taking the fossils we've all seen in museums and the numerous pieces of scientific hypothetical information and forming a pre-historical fiction around them. The details of the flora, fauna, and terrain of the prehistoric earth are described in such a way that the reader truly feels as if this novel is part story, part history lesson.

When I first learned about this book years ago, I was intrigued. I thought it would be more Fantasy fiction, but since I'm not averse to this genre, I decided to give it a try. Eventually, I picked it up during one of my many book hauls. However, it sat on my shelf for a long time. It's a thick book, and I avoided it as my next choice many times, not wanting to tackle something that would take up so much time. For some reason, I pictured the Hollywood version of scruffy cave people with shaggy hanging furs and bones in their hair. This is why I avoided it. I categorized it as Fantasy and never seemed to be in the mood for that.

There's a lyric in a song by hip hop artist Talib Kweli that makes reference to The Clan of the Cave Bear. Hearing that song would remind me that I needed to read the book. But I kept putting it off. Sometimes it would make it into a book lineup but would lose out to other books that I was more interested in at the time. And a few times it got pushed back on the shelf, and I forgot I even owned it. For all these avoidances, I say to The Clan of the Cave Bear, I'm very sorry. I had no idea it was so good. It took the political drama of my country's election for me to not only remember this book but also go seeking it out as a distraction. I joked with friends that I didn't even want to live in 2016 right now. I grabbed this book and have gone back to caveman times to hold onto my sanity. And I've enjoyed every single moment lost in time with this book. I'm glad I stopped judging it by its cover or my stereotypical assumption of cave people.

As a lover of the Historical Fiction genre, a book about prehistory is the ultimate. I'll tell those who haven't read it. It's not Hollywood bones and shaggy carpet clothing at all. It's realistic, engaging, engrossing, and tribal. And you finish the book knowing you want to continue to the next one. I actually went out and purchased the next book when I was halfway through this first one. I don't have that great luck with series, so I hope it does continue to carry me through to the last book.

I'm giving it 5 stars. It was very entertaining, transportive, and as an author, what a project.

This book was truly powerful for me.

It vividly brought to life a world that had disappeared more than 10,000 years ago. The character of Ayla is such an inspiration and a strong woman. I have a deep love for her dedication to life, to her tribe, and to herself. The fact that she became a medicine woman is truly remarkable. This book is truly one of a kind. It takes the reader on a journey through a prehistoric world, filled with adventure, love, and survival. The author's attention to detail and ability to create a believable and engaging world is truly impressive. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in history, adventure, or just a good story.

In this review, I will solely focus on the historical value of this novel. (For my comprehensive global review, refer to my general account on Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...). Jean M. Auel truly exerted her utmost efforts to reconstruct the Neanderthal world, considering the knowledge available around 1980. The detailed descriptions of the physiognomy of this Homo Sapiens' nephew, the making of stone tools, hunting techniques, diet, and the flora and fauna in the then habitat (approximately 30,000 Before Present) are remarkable. One can observe that she has studied every aspect meticulously.

However, inevitably, she has filled in numerous other features of the Neanderthals' world through reasoned fantasy and speculation, endowing it with narrative coherence and some dramatization.

Forty years after the book's publication, some of those elements curiously turn out to be correct. Chief among these is her intuition that Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens interbred. This was disputed by paleontologists for years, but it wasn't until 2010 that genetic research unequivocally demonstrated that both human species indeed produced progeny. On average, about 2% of the genetic material in non-African people today can be traced back to Neanderthal origins. Perhaps Auel's guess was merely a creative discovery to provide her story with sufficient dramatic content, but it was a highly successful one.

Regrettably, I must be far less enthusiastic about other creative elements. For instance, she portrays the clan as a small group leading a relatively sedentary life in a spacious cave with demarcated family areas, which absolutely does not conform to archaeological findings. There is also limited scientific support for the totemism to which she devotes a great deal of attention. There is even occasional mention of "gods," which is a very clear anachronism. Auel gives the relations within the clan a strong hierarchical character with a distinct leader, contrary to the prevailing scientific opinion that the itinerant Neanderthals had a rather egalitarian form of society. I have the impression that both the totemism and the strict hierarchy within her Neanderthal group were inspired by the culture of Native Americans. She also pays a great deal of attention to the man-woman relationship, unambiguously underlining the dependency of women. This is also an assumption of Auel that cannot be deduced from the archaeological record at all, and the relative monogamy outlined in the book is also her own interpretation, based on nothing.

What is downright disturbing are the narrator's continuous interventions clearly explaining how limited Neanderthals were in their physical and mental abilities and how that would lead to their downfall. Repeatedly, she emphasizes how superior the Sapiens ("the Others") were. I suspect that here, Auel has yielded to the educator in her, but it is needlessly explanatory and clearly derogatory towards the abilities of Neanderthals.

In conclusion, this book should by no means be regarded as an introduction to the world of an extinct human species as too many fantasy elements have been incorporated. But as a dramatic story in a highly creative setting, this work is undoubtedly worthwhile!

I came to The Clan of the Cave Bear at the Mission Viejo Library when the novel I'd wanted next -- The Witching Hour by Anne Rice -- was out. Wandering the hardcover fiction section, a row of books at eye level with thick, colorful spines and the same author caught my attention. Published in 1980, this bestseller not only launched five sequels but also a much-maligned film adaptation in 1986. It became an industry for Jean M. Auel, whose published fiction has been solely dedicated to this Ice Age series.

Set in the late Pleistocene Epoch, perhaps as many as 35,000 years ago, and in an area that resembles the present-day Crimean Peninsula, The Clan of the Cave Bear begins with a 5-year-old girl named Ayla. Her tribe is wiped out in an earthquake while she is off swimming in a stream. After narrowly escaping being a meal for cave lions, Ayla is found starving and badly wounded by a tribe of wanderers who have also been displaced by the quake.
The leader of the wanderers, Brun, is brown-haired, stocky, and bow-legged. He recognizes Ayla as one of "The Others", a tribe that is blonde-haired, lean, and tall. Communicating with sign language and grunts as much as words, Brun initially ignores Ayla, considering her "Not clan". However, his medicine woman, Iza, a 30-year-old senior citizen, takes pity on the girl and brings her back from the brink of death. The wanderers are desperately seeking shelter, and it is Ayla who directs Iza's attention to a perfect cave.
One of the main reasons to read this novel is Auel's credible portrayal of Ayla as the ultimate outsider. She grows to maturity with the sense that she is different from everyone else and struggles to find her purpose. Ayla looks other clan members in the eye, which is a major faux pas for a woman. Her physique allows her to swim, and she uses this ability to save the life of a clan member from drowning.
Ayla's curiosity also leads her to teach herself how to use a sling and hunt with it, a crime punishable by death for a woman. Auel creates a great deal of tension by pitting Ayla against Broud, the ill-tempered son of Brun and the heir apparent to the clan's leadership. Broud is deeply offended by Ayla's ways and engages her in a battle of wills. I kept reading because I wanted to see the moment when Ayla would stand up for herself and go all Tina Turner on Ike, in this case, Broud.
Auel's research, which began in 1977 in consultation with numerous experts, offers interesting insights into prehistoric survival. It shows the work of female gatherers preparing foods and medicines, and the work of male hunters tracking and killing game, most memorably a trek north to hunt mammoth. However, my attention waned when it came to descriptions of religious rites, where there seemed to be less at stake.
While the characters know more about the natural world than we ever will, their weakness is a shortened life span. Ayla reaches womanhood and achieves the status of Woman Who Hunts by age 10. I found the biology of the characters to be unique, a facet that was lost in the film version with Daryl Hannah, who was 25 years old and 5'10", cast in the role of Ayla.
The major weakness of The Clan of the Cave Bear is Auel's geriatric writing, which is plodding and tells too much. I consider myself intelligent enough to imagine what characters are thinking or feeling based on how they act and what they say to each other. I scanned the last 100 pages because there was simply not enough at stake. At no point does the reader think that Auel's heroine might be killed, and the author's visible attempt at writing prevented me from becoming fully absorbed in the world she was creating.
Fortunately, for me, writing takes a back seat. I can excuse a lot of telling instead of showing if the author creates a compelling character, builds a fantastic world, and makes me reluctant to put down the book without knowing what will happen to the character. I'm recommending this to readers with an interest in the prehistoric world or in how to build a series. I can't say that Auel hooked me into reading the sequels, but for a debut novel, this is a good one.

Girl power in the age of Neanderthals
I had not expected it at all, but I truly enjoyed reading this. As a story, it is quite powerful. Auel has made an enormous creative effort to reconstruct the Neanderthals' world, basing it on what was known at the time of publication in 1980. She has woven an original and dramatic storyline around it, incorporating many of her own interpretations and fantasy elements, of course. With the main character Ayla, the Sapiens girl who was found by the Neanderthal tribe and grows up with them, she actually places a clear feminist emphasis. This is also manifestly a political novel, in which the thoughtful tribal leader Brun is contrasted with the rash incoming leader Broud.

Especially the psychological aspect of the novel is extraordinarily strong. This is evident in the passages where the characters ponder their own feelings and those of others in the clan, about how to best handle certain situations and how to reconcile long and short term goals. There is clearly also a teacher in Auel, as she gives a great deal of attention to explaining the special features of clan life, such as the magical ceremonies, the techniques for hunting or using medicinal plants. However, sometimes she exaggerates, which slows down the story. From a historical and scientific perspective, her book does not hold up: her Neanderthal world contains too many fantasy elements. But her basic intuition, namely that Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens have interbred in the meantime, has been confirmed by paleo-genetic research. For more on these historical aspects, see my History-account on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....

This book was penned in the eighties, and let me tell you, it shows.

It would truly astonish me if this book were to sell in large numbers if it were released in the 2020s.

Now, having said that, I have an absolute passion for this style of writing, and it worked wonders for me.

The author tackles every aspect methodically and conducts a thorough investigation into human nature.

Each and every character is brought to life and fully developed. I felt as if I were a part of the clan. I had the distinct impression that I had actually witnessed the events unfold.

Then, the author hit me with the emotional impact. This book draws you in and then brutally tears your heart out. And quite frankly, that's precisely my favorite element in a story.

I am eagerly looking forward to continuing this series and seeing what other emotional rollercoasters and captivating tales the author has in store for us.

What a truly great re-read this has been!

I can definitely say that I have gained A WHOLE LOT more from this book than I did when I was approximately 9 years old. I will be maintaining my rating at a high 4!

The sheer amount of research that must have been involved in completing this book is truly impressive. Even though at times the descriptions can be long-winded, Auel's vivid portrayals of the prehistoric setting effectively transport the reader right back into that distant time period. And where our knowledge from history is lacking, she expertly fills in the gaps with her fertile imagination, crafting a fascinating mythology and a believable cast of characters.

The main character, Ayla, is incredibly resilient and a joy to follow. I found myself deeply caring about what happened to her and was constantly enthralled, eager to learn what her future would hold. I am really looking forward to continuing on with the series and finally finishing what I started almost 20 years ago. It's going to be an exciting journey!

No, this book is not without flaws. In fact, to some readers, it might seem a bit immature in certain aspects. However, in the grand scheme of things, it has the potential to be regarded as a classic.

The series consists of 6 books. They are: The Clan of the Cave Bear (1980), The Valley of Horses (1982), The Mammoth Hunters (1985), The Plains of Passage (1990), The Shelters of Stone (2002), and The Land of Painted Caves (2011).

While each subsequent book might seem to decline in quality compared to the first one (at least in my opinion, the last 3 books do), they actually serve as a platform for the growth of our main character, Ayla.

The first book truly showcases the author's extensive research on the Ice Age, specifically Europe during the Upper Paleolithic Age. It's evident that she also conducted her own physical research.

The story is captivating, beginning with an earthquake that leaves our main character, a Cro-Magnon child, lost at around 5 years old. After being attacked by a cave lion, she is rescued by a group of Neanderthals.

She then grows up in a challenging situation that can be seen as a sort of modern man vs. prehistoric man conflict. If you read the book, you'll understand why I say this towards the end.

The growth of Ayla is vividly portrayed in this first novel, especially considering she was only about 11 when she had her first child. Throughout the series, you'll witness her evolving as she embarks on a journey to find "her own people."

Most people felt that the last book was a letdown, but I found it to be a gentle conclusion after waiting for so many years. I hadn't been satisfied with the previous few books, so the last one didn't come as a surprise to me.

I'm now off to re-read the entire series!

Happy Reading.

A Disappointment

The concept of the story is interesting, especially considering the recent archaeological evidence indicating that Neandertals and Cro-Magnons (anatomically modern humans) might have interbred. However, the execution is extremely poor. The pacing is uneven, with the prose being overly flowery to the point of being painful, and the characters are flat.

Some other aspects that bothered me include:

The author has a tendency to "info-dump", frequently disrupting the story's flow to provide lengthy descriptions of plants, rocks, and characters' appearances. While I understand the importance of setting, as most readers aren't familiar with the flora and fauna of Ice Age Europe, the depiction could have been better. Maybe if the prose weren't so purple or if the same caves, valleys, and plants weren't described repeatedly, I wouldn't have minded as much.

The repetition is also a major issue. Constantly reiterating how different, special, strange, and unique Ayla is becomes tiresome. We get it, she's from a different species, but the author needs to move on.

The faulty science in the book is another problem. For example, the claim that the size of the Clan members' (Neandertals) heads is related to their knowledge capacity is inaccurate. While skull size influences brain size, brain size and intelligence aren't directly correlated. Additionally, the idea that they can't progress technologically because their brains and skulls would have to get larger is also incorrect. And the references to "the memories" and the Clan members' supposed mystical abilities to access and share ancestral memories are historically and scientifically ridiculous.

Just as ludicrous are the assertions that the Clan people can speak but not laugh or cry. These are clearly just plot devices to make Ayla stand out, but the lack of logic in these distinctions makes me question if the author put any thought into them.

Finally, the fact that all the Neandertal characters have dark hair, skin, and eyes while Ayla is blonde, blue-eyed, and fair-skinned gives the impression of a white supremacist agenda. Ayla is portrayed as being better at everything than the Clan people, bringing them luck and receiving divine retribution when treated badly.