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A review by erinhasbooks
The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel
4.0
The Clan of the Cave Bear is the first book in a six book series that follows a group of Earth’s first modern humans (Cro-Magnon-cavemen of Eastern Europe). This book was completely fascinating to me. I don’t know why but I have always been interested in cavemen; how they survived especially in winter, a life without modern medicine, and the social structures, so when I found this book in a charity shop a few months ago I picked it up and threw it on my “to be eventually read pile”. With the colder weather starting to settle in here, I thought it would be a fun read while I sat under my blankets, next to my fire, and imagined how our earliest ancestors would survive cold nights like we have been having. I didn’t expect much from this book and it took me by complete surprise.
This story follows Ayla, orphaned at age five by an earthquake that killed her people. After wandering in the woods for a few days, she was discovered by the Clan people who were displaced by the same earthquake that took Ayla’s family. Even though she was considered “the Other”, Ayla was adopted into the Clan people’s group by their medicine woman Iza. Iza, a childless woman who taught Ayla all about how to be a medicine woman for the Clan and becomes a mother to Ayla. This story follows the journey of Ayla growing up and trying to fit into this Clan while being obviously a very different species (I imagine the “Other” being the first Homosapien). The future leader of this Clan despises Ayla and is determined to get revenge on her at every turn because as Ayla grows taller and smarter than all of them; his hatred grows for her and all the attention she steals from him. This survival story is at times brutal and harsh, I can not imagine living at this time.
This book was meticulously researched by Jean M. Auel; she states in her readers notes all the adventures she took to obtain the knowledge for this book and it paid off. Learning how these early humans survived was captivating. The social structures were also intriguing, although sometimes infuriating. (Trigger warning for sexual assault) I am absolutely going to read at least book two, The Valley of Horses, as book one ends on quite a cliff hanger. I gave this book four stars instead of five, only due to the fact that at times it was long winded and some parts of the story didn’t feel relevant to moving the plot along; besides that it would have been a five star read. If you read The Last Neanderthal by Claire Cameron; a book I also loved, you will like this story as well.
This story follows Ayla, orphaned at age five by an earthquake that killed her people. After wandering in the woods for a few days, she was discovered by the Clan people who were displaced by the same earthquake that took Ayla’s family. Even though she was considered “the Other”, Ayla was adopted into the Clan people’s group by their medicine woman Iza. Iza, a childless woman who taught Ayla all about how to be a medicine woman for the Clan and becomes a mother to Ayla. This story follows the journey of Ayla growing up and trying to fit into this Clan while being obviously a very different species (I imagine the “Other” being the first Homosapien). The future leader of this Clan despises Ayla and is determined to get revenge on her at every turn because as Ayla grows taller and smarter than all of them; his hatred grows for her and all the attention she steals from him. This survival story is at times brutal and harsh, I can not imagine living at this time.
This book was meticulously researched by Jean M. Auel; she states in her readers notes all the adventures she took to obtain the knowledge for this book and it paid off. Learning how these early humans survived was captivating. The social structures were also intriguing, although sometimes infuriating. (Trigger warning for sexual assault) I am absolutely going to read at least book two, The Valley of Horses, as book one ends on quite a cliff hanger. I gave this book four stars instead of five, only due to the fact that at times it was long winded and some parts of the story didn’t feel relevant to moving the plot along; besides that it would have been a five star read. If you read The Last Neanderthal by Claire Cameron; a book I also loved, you will like this story as well.