A review by cdelduca
The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel
3.0
Though this book was a page turner for me, it lacked the transparency in Ayla that would have allowed me to become emotionally attached. She grew as a person, but all insights to her personality were surface level.
I appreciated the creation of a Neanderthal social structure and how an orphaned outsider could potentially fit into it. Ayla's lack of subservient nature changed the personalities of those around her, for better and for worse. This story heavily emphasizes genetic makeup in the nature vs nurture argument, and it lost ground in believability for me because of it. Genetic predispositions would not allow Ayla's son to find the word "mama," especially if she had forgotten the word herself.
I especially enjoyed the idea of historic clan memory being accessible for reference when the clan needed guidance. I also enjoyed the symbolic contrast in the "others" having a mindset that was geared more towards the future, but again I think that this exploration/explanation was fairly shallow.
I would recommend this books as fairly thought-provoking, but it lacks the depth in exploration of these ideas for that recommendation to be an enthusiastic one.
I appreciated the creation of a Neanderthal social structure and how an orphaned outsider could potentially fit into it. Ayla's lack of subservient nature changed the personalities of those around her, for better and for worse. This story heavily emphasizes genetic makeup in the nature vs nurture argument, and it lost ground in believability for me because of it. Genetic predispositions would not allow Ayla's son to find the word "mama," especially if she had forgotten the word herself.
I especially enjoyed the idea of historic clan memory being accessible for reference when the clan needed guidance. I also enjoyed the symbolic contrast in the "others" having a mindset that was geared more towards the future, but again I think that this exploration/explanation was fairly shallow.
I would recommend this books as fairly thought-provoking, but it lacks the depth in exploration of these ideas for that recommendation to be an enthusiastic one.