A review by kandicez
The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel
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.