matthewcpeck 's review for:

Shaman by Kim Stanley Robinson

2.0

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'Shaman' is a Cro-Magnon coming-of-age story, about an adolescent named Loon in what is now the area of the celebrated Chauvet-Pont D'arc cave in Southern France. Loon's adoptive father is also his tribe's shaman, and the book begins interestingly and suddenly with our protagonist being stripped and left alone to fend for himself in the midwinter wilderness as part of a 'wander', a walkabout-like ritual required of all apprentice shamans. Within the first few pages, Loon attempts to build a fire, and the excruciating detail that follows is a good indicator of what you can expect from much of Kim Stanley Robinson's novel - it's both admirable and annoying. The first half of the book is more concerned about building a world and imagining a distant way of life, one which Robinson clearly admires. Absorbing storytelling is brushed aside in favor of manual-like descriptions of mixing paint and weaving baskets. Now I love all of 'Moby Dick', even its chapter dedicated to rope, but 'Shaman' doesn't quite have the scope or the vision to justify this sort of thing. And though I support the decision to humanize these characters by putting somewhat modern dialogue into their mouths, having Upper Paleolithic people shout "Mama Mia!' on multiple occasions is a little TOO casual.
Loon's new wife is kidnapped by a northern tribe in the second half of the book, and the story gets much more interesting and harrowing. These sections and and the mesmerizing final section make the book somewhat worthwhile for anyone with an interest in our ancestors - but you still have to suffer through three entire pages discussing showshoe straps. I couldn't believe my eyes.
'Shaman' has adventure, earthy sex, and tragedy, but you have to slog through a lot of information to get there.