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Summary: I'm going to buy the next three in the series tommarow!!!!!!
Review: I purchased this novel after my friend gave me a quick summary on what the book was about, she said that it was one of her favorite novels ever, and it is a contemporary classic so I bought it on my next trip to the bookstore One thing that also compelled me to buy this novel is that an friend of mine has the name Ayla, which is the name of the main character in the novel. Her mother named her Ayla because her mother loved the character in the novel so much that she wanted her own daughter to grow up with that worthy name. Needless to say, when I read the very first page of this novel I was hooked it would interest even the most impatient of readers! After I finished it I was convinced that this was one of the best stories I have ever read. I can't explain to you in words how great of a novel The Clan Of The Cave bear was. Anyone with an open mind will enjoy this novel, I can guarantee that. If there are people on this review list who are accusing this novel of being 'dated' and un-factual, I have the explanations for that right here. The novel takes place 35,000 years ago, and of course its not completely factual, that's why there is a big word on the side, and back of the novel 'Fiction'. Now as I have done with all of the other book reviews I have written, will give you a summary of the books beginning, but I won't go pass what happens on page 100 or more so you can enjoy the novel, and not have it all given away to you. The novel starts off with Ayla, a 5 year old, struggling to survive after a surprising earthquake. She calls out for her mom, but her mom is nowhere to be found. She is to far, and it is to dangerous to go back to her home now because of destruction caused by the earthquake, so has to cross a river and find things to eat, and water to drink. Finding water is extremely easy because there is a river nearby, but finding food is a whole different story. Remember this story took place 35,000 years ago so she dose not know how to hunt, and even if she was a boy she was only 5 years old so either way she didn't know how to kill food, or pick food of tree's of bushes yet. Ayla eventually fainted because she had very little food, and food of course is crucial to your survival. She stays unconscious on the floor when a clan comes around in search of a new cave because theirs was destroyed in the horrible earthquake. Most of the members of the clan just overlook and pass Ayla when they see her face down on the floor. But Iza, the medicine woman of the clan feels like she must save the girls life. Iza asks the leader of the clan, Brun, if she can take the girl on the ground that she found. Brun thinks about it and after a while tells her she can. Iza was pregnant with a baby so Brun thought that she would surely put the girl down because of all the extra weight she had, but Iza is a medicine woman and medicine woman are usually very helpful to others and help others when they are in need so Iza carried Ayla with her until the finally found the Cave. When The clan finally found a new cave some were convinced the girl that Iza carried, brought luck the clan and helped them find their cave, but there were some who thought that Ayla should have been left where she was found because she was one of the 'others' and that the spirts would surely disapprove of it. But Iza fought and fought her way through the doubts of others to help this girl back to health. After Ayla was completely healthy the Mog-ur of the clan (Mog-ur I guess means something like a psychic) thought Ayla their language. The whole clan was astonished at how quickly Ayla picked up on to their language, because with their own members it would take many months to teach them a new language, but Ayla picked it up right away! I just hate to leave you here where nothing especially exiting has happened but I must because I hate it when people give away the whole novels to me so I will not be a hypocrite. I'll assure you that if you thought that little summary of the beginning was even the least bit interesting, this will be one of the best story's you have ever read! Please pick up this novel now, don't read any more reviews just go get it you'll be thanking me later!
I can't wait until the new one comes out. ---Oskar Vidaurre
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating!!
Review: I've had this novel for the past year or so, But I could never get into it, so it sat there for months and months. I was going through my books recently, and came across it, so I thought I'd attempt to read it again. I must say that this novel is fascinating!! The novel is about a little girl who is separated from her Clan and is taken into another Clan who finds her barely alive. The novel, I think, is about coming of age, and acceptence of ones self and of others. I think it's about growth and basically life. Ayla who is the main character in this novel, goes through many things. She had her ups and downs with the clan of the cave bear, and it gave her an identity and independence that no one in that clan had ever had: least of all women. However, this novel is brilliant, and it made me cry at the end. I cannot wait to continue the series, and I will definetly write a review for the second, third, and fourth!!!
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Summary: The Clan of the Cave Bear
Review: Jeam M. Auel's The Clan of the Cave Bear is one of the most moving and interesting books I have read in a long time. It is the story of a woman, Ayla, and is set in the world of prehistoric man, about thirty thousand years ago. Ayla is separated from her family at a young age after an earth-shaking natural disaster. She is adopted by a travaling Clan of Cave People. Ayla is a Cro-Magnon, and as she grows up, the author shows her readers how the girl's mental and physical deviations from her adopted family change both her and them. As Ayla grows up, the story becomes an epic tale of her struggle to both survive and fit in with a group of people she is destined to overtake through evolution eventually. Of course, Ayla doesn't know this, and the story is moving in that it shows how Ayla's love stretches all bounds, from her adopted mother and father, to her son, Durc, who was born from a brutal rape.
Auel obviously did a lot of research for this book, which is shown by her seemingly unboundless knowledge of the prehistoric landscape, animals, plants, and lifestyles that surround her characters. She vividly depict the Paleolithic setting, making the reader almost believe he or she could visit the endless grasslands or glacier mountains the author writes of. Overall, The Clan of the Cave Bear is an epic book, very captivating, and definitely a real page-turner.
Rating:
Summary: A treasure
Review: One of the first authors who got me interested in historical and archeological novels. A truly comprehensive story entwined in the early times to lead you on to her other novels. I am proud to say I have read and own all five novels written by Jean A. Auel.
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Summary: Neanderthal Sexists
Review: This is a feminist parable with the Neaderthals (almost all the Neanderthal characters are men) representing the male oppressors of the intellectually and emotionally more evolved female represented by the Cro-Magnon, Ayla. I giggled every time one of the Neaderthal characters "made the sign" indicating the command for sexual favors, picturing the short rhythmic fist pumping motion sometimes used by modern males to allude to intercourse. Two stars - one for the sometimes interesting anthropological details - one for the laughs.
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Summary: to much detail
Review: Great imagination! A little to much time spent on details. But I guess that makes for a good book writer.
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Summary: TRY IT! YOU"LL LOVE IT!
Review: I stumbled across this book by accident. By reading the description, I usually would have passed it by, but for some reason I went ahead and tried it. Truely a wonderful decision. My true love is magical fantasy but this book is so interesting and so well written, anyone would be caught up in it. The life Ayla deals with is fascinating. Auel obviously did her research with this making it educational as well as intertaining. I learned a lot from this book about the early days of man. I couldn't put it down and within two weeks, I had bought and read the rest of the series. Can't wait for SHELTERS OF STONE to come out in November. EXCELLENT SERIES!! The more you read it, the more you pick out of it.
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Summary: Are we sure the cave bear didn't *write* this?
Review: Oh, where to begin. I first read this years ago, and I will readily concede that the concept and plot are intriguing, and the book is clearly well researched. In fact, it's difficult to miss the fact, since the fruits of Auel's research are dumped in the reader's lap in staggering loads, breaking up the narrative and accounting for probably two-thirds of the book's considerable length. As for the narrative itself, it's distressingly cheesy, as Auel never uses one adjective where three will do, and seems to have a phobia of referring to any person or object by the same word twice. Put down the thesaurus, Jean.
Some of the characters are likable, but that's despite the way they're written, rather than because of it, and Ayla's virtues are laid on with a trowel. Flawless heroines are bad enough, but a heroine whose very flaws are painstakingly excused by the narrator strikes me as unsufferable. I recommend "The Clan of the Cave Bear" for the sake of its premise, but lovers of literature should be sure to have a strong stomach.
Rating: 
Summary: A good read
Review: THE CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR is undeniably an enjoyable read, but it has its share of flaws: the plot, for one thing. Perhaps inventive in 1980, it now seems familiar. The problems Ayla runs into and their solutions are predictable. Nothing shocking ever seems to happen. However, the setting is an innovation. Anyone interested in prehistoric life will delight in the richly detailed, painstakingly researched descriptions of Neanderthal life. It is these accounts that separate CLAN from other stories of survival and belonging and constitue much of its appeal. However, details of prehistoric life cannot engage the reader forever. Auel seems obsessed with the most minute details of clan life, and page after page of description about herbal remedies, the process of toolmaking, strange fauna, etc. soon begin to read like essays: Auel seems to want to dump as much information as possible onto her readers. As a result, the actual plot is interspersed with long, dry, boring passages of description that have little significance to readers not interested in archaeology. Auel's narrative style is interesting. Instead of using POVs, she assumes an omnipresent narrative and relates CLAN in a fashion that reminded me of informal storytelling. The approach works surprisingly well, increasing the "prehistoric feel" of the book. However, Auel makes it impossible to become completely absorbed in the setting by scattering the book with anachronisms. Perhaps excusable in the narrative, the words stick out like sore thumbs when used by characters in dialogue. It's difficult to accept the Neanderthals as prehistoric men when they use words such as "menstrual cycle" and "arthritis". Still, CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR is a fun read. The characters are well-drawn. Ayla especially is sympathetic, likable, and a worthy protagonist. Her relations with the clan members are real and moving, and there are some genuinely emotional scenes. Anyway, CLAN makes a good afternoon's entertainment, although it didn't leave me with much of an impression. For anyone interested, know that although there is some resolution at the end of CLAN, Ayla's story is far from over: we are left hanging. If you're the sort that hates to be left in suspense, consider having a copy of the next book in hand.
Rating:
Summary: The Clan of the Cave Bear
Review: OH MY GOD! This book was so awesome! My mom gave it to me a long time ago and told me to read it, but it didn't look all that great so I procrastinated for about a year! When I finally read it, I literally couldn't put it down! All I did was eat, read, and sleep. There is no way you can be disappointed because, WOW! It's just too good!
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