henry_wallison's review against another edition
4.0
This book truly deserves a rating closer to 3.5 stars, as it was truly lackluster in comparison to the other three books that preceded it, but alas, I have to round up. This book was incredibly slow, and seemed to primarily solidify Jondalar (a supposed protagonist) to be a self-centered and unlikable character. The book was punctuated with several moments of interest—I think Auel excels best in her ability to write engrossing communities of people, which was highlighted whenever the two characters came to a settlement—but these moments were few and far between. With that said, these moments were enough to make the book a more or less enjoyable, if not tedious, reading experience.
chirson's review against another edition
3.0
My wife does not understand my enjoyment of these books. I know they're objectively bad in some ways - this volume in particular is both not greatly paced and underedited, with multiple instances of annoying repetitions. Jondalar's asshole behaviour continues - he's frequently immature and his attitude towards Ayla is annoying but his relative disregard for the horses and Wolf is at times horrible. Then there's the "evil misandrist woman" storyline, and the fact that even as Jondalar and Ayla cross the vast plains of relatively sparsely Cro-Magnon-inhabited Europe, they somehow manage to run into someone they know/know of, by accident, not once but twice in the story.
But I really like how unapologetically this is really a book about two things - the biodiversity of flora and fauna of the period (and the way in which humans interacted with them) and Ayla's emotional journey. Ayla may be written with superhuman qualities, but there is something compelling in the fantasy of her competence and bravery. I re-read this to de-stress from remote work pressures and the like, and it was just right for that.
(I really loved how every human settlement that met Wolf immediately wanted to keep Wolf forever and wondered about domesticating more wolves because of how good he was with children.)
(I did not love Jondalar. Ayla deserves better.)
(A lot of rape storylines in this volume again, reader beware. And a story about violence against a possibly queer child; there are probably different ways to read it, but there's a dead gender non-conforming character.)
But I really like how unapologetically this is really a book about two things - the biodiversity of flora and fauna of the period (and the way in which humans interacted with them) and Ayla's emotional journey. Ayla may be written with superhuman qualities, but there is something compelling in the fantasy of her competence and bravery. I re-read this to de-stress from remote work pressures and the like, and it was just right for that.
(I really loved how every human settlement that met Wolf immediately wanted to keep Wolf forever and wondered about domesticating more wolves because of how good he was with children.)
(I did not love Jondalar. Ayla deserves better.)
(A lot of rape storylines in this volume again, reader beware. And a story about violence against a possibly queer child; there are probably different ways to read it, but there's a dead gender non-conforming character.)
littlerohr's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
caecilievestergaard's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
celabraine's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
mcfrenret's review against another edition
2.0
Es un tostón. Para quien le interese saber cómo se formó cada paisaje por el que pasan los protagonistas en su viaje a través de Europa y cuál era su fauna y su flora, y sus posibles utilidades para los seres humanos, pues supongo que estará interesante. A mí me aburrió un montón, creo que sobra, y, de hecho, me parece que es un libro innecesario en sí mismo. Entiendo que la autora tenía la intención de hacer sentir a los lectores el tedio de un viaje tan largo, pero también pienso que podía haberlo condensado (mucho, podía haberlo condensado MUCHO) y haber escrito este libro junto con el siguiente en un mismo tomo y no habría alterado en absoluto la historia.
Lo bueno que tiene el libro es que entre descripción y descripción pasan algunas cosillas (menos mal), y estas aventuras son por lo general bastante emocionantes, contrastan con las otras partes más aburridas del libro, y por ende destacan aún más. No las lees, las bebes como un muerto de sed en el desierto. (Y como, además, apenas las recordaba de mi lectura anterior ha sido como leerlas por primera vez, que eso es el BIEN.) Esas vivencias con otras tribus, los conflictos, y salva un libro que es... pues eso, un tostonaco.
Mi relación con Jondalar mejora levemente tirando para el último tercio de la historia, y menos mal, porque su desprecio por la vida de Lobo me estaba sacando de mis casillas y despertando mis instintos asesinos. A Lobo ni me lo toques, Don Penas.
También es muy emocionante cuando por fin llegan todos a casa, la verdad. Ya iba siendo hora.
Lo bueno que tiene el libro es que entre descripción y descripción pasan algunas cosillas (menos mal), y estas aventuras son por lo general bastante emocionantes, contrastan con las otras partes más aburridas del libro, y por ende destacan aún más. No las lees, las bebes como un muerto de sed en el desierto. (Y como, además, apenas las recordaba de mi lectura anterior ha sido como leerlas por primera vez, que eso es el BIEN.) Esas vivencias con otras tribus, los conflictos, y
Spoiler
el encuentro con los neandertalesMi relación con Jondalar mejora levemente tirando para el último tercio de la historia, y menos mal, porque su desprecio por la vida de Lobo me estaba sacando de mis casillas y despertando mis instintos asesinos. A Lobo ni me lo toques, Don Penas.
Spoiler
¿Cómo es eso de querer abandonarlo ahí en medio de la nada sólo porque vas con retraso en tus vacaciones la mar de bien planeadas? ¿Sí hay tiempo para detenerse y follar pero no para esperar a que vuelva de caza un miembro de tu familia? Qué poco recibes para todo lo que te mereces.También es muy emocionante cuando por fin llegan todos a casa, la verdad. Ya iba siendo hora.
goonerette's review against another edition
So repetitive and boring, 10 hours of a rehash of the last 3 books. Nothing happened apart from reminiscing and sex
kassi_kennedy's review against another edition
1.0
I really should have stopped with the first in this series. I ended up reading spoilers of the last two books and am thankful that I'm not going to be reading them either. One star for repetition, text-book descriptions, 1-dimensional characters, and the lack of plot.