 "Good story, bad read" | 2009-09-28 |
| - Reviewed By User: AVXY75LRGX34N |
This book would be great if it wasn't for the writing. Seriously, the editing process should have pared it down, eradicated some over-used figures of speech, and challenged some of the obvious sci-fi creations that advance the plot.
The premise of modern humans and neanderthals having contact and more has been explored quite a bit. Auel does bring an interesting flavor with the story of Ayla, a presumed cro magnon who is mercifully adopted by a clan of presumed neanderthals and the culture shock this brings to all parties.
Auel's clan is very human in many regards. Sophisticated language, medicine, tools and hunting help them to survive. A flawed, but coherent mythology and religious structure guides their morals and their strictures. They display many of the human emotions and failings as any modern community, and certainly crave more than simply the basic needs of survival. The politics and personal dynamics that form the plot have a timeless and universal character.
Unfortunately, several aspects of the writing style, and several major "suspension of disbelief" plot devices made it difficult to finish. A few that come to mind:
1. The author has clearly done extensive research (or can fake it) on medicinal plants in this era. Unfortunately, it's just not that interesting to most readers given the amount of detail poured into the story. Chapters are interrupted for long discourses on yet another set of medicines and their preparations, when in fact the details add nothing to the story.
2. Too many ancillary characters with similar names to keep straight. The tribe boasts an Ika, Iba, Eba, Uba, Ovra - whatever. Many of the characters only appear every hundred pages or so and you just can't recall why they matter. Strangely, the basic motives and traits of the main characters are often repeated, which you of course should know, but these side characters just drift in and out with their similar names.
3. The pre-verbal communication is all done with hand gestures, yet they convey sophisticated sentence structures and long diatribes and grand ceremonial rites for hundreds of viewers. This just isn't believable. If anything, a species that has to rely on their hands as hunters, gatherers, and craftspeople would not be able to use those hands for such communication.
4. Repetitive figures of speech. "Ayla wasn't the only one who..." comes to mind (a way overused transition into a new paragraph - when you start to notice it and count them, that's bad).
5. There is a completely unnecessary sci-fi aspect to it, dealing with the mental abilities of the clan and in one case, the ability to see into the future (a cringe-worthy montage). Everything else in the story was at least plausible without this addition.
One more warning that is a bit of a spoiler, and also not the fault of the author. The book jacket cover on the paperback edition I read states that the clan eventually comes to worship the main character. This is false. "Accept and respect" would be accurate, but there is never any worship.
I'm disappointed by this fact - I would love to know what happens to the characters as the saga continues, but I won't subject myself to that writing style again.
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 "too busy for book club" | 2009-09-09 |
| - Reviewed By User: AGECN68O0NZGT |
For a recent family vacation my sister announced that one evening would be spent as
a book club event. We were all informed that Clan of The Cave Bear was the book to
be discussed. As a single mother of a toddler with a more than full time job I
doubted I would be able to get the book read. I had tried to read this book years
ago when it came out and never got through it. I got bogged down in the lengthy
descriptions of the landscapes. I found that the format of an audio book made it
easier for me to get through and the reader did a good job of separating and
recreating the different characters. I still think the autor is a bit indulgent,
giving us more detail than is usefull in the flora and fauna descriptions. But the
story and characters were compelling enough to motivate me through it. |
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 "Tedious" | 2009-06-20 |
| - Reviewed By User: AJUOUP5CZ30T1 |
| This book was so completely tedious for me. It felt like half the time I was reading a not-very-interesting Wikipedia description of the first humans and their way of life, and the rest of the time I was left with poor writing and even worse dialogue. I can't believe this book was so popular .... Was there nothing to read in the '80s? I had expected something amazing, as I had heard so much about this book, but was sorely disappointed. Not recommended. |
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 "The Clan of the Cavebear" | 2009-05-28 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2USB22F7S1WOM |
| The book was listed as used but was in perfect condition. Excellent book, I would recommend it highly. It is evident that the author did extensive research before writing the book. |
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| "An Amazing Story" | 2009-05-24 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3BVCDVZKYNK9D |
The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel is the first novel of the Earth's Children series. Her story provides an insight into prehistoric life of humans. The series begins with the introduction of the main character, Ayla, and the circumstances that occur that results in her being adopted by "The Clan". Ayla is first presented as a five-year-old girl who had just lost her entire family to an earthquake. Alone and desperate, she wanders in hopes of finding her dead mother. Suffering from extreme hunger and weariness, she inadvertently finds herself in the middle of a lion den. The male lion, fearing the woman that had encroached upon his territory, attempts to attack Ayla. Only by sheer luck does she manage to hide and escape with only a deep gash in her leg. Near death, she collapses near a river, where a clan is traveling in search of a new cave to live in. The medicine woman of the tribe, Iza, sees Ayla and receives permission to take her and treat her wounds. From there Ayla, a Cro-Magnon, is adopted, if not completely accepted, into the Neanderthal Clan with Iza taking the role of her mother. She will endure many trials for being one of The Others and the novel ends with her being presented her biggest problem to undergo.
This first story of the Earth's Children series is a well-written and researched book with a few obvious but necessary liberties by Auel. She does an amazing job describing a landscape in great detail and providing very believable story of what may have happened so many years ago. Since reading The Clan of the Cave Bear, I have since read the four books following the series and eagerly await the final story detailing Ayla's unusual and impressive life. While I found the sequels to be a bit more interesting than the first of the series, it is essential to read it. Any reader must understand the different way of life The Clan has and how it affects Ayla and her actions later in the series. However, that is not to say I did not enjoy the first novel. I greatly admired the way Ayla responded to the adversity she faced due to her differences and I applaud Auel for the effort she put into her works that led me to become so entangled within the story that I felt as if I was almost there sharing the joys of a successful Mammoth hunt and the pains Ayla felt as the people closest to her died. |
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| "Classic" | 2009-05-02 |
| - Reviewed By queenmeowth |
| While some people complain of inaccuracies in Ms. Auel's novel, it is important to remember that this was written in the 70's, back before much of our archaeological technologies existed. Much of what we know today we did not know back then, especially in the field of genes. However, with what she researched back then, we're presented with a solid and enjoyable read. The descriptions are lush (and sometimes overwhelming) and you definitely get a very good read - I find this better than many novels today by sub-par authors like Danielle Steel and Fern Michaels. |
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