Take a photo of a barcode or cover
emotional
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Rape
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Violence
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book has many flaws but for its world and culture-building I love it. The descriptions of the ceremonies stick out as highlights and the main characters (Ayla, Iza, Creb) are well developed so that I cared about them. I’m also a sucker for descriptions of herbalism and wilderness survival + stories driven by a mother’s love (beginning with Iza for Ayla).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Grief, Pregnancy
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have a lot of interest in the stone age and was really stoked to pick this one up. In the end, I was more than a little let down.
The book has two modes: either it is providing rich descriptions of reconstructed Neanderthal life (for which the author did a truly impressive amount of research and filled in the gaps very believably), or it's advancing the story of Ayla, Cro-Magnon who finds herself adopted by her cousin species after an earthquake kills her family, and struggles with her differences as she ages into adulthood.
The novel's age makes it hard to read as a straightforward educational text. Even if I assume the writer did her research, anything I read will necessarily reflect the scientific consensus of fourty-five years ago - for all I know, half the things I read haven't been taken seriously by paleontologists for all of the current millennium. Having to constantly second-guess the things I was reading really took away from this part of the work.
Ayla's own story is... slow, mostly. Entire pages are devoted to our heroine's positively glacial thought process (when they're not being interrupted by more scenes of plant-gathering), a small crowd of several dozen characters fights for their own spotlight time, and as if that doesn't sound bad enough already, the novel eschews timeskips in favor of telling us, year by year, of how the found five-year-old grows into a teenager.
Then there's the B-plot, which I found extremely uncomfortable because it amounts to "Isn't it so sad how these evolutionarily stagnant but deeply spiritual people are doomed to be replaced by a fitter, smarter, better branch of humanity, who are anachronistically blond btw". One significant character's entire arc resolves around his people's inevitable doom, and I kept just waiting for those scenes to be over whenever they popped up.
Still, the book has its virtues. The worldbuilding is incredibly believable and very evocative, the character work is competent, and the ending wrapped everything up very nicely. The Clan of the Cave Bear isn't always perfect, but at least it's interesting.
The book has two modes: either it is providing rich descriptions of reconstructed Neanderthal life (for which the author did a truly impressive amount of research and filled in the gaps very believably), or it's advancing the story of Ayla, Cro-Magnon who finds herself adopted by her cousin species after an earthquake kills her family, and struggles with her differences as she ages into adulthood.
The novel's age makes it hard to read as a straightforward educational text. Even if I assume the writer did her research, anything I read will necessarily reflect the scientific consensus of fourty-five years ago - for all I know, half the things I read haven't been taken seriously by paleontologists for all of the current millennium. Having to constantly second-guess the things I was reading really took away from this part of the work.
Ayla's own story is... slow, mostly. Entire pages are devoted to our heroine's positively glacial thought process (when they're not being interrupted by more scenes of plant-gathering), a small crowd of several dozen characters fights for their own spotlight time, and as if that doesn't sound bad enough already, the novel eschews timeskips in favor of telling us, year by year, of how the found five-year-old grows into a teenager.
Then there's the B-plot, which I found extremely uncomfortable because it amounts to "Isn't it so sad how these evolutionarily stagnant but deeply spiritual people are doomed to be replaced by a fitter, smarter, better branch of humanity, who are anachronistically blond btw". One significant character's entire arc resolves around his people's inevitable doom, and I kept just waiting for those scenes to be over whenever they popped up.
Still, the book has its virtues. The worldbuilding is incredibly believable and very evocative, the character work is competent, and the ending wrapped everything up very nicely. The Clan of the Cave Bear isn't always perfect, but at least it's interesting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Rape, Terminal illness, Abortion
Minor: Dementia
adventurous
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Pregnancy
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It’s so beautifully detailed and you get trapped in the simplicity of the world. It felt like I could take a break and just relax while I read about this story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Violence
Minor: Animal death
Some minor abuse but technically in the society of the people they aren’t minors. It’s prehistoric so the oldest person we know of lived to 26 so an 11yo is practically middle age. Kids get counted as adults after with first period.
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I found this book extremely off-putting to read as it was essentially prehistoric soft p*rn. Ayla was extremely s*xualised.
It’s saving grace was its novelty as a book set in prehistoric times which I enjoyed—it transported me to a different world and ultimately that’s what a good fantasy book does.
The rest of it is not my cup of tea though
It’s saving grace was its novelty as a book set in prehistoric times which I enjoyed—it transported me to a different world and ultimately that’s what a good fantasy book does.
The rest of it is not my cup of tea though
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Violence
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual violence
Moderate: Miscarriage, Rape
I liked the story. I liked the characters. The misogynistic society of the proto-humans was ugly and grim, but probably close to reality. The beating of women and ritual humiliation, gross but again, drove the point home. But I gotta draw the line at graphic SA and rape of a 10-year old. No thanks.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book is indeed well written and takes you into another world fully. But boy is it a dark book. A lot of errors and obstacles. Way too dark for me. But still left me wanting to know what will happen next…
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence