Enjoyed it very much, looking forward to book number 2

This book had me looking up herbs and historical facts on Neanderthal. I enjoyed the descriptive aspects of the characters and settings. I am reading it for a second time many years later and it still draws me in. ( )

I think I've read this one about six times between my 12th and my 18th birthday. This book (together with [a:Thea Beckman|491820|Thea Beckman|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1233870609p2/491820.jpg]'s [b:Kruistocht in Spijkerbroek|3114666|Kruistocht in spijkerbroek|Thea Beckman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1206654386s/3114666.jpg|959221]) fueled my love for history. ( )

While I enjoyed The Clan of the Cave Bear, I wish it weren't so obviously the first book in a series, as it ends abruptly (albeit exactly where it must) with the clear intention of continuing in additional novels which likely won't find their way onto my reading list. I admire Jean M. Auel's world-building and vision for her saga of the Clan and the Others, the competing species of prehistoric man struggling for survival on the Crimean Peninsula. Steeped in mythology and superstition, the Clan lack the cognitive power to comprehend the natural world. While they see sex as a natural part of life, they do not grasp its connection to reproduction. They are unable to count beyond three and cannot generalize (for example, they lack a word for tree, despite having words for elm and birch and other varieties found in their environment). Conversely, Others have the cognitive skills lacking in the Clan, which supplement their lesser physical strength.

The heroine of the novel, Ayla, is an Other cast into the world of the Clan at the age of five by an earthquake which wipes out her family and all the people she lives with. Ayla can be seen as a feminist archetype, caught between the patriarchal traditions of the Clan and her innate abilities and desires which drive her to participate in activities restricted to men. Ayla's struggle to suppress her superior skills in accordance with Clan traditions, and the Clan's inability to accept her as she is, continually threaten both her inclusion as part of the Clan and her survival.

The Clan of the Cave Bear is a conceptually interesting book. Occasionally, words spoken or thought by the primitive characters noticeably exceed their intellectual abilities, but the overall storytelling yields an entertaining—if incomplete—read. ( )

It was slow going at the beginning. So much so that I almost dnf'd it but I am so glad that I didn't. This is a really good book and I look forward to continuing the series in the future. ( )

Pre-historical fiction. Each book got a little harder to believe, but the stories carried me along. ( )

El clan del oso cavernario
Jean M. Auel
Publicado: 1980 | 528 páginas
Novela Aventuras Histórico
Serie: Los hijos de la tierra #1

En la última fase de la Era Glacial, cuando Neandertales y Cromañones compartían la tierra, Ayla, una niña Cromañón de 5 años, queda aislada de su tribu por culpa de un terremoto y es acogida por un grupo de Neandertales. Valiente e indomable la joven al principio inspira sorpresa, luego cautela y, por fin, es aceptada por parte del Clan. Iza, la curandera y Creb, el Hombre Santo, cuidan de ella. Ayla se interesa por las cacerías y los preparativos de las armas, algo que está prohibido a las mujeres y que ella, no obstante, domina con maestría.

I found this book a little difficult to begin with. The constantly shifting point of views and pages of description that take up the bulk of the first 150 pages made it difficult to get into the story. However once you get past that it becomes engrossing. Ayla's story is that of an outsider. Of being, and feeling, different to those around you and struggling against your nature to fit in to an alien set of rules and traditions while still maintaining a sense of yourself. A thoroughly enjoyable read. ( )

I’ve just finished reading The Earth’s Children Series by Jean M Auel. It’s a series outside my usual genre, but this historical fiction/historical romance series was amazing! My mom has been trying to get me to read these books for YEARS (my grandmother loved the books and always wanted one of her children to name a girl Ayla) and I kept putting it off because it’s not the type of book I usually go for. But, a few weeks ago mom and I were watching This Is Us (the episode where Jacks mom dies and he finds her Clan of the Cave Bear book on her nightstand in her bedroom)... well, it finally inspired me to pick up the series. This is a series that I feel is worth sharing with my reader friends, no matter what genres you tend to read. If you are interested in a deep, moving story about humanity and its evolution in the time of pre-history then y’all should check this one out. And I’m not just saying this because it’s where my name came from 🤣 but, Ayla is, in my opinion, one of the greatest feminist icons in literature. Another thing that really hooked me was the parallel between the attitudes the Cro-magnon people had towards Neanderthals - and racism in the modern world. It shines a light on equality, sexism and even has lgbt and disability equality themes. Considering the first book was released in the 80’s and takes place in 10,000 BC, it’s interesting that there are so many similarities between the books and current events. It shows how people’s thoughts can evolve from one paradigm to another.
Each book is packed with DENSE information about paleolithic man, neanderthals, the ice age, and various aspects of life during that time period ranging from hunting and gathering practices and tools to social structure and interactions. A good chunk of the books read almost like textbooks because they are packed with so much information, but the human aspects of the stories that Auel creates feels so real and justified that it makes up for all the dry data dumps.

The whole series is ultimately about human evolution-where humanity is headed; who will move on into the future and who will die out. It’s a story about being different and being true to yourself, about the sacrifices you make (both good and bad) to fulfill your destiny. It’s a story about how sometimes your beliefs need to change in order to move on to the next level of understanding. I believe today’s society could learn a lot from Ayla and her story.

⚠️SPOILERS⚠️

I was SOOO disappointed that we never find out what happens to Durc and the Clan after Ayla leaves. Reading ‘Clan of the Cave Bear’ I became really invested in the lives of Uba, Durc and the rest of the Clan (yes, even Broud).

The Zelandonii made a big deal about it being possible that they settled on land that belonged to the Clan at one time. And also that they would attempt trading/communicating with the Clan in book 5.... then..... nothing.

I REALLY wish the series had ended with book 4, The Plains of Passage. Everything became extremely repetitive after book 4. And I absolutely HATED the way Ayla and Jondalar’s relationship changes in book 6. I won’t explain too much about this, if you decide to read them, you’ll see. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Overall, as a series, FIVE STARS
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ( )

I first read this book around 1989/1990 and loved it and was a 5* read. Re reading this year I still enjoyed the story but it was no longer a five star for me. ( )

CW: Sexual content. Rape ( )

8498152054

3.5 stars ( )

Nesta aventura pré-histórica ambientada há cerca de 35 mil anos em algum lugar da Europa, Ayla é a heroína de 5 anos que perde os pais em um terremoto e é resgatada por um grupo de uma outra tribo – o Clã do Urso das Cavernas. A pequena Ayla é uma cro-magnon, representante de uma espécie mais evoluída, e o clã que acolhe a menina é formado pelos últimos Neandertais. Eles se sentem ameaçados pela presença estrangeira, e à medida que Ayla cresce e amadurece, suas tendências naturais desabrocham, tornando-a o centro de uma brutal e perigosa luta pelo poder. Resultado de extensas pesquisas da autora, este é o primeiro volume da série Os filhos da Terra, sucesso de público que consagrou Jean M. Auel no meio literário e agradou a comunidade arqueológica internacional por seu fiel retrato da história da humanidade.

This book is about a group of neanderthals which take in an orphaned homo sapiens and raise her as their own.

This is a fun book for the feminist inclined reader, because the main character, the human Ayla, challenges the preconceived (neanderthal) notions about what is a woman's work and roles are. Neanderthal women are forbidden to hunt, she hunts. Women are supposed to be submissive, she is not. She's a pretty classic feminist heroine.

The irony is that the prehistoric records shows exactly the opposite behavioral trends in neanderthals verses modern humans. There is good evidence that early humans (up until very recently, too) had a fairly strict division of labor, whereas both neanderthal sexes participated in group hunts, see this NYTimes article.

If the author wanted to write the feminist heroine novel, she could have written a neanderthal woman in a human society as the heroine and the facts would have worked in her favor. Is she writing prehistory so that we think of sexism as neanderthal, and feminism as quintessentially human, in opposition to the facts?

Anyway, I liked the book and it's worth reading.
( )

Very descriptive. Rather fascinating. ( )

8486478014

Really strong story about a little orphaned human girl adopted by a troop of Neanderthals. Justifiably famous, this is extremely well told, and follows the little girl who strives to fit in with the only community she has ever known. Very credible descriptions of lots of Neanderthal technology and how she becomes a much loved member of the band and a leading healer and medicine woman. ( )

This book has a poor writing style, I read the book and 5 of the other books in the series because they are on our bookshelf. I thought it might improve as the series went on, but I like the series less and less with each book. My wife keeps telling me to stop reading the series since I don't care for it, but I had kept hoping it would improve. ( )

It was an enjoyable book and audiobook. I think I didn't like it as much because I kept pausing and restarting. ( )

Still remember reading this and others in the saga. Jean M. Auel is a Mensa member a recognized by the French as a renowed author (Ordre des Arts et des Lettres). Here's what I wrote after reading in 1983: "Story of an ice-age clan living under strict rule of tradition which will face its demise in short time and a young woman, Ayla, who will be mother to a new form of humanity. Pretty good - interesting." ( )

4th read started late Jan 2020. // Still reading in late March (I've been sick and distracted). This will be my last re-read so I am making a summary for myself (offline). // Done now. There are some skippable sections (tool making, Buffalo killing, clan gathering competitions) but I still love the story, though I probably wouldn't recommend to others to read.

Amulet items:
- A chunk of red ochre given when she was officially adopted by the clan.
- A fossil cast of a gastropod found when she decided to hunt
- A red-stained oval of mammoth ivory given when the clan accepted her as a hunter. The Woman Who Hunts
- Three nodules of iron pyrite stuck together found when she was exiting her private cave when she decided to return to the clan with Durc before naming day.
- A piece of black manganese given when she was named medicine woman.

Ayla, Iza, Creb, Brun, Uba, Durc, Broud the main characters
---------------

The acknowledgements include a unique thank-you:
"I am grateful to the citizens of the city of Portland and the county of Multnomah, Oregon, whose taxes support the Multnomah County Library, without whose reference materials this book would not have been written."

What a sweetheart.
----------------

Read for the first time in my late teens, this book was the start of my love affair with books. I had read other books. I was always reading for school and pleasure but this was my "WOW, that is something amazing."

I've also listened to the audiobook at least twice. Sandra Burr did a memorable job narrating the story. But by the time she gets to book #6 she starts to make Ayla sound like a vampire. I couldn't listen to it. :(

( )

Loved this book and all there others - but of course the 1st book is always the best ( )

Excellent book based on prehistoric fiction and the whole series is a Must read

( )

Very intriguing book about a long extinct band of cave people who come across someone they have never seen before and from that point on their lives change forever. Author does a fantastic job of explaining the differences of these people and how they are a victim of their own ways. ( )