Reviews

The Shelters of Stone by Jean M. Auel

bmg20's review against another edition

3.0

Ayla and Jondalar have finally made it back to his homeland in order to settle down and start their lives together. Ayla is pregnant and worried about whether she will be accepted by his people. Ayla shocks and amazes Jondalar's people/family with her talents as a healer, animal tamer, and her ability to create fire and she is accepted almost immediately.

As with all Jean M. Auel books, 'The Shelters of Stone' is heavy on the detail and history of the land and people inhabiting it. The story doesn't build up to much in the end and I was a bit disappointed, especially since the ending was a tad expected. I waited almost a decade to read this because the size definitely frightened me and unfortunately her books can be a bit boring at times. I will probably be waiting at least another decade before deciding to delve into the last and final chapter in the Earth's Children series.

elena_gilbert's review against another edition

1.0

Drivel. Reads like a hastily filled in outline, thrown together during National Novel Writing Month, complete with shameless word padding. It's as if a completely different author took over.

kibbles_n_bitch's review against another edition

2.0

This is the Mother Song that never ends, it just goes on and on my friends...

dozylocal's review against another edition

3.0

I'd rate this 3.5 stars. I still think her first two books were the best of the series. This one woud, however, be quite easy for someone who hasn't read the other four to pick up and still enjoy. I still enjoy her writing style and the historic descriptions of tools and cultures remains fascinating. However, there is a lot of repitition. She seems to have copied and pasted large parts of her other books and/or paraphrased. This is OK for a newcomer to the Ayla story. She also has a lot repetition in the book itself. One example is a lengthy poem called "The Mother's Song" (which I think she actually first introduced in an earlier book anyway) which is repeated in full and in parts a number of times for no real apparent reason. I enjoyed reading the book. I think it was longer than it needed to be. I would like to read the next one.

ofearna's review against another edition

2.0

we waited HOW MANY years for this? Someone help me find the editor and slap him silly...

annamaria_ts's review against another edition

5.0

This is the first book I read from this series (years ago, when I was a teenager), and I maintain to this day that it's the only book of the series one needs to read, not because the others aren't enjoyable, but because it recaps every single moment of the previous books.

Every time I read this one I enjoy it immensely. There is no plot, the descriptions are way too long, there is fatphobia and a crap ton of gender stereotyped, divine feminine, earth mother "feminism" and yet it's so freaking enjoyable. (Although I can't get over the fact that the only awful character was the childless scorned woman).

The absurdity of everyone being the absolute best of the best, the very modern medicine and the long every day life scenes make this book feel very safe and cozy, and it got me out of the reading slump I was in very fast.

sswain08's review against another edition

adventurous informative medium-paced

fantastiskfiktion's review against another edition

2.0

http://fantastiskfiktion.wordpress.com/2011/05/04/grottbjornens-folk/

adriennegorra's review against another edition

1.0

Biggest waste of time. I think I'm giving up the series, even if it is just one more book left. I just can't go through more pointless introductions and repetitive descriptions about Ayla's 'inventions' and "Pleasures" shared with Jondolar. I just can't.

brdgtc's review against another edition

2.0

The pattern gets old - there are only so many times Ayla can meet new people, explain how she domesticated horses/created fire/invented atlatls, etc. In this book, she is finally done traveling but still rehashing these stories - except now she's done doing anything exciting.