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The Clan of the Cave Bear a novel Jean M Auel 9780553148008 Books

Download As PDF : The Clan of the Cave Bear a novel Jean M Auel 9780553148008 Books

The Clan of the Cave Bear a novel Jean M Auel 9780553148008 Books

I loved these stories so much, that I wanted to name my only daughter, "Ayla", after the central character. However my husband was not a fan, so we compromised on Maya. This is one of my all time favorite book series, and I am a prolific reader so that is saying something! I was an anthropology major in college, and I find the way that she wove human discoveries, inventions, and herbal medicine - into the story of complex hierarchy and cultural relationships present in societies (small and larger groups of people) fascinating. This book takes you on hunting trips and the experience of learning new languages, falling in love and having your heart broken. Having a child, losing a child. Learn about the good in people and the bad. It teaches about respecting women and how different societies have different expectations on that front. Wonderful wonderful books <3


Tags : The Clan of the Cave Bear : a novel [Jean M. Auel] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The story of Ayla begins when, as a five-year-old orphan, she is adopted by the Clan, a group of Neanderthals. Initially,Jean M. Auel,The Clan of the Cave Bear : a novel,Bantam Books,0553148001

The Clan of the Cave Bear a novel Jean M Auel 9780553148008 Books Reviews

There are books which mark an entire era in your life, and this one (as well as the subsequent series) have definitely marked mine. As a parent and teacher, this is the kind of a book I would love young people to read, not only to fall in love with fantastic characters and historical fiction, but also to learn to imagine and visualize, in quite a life-like way, what it meant to live in a place and time with no electricity, no technology, no politics. Life stripped down to survival, emotions, learning and communication. Reading it, I went through a range of emotions from compassion, fear, awe, empathy, sadness, fury, frustration, admiration. It wasn't a question of when I would finish it. The only thing that mattered was how fast I could read the second part, what would happen and how they would grow. An epic adventure and lesson on the power of spirit and mind!
.....Jean Auel has created an entire world in which our cousins, The Neanderthals, have once again come alive. Their ancient world is primitive and wild, yet this vigorous breed of human survived and thrived for millennia in one of the harshest climates possible. Ms. Auel has written a fascinating story replete with interesting characters and sub-plots and filled with incredibly complex herb lore, survival techniques and the explanations of the intricacies of making clothes, tools and implements during the stone age. Her descriptions of long-extinct animals and plants will keep you turning the pages and marveling at the ingenuity of a species that lack our imaginations. She has definitely done her homework. I have seen reviews complaining about the pages "wasted" on these details, but I found them fascinating.
This is the first book in a 6 book series that tells the story of Ayla, a 5 year old orphan of OUR species, who is found by the traveling Neanderthal clan. She tries desperately to live within with the customs this ancient race and it is her story of trials, troubles, tenacity and triumph that makes this series unforgettable. It is necessary to read the books in order to understand the story and I'm sure that from the first, you will be as riveted as I was.
I read The Clan of the Cave Bear because it had received incredible reviews, yet it had been banned from so many schools. I decided I just had to discover the reason for this paradox and I did. There are graphic depictions of sexual activity and gory descriptions of hunting. I would not recommend this books for anyone under 14 years old.
The only (minor) complaint I have is that the version does not label the map to let you know that the story is taking place approximately 35,000-25,000 years ago. It does show the area where it takes place, the change in coastlines during the ice age and the routes taken by the clan as they traveled to the Clan gathering, the mammoth hunt, etc.
I know I'm decades behind in picking up this title, but I'm so glad that I did. In the first of Jean Auel's "Earth's Children" series, we get a first-person perspective into what it would be like to live as a Neanderthal person more than 25,000 years ago, and I was fascinated at every turn. Auel has created such a believable and historically viable story, that the reader can't help but fall into the lives of these people, who call themselves the Clan of the Cave Bear.

What I think I loved most about this story was the gender dynamics of the Clan. We get a glimpse into a society radically different from those of modern times and yet one that can also be strikingly familiar at times. In the Clan, women are second-class citizens they are submissive to the men, they depend on the men for leadership and guidance, and they are happy with their roles in life. In part, this dynamic is driven by the developmental limitations of the Neanderthal people -- individuals are incapable of free thought and everything they "know" how to do is genetically pre-programmed into their brains. Men are genetically the hunters and leaders with their stronger bodies and dominant minds. Women are genetically the gatherers, caregivers and mothers. These societal roles are immutable, with change being beyond the capacity of their brains to even comprehend.

The starkness of this dynamic is very well illustrated when Ayla, a Cro-Magnon girl, comes to live with the Clan. Because her brain is wired differently from that of the Neanderthals who rescue and take her in, she constantly finds herself at odds with the Clan's way of life. She questions. She challenges. She desires independence. She struggles with the gender restrictions that the Clan has placed on her to the point of causing her great hardship in the early years of her life.

This hardship, and Ayla's perseverance through it, is also one of the spectacular aspects of this book. Ayla loses her birth parents at a very young age to a natural disaster. She is alone in an unfriendly wilderness as a toddler -- without shelter from the elements or wild animals, without food, without guidance or care. When she is discovered by the Clan, she must learn a new language and fit into a mold in the Clan's society for which she is not physically or mentally suited. She is constantly seen as ugly for her physical features that are unlike those of the Clan and she is constantly being chided for her boldness and independent way of thinking, despite her desperate attempts to fit in.

SPOILER ALERT!!!

Ayla's story, much like the future of the Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons, is not one with a happy ending. In spite of all of her struggle and hardship, she finds herself alone again at the end of the book, hardened and wizened, having lost her adoptive parents to death and having lost her son as well as the camaraderie of a people and culture due to her inability to completely submit to the Clan's way of life.
This book was such a fascinating and heart-wrenching experience for me; I am anxious to continue reading the series and hope to see Ayla rise above her hardship and thrive.
I loved these stories so much, that I wanted to name my only daughter, "Ayla", after the central character. However my husband was not a fan, so we compromised on Maya. This is one of my all time favorite book series, and I am a prolific reader so that is saying something! I was an anthropology major in college, and I find the way that she wove human discoveries, inventions, and herbal medicine - into the story of complex hierarchy and cultural relationships present in societies (small and larger groups of people) fascinating. This book takes you on hunting trips and the experience of learning new languages, falling in love and having your heart broken. Having a child, losing a child. Learn about the good in people and the bad. It teaches about respecting women and how different societies have different expectations on that front. Wonderful wonderful books <3