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A review by jmoxley
The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel
adventurous
informative
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A fantasy story about a young human adopted by a tribe of Neanderthals. The author has clearly up a good deal of effort into research Neanderthal culture as far as we can piece it together from archaeology and has a strong knowledge of the plant lore her medicine women use (although sometimes North American plants creep in which I’m not sure would have been present in in the Black Sea area during the Palaeolithic).
The story about power struggles within the Clan and the impending fading out of Neanderthals is credible and there are some moments of tension although other episodes are a bit formulaic.
The thing that I found increasingly irritating as the book wore on was the fact that the Neanderthals are supposed to communicate most by hand signals. There is obvious no evidence that they did this and it becomes increasing laboured as the author keeps saying thing like “She signed” or “Using rapid gestures he explained to the group…”.
There is also an assumption that women stay at home in the cave and have children while men hunt. There can’t be any evidence that Neanderthal society assigned gender roles in this way. Ayla, the main character, challenges this but is punished for it so although arguable the book tries to portray a strong female role the overarching assumption is that women who don’t stay at home and breed are unnatural.
Stylistically the author seems unable to leave a noun or verb without an accompanying adjective or adverb. Description is good but having too many descriptors makes for slow reading and doesn’t allow the reader space to imagine for themselves.
The story about power struggles within the Clan and the impending fading out of Neanderthals is credible and there are some moments of tension although other episodes are a bit formulaic.
The thing that I found increasingly irritating as the book wore on was the fact that the Neanderthals are supposed to communicate most by hand signals. There is obvious no evidence that they did this and it becomes increasing laboured as the author keeps saying thing like “She signed” or “Using rapid gestures he explained to the group…”.
There is also an assumption that women stay at home in the cave and have children while men hunt. There can’t be any evidence that Neanderthal society assigned gender roles in this way. Ayla, the main character, challenges this but is punished for it so although arguable the book tries to portray a strong female role the overarching assumption is that women who don’t stay at home and breed are unnatural.
Stylistically the author seems unable to leave a noun or verb without an accompanying adjective or adverb. Description is good but having too many descriptors makes for slow reading and doesn’t allow the reader space to imagine for themselves.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Violence