The Clan of the Cave Bear

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Description Of Life During The Ice Age
Review: Auel's story of Ayla who lived at an earlier time during human evolution is very exciting. Auel's description of life during the ice age is well researched and her writing is filled with description of life at that time. This is the first book in the series and, in my opinion, it is the best of the bunch. For the reader, it is thrilling to learn and imagine what life must have been like during this earlier age.

I "read the book" on an unabridged audio by Brilliance Corporation. Their version was very well produced so that the listener feels like he is right there with Ayla at that earlier time.

Rating:
Summary: Magnificently compelling...
Review: This is a wonderfully entertaining, well-written and thought provoking story. The author did a superb job of developing character and plot, leaving the reader with a lust for the story to continue.

Rating:
Summary: One of my all-time favorites
Review: I was only ten years old when my mom urged me to read this beautiful work. It was a little overwhelming at parts, but I've never regretted. The pure soul that Auel gives her characters is something that has been achieved by few other writers I've read. The work and passion that she has put into this world she's re-created is astounding. Although scientific findings have discounted many characteristics of the Clan (such as the intact hyoid bone found recently, indicating that Neandertals had full spoken language) the idea of this amazing species of hominid is compoletely engaging. And after reading this, who doesn't want to suddenly be as intelligent and powerful as the amazing Ayla? A wonderful book, which (in tandem with its follow-ups) inspired a great number of obsessions in me.

Rating:
Summary: Compelling
Review: I can only imagine the research and imagination required to bring this book into being. Though I didn't agree with everything in Auel's world, I was fascinated with it all nonetheless. This is a page turner and brain burner as well. Now I have to scramble to get the next one after staying up to finish it!


Rating:
Summary: THE CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR
Review: The Clan of the Cave Bear Crown Publishers, 2002, 468pp., $29.95
Jean M. Auel ISBN: 0-517-542021

The Clan of the Cave Bear is an extremely emotional novel. You will have mood swings all throughout the book. At one point you will be excited for a successful hunt, then crying over a tragic death in a family.
It all starts with a little, blonde-haired, five-year-old girl, Ayla, living with her mother in prehistoric Europe, 25,000 years from today. A terrible earthquake kills Ayla's mom and she is left alone. She ventures away from the constant aftershocks for a new home. She his hanging on the thread of her life in search for a miricle.
Jean Auel has a very descriptive style of writing. I see metaphors and personification all through the novel. She sometimes switches from scene to scene every chapter. She also writes cliffhangers. It really motivated me to read the next book, and then the whole set of books. There are five books in all.
I recommend The Clan of the Cave Bear to anybody who enjoys a novel full of magic, tradition, and adventure. It might not be suitable to younger children, it has a lot of violence and adultery related items. If you are above 13, you will love this book.

-Anita Better Book Review VI






Rating:
Summary: Intriguing fictional depiction of evolution... mild spoilers
Review: An amazing epoch of what life may have been like prehistorically. The struggle for life. What is more important? Instinct or adaptability? Both have benefits and both have downfalls. But, historically and PREhistorically, mind has always won out over brawn, and speed and agility... This fictional novel depicts the lives and the emotion and the humanity of those that came before us and the struggles they may have dealt with. Some of the antics of our heroine, Ayla, may seem too ridiculously heroic and comic book character like, BUT the author is trying to envisage evolution for her reader, making neccessary some grand gestures. The mixing of neanderthal and cro magnum species is a unique and thought provoking setting. The driving force of this epoch is the humanity and the creativity that has set apart and driven mankind through the millenia. Ironically, a must read for hard science fiction buffs... as an understanding of where we came from....a glimpse, a picture of what may have been, sets the stage for where we are going and what we are capable of overcoming.

Rating:
Summary: Great for teens, good for adults
Review: As a teen I loved this book, and it was my first read over a couple hundred pages. I'm sure I'd like it today too, but a few things in it are a little too simplistic and repetetive for my tastes as a adult.