The Clan of the Cave Bear (Earth's Children, Book 1) (original: 1980; edição: 2002)

Date approximate ( )

El primer libro en la famosa serie Los Hijos de la Tierra. Ayla, una chica cro-magnon, se encuentra sola después de un terremoto. Es adoptada por un Clan neanderthal.

It took a bit for me to get into this one, but once it became centered on Ayla and her journey/growth, I became engrossed. The book engages with Cro-Magnon and Neanderthal anthropology without hitting you over the head with it, although certain moments are fairly obvious. The paternalism of the clan is rather disagreeable for modern sensibilities, but I don't think it is supposed to be otherwise (and it is likely accurate from an anthro perspective). Auel's descriptive writing is excellent and there were moments where you forget that woolly mammoths no longer walk the earth. I found the explanation of the clan's language truly artful and well developed and it isn't a far leap to realize that, at least historically, gesture and dance were more rooted in language than speech.

I'm glad I finally read this classic and look forward to The Valley of Horses. ( )

I did not expect it at all, but I enjoyed reading this, because as a story this is quite strong. Auel has made a tremendous creative effort to reconstruct the Neanderthals' world, based on what was known at the time of publication in 1980, and she has woven an original and dramatic storyline around it, with many own interpretations, of course. With main character Ayla, the Sapiens girl who was found by the Neanderthal tribe and grows up with them, she actually puts a clear feminist accent. This is also manifestly a political novel, in which the thoughtful tribal leader Brun is contrasted with the populist young man Broud.

Especially the psychological side is extraordinarily strong. This is evident in the passages in which the characters muse about their own feelings and those of others in the clan, about how they best handle certain situations and how they can or cannot reconcile long and short term. There is clearly also a teacher in Auel, because she gives a lot of attention to explaining special features of clan life, such as the magical ceremonies, the techniques for hunting or using medicinal plants. But sometimes she exaggerates, which slows down the story. From a historical and scientifical point of view, her book doesn’t hold on: her Neanderthal world contains too much phantasy-elements. But her basic intuition, namely that Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens have interbred in the meanwhile has been confirmed by paleo-genetic research. More on the (non)historical aspects of this book, in my History-account on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3778521827. ( )

Gave up after 50 pages. Just couldn't go on. Don't have the time books this bad and this long. ( )