kylearnzen's review against another edition
4.0
It took more than a few chapters to really get into the story, but by the end I was very attached to the characters and their plights. The culture of the clan is well-developed, and Ayla's struggle to fit in was believable. Auel did a good job of exploring characters' motivations and helping the reader understand their courses of action.
the_evergrowing_library's review against another edition
4.0
Occasionally I love to pick up a book I’ve never heard of, or seen any hype for(though this book has done well in its time apparently) and dive straight in. This was worth the gamble.
A little cro-magnon(early human) girl gets separated from her kin and is adopted by a Neanderthal clan. That’s basically the whole book, no bigger narrative plot.
That in itself though is really quite fascinating. It was interesting to read about the differences between these people and how they went about things such as religion, gender roles, speech/communication etc. I especially liked their concepts of pregnancy and death.
The writing was quite dense in regards to what there was to take in, but it really added to the level of immersion with regards to their ways and tools etc…. I have not bothered to research historical accuracy for any of it, but I would imagine Auel herself likely did extensive research.
Ayla was a fascinating character and I really enjoyed some of the other characters with regards to their levels of acceptance of differences and change within the Clan as it really felt diverse and at times problematic for their cultures.
A little cro-magnon(early human) girl gets separated from her kin and is adopted by a Neanderthal clan. That’s basically the whole book, no bigger narrative plot.
That in itself though is really quite fascinating. It was interesting to read about the differences between these people and how they went about things such as religion, gender roles, speech/communication etc. I especially liked their concepts of pregnancy and death.
The writing was quite dense in regards to what there was to take in, but it really added to the level of immersion with regards to their ways and tools etc…. I have not bothered to research historical accuracy for any of it, but I would imagine Auel herself likely did extensive research.
Ayla was a fascinating character and I really enjoyed some of the other characters with regards to their levels of acceptance of differences and change within the Clan as it really felt diverse and at times problematic for their cultures.
mcfrenret's review against another edition
3.0
Me leí los primeros cuatro libros de esta saga hace un porrón de años, antes de que saliera el quinto. En su momento me encantaron, porque era una cría que aún no había desarrollado nada de crítica, leía todo lo que llegaba a mis manos y casi todo me gustaba. Así que aunque recordaba la mayoría de lo que pasaba en la historia (sólo me fallaban los detalles) he querido releérmela desde el principio para poder coger el sexto en condiciones y así dar por terminada la saga y quitarme la espinita clavada en mi corazón. Y porque, sinceramente, echaba de menos a los personajes y la historia.
El caso es que la relectura ha sido... uf.
Pero muy uf.
Lo gracioso es que lo que esperaba que no me fuera a gustar (el personaje mismo de Ayla, la niña-adulta súper perfecta, por poner un ejemplo, pero hay varios más) no me ha molestado en absoluto. La sorpresa ha llegado con las descripciones interminables y soporíferas de la flora y la fauna y las formas de preparar cataplasmas y demás de la curandera y la cantidad de veces que se repiten las explicaciones de por qué las costumbres del Clan son así o asá y por qué Ayla se supone que no debe hacer esto o lo otro.
Qué.coñazo. No recordaba este detalle de la narrativa de Auel, o tal vez no me di cuenta en su momento, y UF. Señora mía, que con una vez (dos a lo sumo) que nos explique una cosa, es suficiente, y nos ahorramos cien páginas lo menos. Que ya sabemos que ha hecho usté mucha investigación, pero de verdad, no hacía falta que lo describiera TODO y lo explicara TODO trescientas veces.
Creo que el libro me ha gustado más por la pura nostalgia que sentía hacia él que por nada más. Y porque en su momento adoré a Iza, Creb y Brun, y ahora los he vuelto a adorar de nuevo, y… sí. En fin, qué se le va a hacer.
El caso es que la relectura ha sido... uf.
Pero muy uf.
Lo gracioso es que lo que esperaba que no me fuera a gustar (el personaje mismo de Ayla, la niña-adulta súper perfecta, por poner un ejemplo, pero hay varios más) no me ha molestado en absoluto. La sorpresa ha llegado con las descripciones interminables y soporíferas de la flora y la fauna y las formas de preparar cataplasmas y demás de la curandera y la cantidad de veces que se repiten las explicaciones de por qué las costumbres del Clan son así o asá y por qué Ayla se supone que no debe hacer esto o lo otro.
Qué.coñazo. No recordaba este detalle de la narrativa de Auel, o tal vez no me di cuenta en su momento, y UF. Señora mía, que con una vez (dos a lo sumo) que nos explique una cosa, es suficiente, y nos ahorramos cien páginas lo menos. Que ya sabemos que ha hecho usté mucha investigación, pero de verdad, no hacía falta que lo describiera TODO y lo explicara TODO trescientas veces.
Creo que el libro me ha gustado más por la pura nostalgia que sentía hacia él que por nada más. Y porque en su momento adoré a Iza, Creb y Brun, y ahora los he vuelto a adorar de nuevo, y… sí. En fin, qué se le va a hacer.
cor_hf's review against another edition
The male superiority stance of the book is not giving
_gess_reads_'s review against another edition
Echt even geen energie voor whatever de fok voor een sociale hierarchie hier afspeelt. Wel super descriptive writing tho
kandicez's review against another edition
5.0
The story begins with an earthquake in the first few pages of the book that leaves a 5 year old girl alone, orphaned and wandering, on the brink of death. Luckily for her, the same quake destroyed the cave of a clan of cavemen, and they are also wandering, in search of a new home. A pregnant woman comes across the unconcious body of the girl, and despite her physical differences asks, and receives permission, to carry and tend to the girl.
As ugly and strange to the clan as the girl seems, she brings them luck and they very soon find a new cave, even better than their last. Iza, the woman who found her is allowed to adopt her. Iza has been left a widow by the quake, but is a very powerful medicine woman, so is provided for by Creb, the highly esteemed Mogur, or magician, of the clan who also happens to be her sibling. It's very fortunate for Ayla that these are the kind people she ends up with. Not everyone of the clan accepts, trusts, or even likes her, simply because she IS so different and so worthy of fear and distrust.
As Ayla grows and learns the customs, language and ways of the clan, her life is hard. She is almost a different species than them. She is much farther up the evolutionary ladder, so finds it very hard to fit into the mold they consider appropriate for women. She is proud, strong, very intelligent, and able to make leaps of logic that often get her into trouble with her adopted people. She secretly learns to hunt which is strictly forbidden to women. This is just one more infraction, in a long list of them, that fuels the hatred Broud, the leader's son, feels for Ayla. She is punished for this, but later is allowed to continue hunting. Through her differences, Ayla becomes a self-sufficient woman, able to take care of herself. This is a foreign concept to the clan, as their skills are firmly divided by sex, with females being no more able to learn male tasks than they are to learn the female's. Ayla can do both.
As the years pass, Ayla is trained By Iza, alongside her daughter, to become a medicine woman. Ayla is not only a quick learner, but an inuitive one. She can not only recall what she has been taught, but devise new treatments and medicines that would never occur to Iza. Ayla has a child, but is left unmated. The story ends, wide open for book two, with Broud, the new clan leader, cursing Ayla to death. Fortunately, we know she will survive, even without the help and comfort of the clan. Ayla can take care of herself.
It's amazing how much information Auel is able to fit into this book without it coming across as a list of plants, animals and customs. Tons of information is imparted, and we are given a vivid look at what life would have looked like in Ayla's time. The long descriptions never come across as dry or boring, but instead leave me with more questions. This is one of those rare books that leave me looking things up, poring over encyclopedias, scouring Wikipedia, anything for just a little more detail.
There are many fortunate coincidences, leaps of logic and just plain lucky happenings that are a bit far-fetched, but I was able to overlook these because they advanced the story and made it possible for Auel to give us such a rich look at what life may have been like. So much happens in such a few short years, but it needs to, so that the foundation is laid for the rest of the series.
As ugly and strange to the clan as the girl seems, she brings them luck and they very soon find a new cave, even better than their last. Iza, the woman who found her is allowed to adopt her. Iza has been left a widow by the quake, but is a very powerful medicine woman, so is provided for by Creb, the highly esteemed Mogur, or magician, of the clan who also happens to be her sibling. It's very fortunate for Ayla that these are the kind people she ends up with. Not everyone of the clan accepts, trusts, or even likes her, simply because she IS so different and so worthy of fear and distrust.
As Ayla grows and learns the customs, language and ways of the clan, her life is hard. She is almost a different species than them. She is much farther up the evolutionary ladder, so finds it very hard to fit into the mold they consider appropriate for women. She is proud, strong, very intelligent, and able to make leaps of logic that often get her into trouble with her adopted people. She secretly learns to hunt which is strictly forbidden to women. This is just one more infraction, in a long list of them, that fuels the hatred Broud, the leader's son, feels for Ayla. She is punished for this, but later is allowed to continue hunting. Through her differences, Ayla becomes a self-sufficient woman, able to take care of herself. This is a foreign concept to the clan, as their skills are firmly divided by sex, with females being no more able to learn male tasks than they are to learn the female's. Ayla can do both.
As the years pass, Ayla is trained By Iza, alongside her daughter, to become a medicine woman. Ayla is not only a quick learner, but an inuitive one. She can not only recall what she has been taught, but devise new treatments and medicines that would never occur to Iza. Ayla has a child, but is left unmated. The story ends, wide open for book two, with Broud, the new clan leader, cursing Ayla to death. Fortunately, we know she will survive, even without the help and comfort of the clan. Ayla can take care of herself.
It's amazing how much information Auel is able to fit into this book without it coming across as a list of plants, animals and customs. Tons of information is imparted, and we are given a vivid look at what life would have looked like in Ayla's time. The long descriptions never come across as dry or boring, but instead leave me with more questions. This is one of those rare books that leave me looking things up, poring over encyclopedias, scouring Wikipedia, anything for just a little more detail.
There are many fortunate coincidences, leaps of logic and just plain lucky happenings that are a bit far-fetched, but I was able to overlook these because they advanced the story and made it possible for Auel to give us such a rich look at what life may have been like. So much happens in such a few short years, but it needs to, so that the foundation is laid for the rest of the series.
alyssaborders's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Animal death
goonerette's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0