Product Description

The story of Ayla begins when, as a five-year-old orphan, she is adopted by the Clan, a group of Neanderthals. Initially she inspires surprise, then wariness and finally acceptance by the Clan. She is cared for by its medicine woman, Iza, and its wise holy man, Creb. But she makes an implacable enemy of the group's future leader, Broud. He will do all he can to destroy her - but Ayla is a survivor.

Jean Auel's imaginative reconstruction of pre-historic life, rich in detail of language, culture, myth and ritual, has become a set text in schools and colleges around the world.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10227 in Books
• Published on: 2002-04-04
• Binding: Paperback
• 592 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
The Clan of the Cave Bear is the start of Jean M Auel's epic Earth's Children series. When her parents are killed by an earthquake, five-year-old Ayla wanders through the forest completely alone. Cold, hungry, and badly injured by a cave lion, the little girl is as good as gone until she is discovered by a group who call themselves the Clan of the Cave Bear. This clan, left homeless by the same disaster, has little interest in the helpless girl who comes from the tribe they refer to as the "Others". Only their medicine woman sees in Ayla a fellow human, worthy of care. She painstakingly nurses her back to health--a decision that will forever alter the physical and emotional structure of the clan. Although this story takes place roughly 35,000 years ago, its cast of characters could easily slide into any modern tale. The members of the Neanderthal clan, ruled by traditions and taboos, find themselves challenged by this outsider, who represents the physically modern Cro-Magnons. And as Ayla begins to grow and mature, her natural tendencies emerge, putting her in the middle of a brutal and dangerous power struggle.

Although Jean Auel obviously takes certain liberties with the actions and motivations of all our ancestors, her extensive research into the Ice Age does shine through--especially in the detailed knowledge of plants and natural remedies used by the medicine woman and passed down to Ayla. Mostly, though, this first in the series of four is a wonderful story of survival. Ayla's personal evolution is a compelling and relevant tale. --Sara Nickerson, Amazon.com--This text refers to the hardcover edition.

New York Times
'Beautiful, exciting, imaginative'

Review
'Beautiful, exciting, imaginative' (New York Times )

'A major bestseller . . . a remarkable work of imagination' (Daily Express )

Customer Reviews

What an adventure
What a marvelous book this was. I loved the journey this novel took me on and the prehistoric setting was very beliveable.

Jean M. Auel is a wonderful story teller and it's a colourful and wonderful world she's given us in this novel, setting it in the ice age.
It was gripping, reading about Ayla's journey from a young child to adulthood and the trials she faces living with the Neanderthal tribe who found her.
There is everything one could ask for in a novel, adventure, fun, danger, jealousy and love and romance.

I especially liked the extensive research J.M.A. has done, and her detailed knowledge of plants and natural remedies used by the medicine woman and passed down to Ayla, was extremely fascinating.

I have read the entire series and must say, it was riveting.

There are 5 books in all:

1:The Clan of the Cave Bear
2:The Valley of Horses
3:The Mammoth Hunters
4:The Plains of Passage
5:The Shelters of Stone

Breathtaking prehistoric saga
As my review of The Fiery Cross proved, I traditionally enjoy nothing better than lambasting a badly-written book and mercilessly exposing its shortcomings like some kind of masochistic PE teacher. But in this case, I'm rather stumped. I really can't think of much in the way of scathing criticism for The Clan of the Cave Bear, and that leaves me feeling angry and scared.

Well, a change of underwear later and it's on with the review. For the uninitiated, The Clan of the Cave Bear is the first in the long-running Earth's Children series by Jean M Auel. If I was to sum up this series by drawing a parallel with something else, I'd have to compare it to the Rocky franchise. Yes, later instalments have become progressively more silly, irrelevant and often embarassing, but the title that kicked the whole thing off is pure gold.

Rocky... sorry, Clan of the Cave Bear tells the story of Ayla, a young Cro-Magnon girl living about ten thousand years ago during the last ice age. All is well with her life until an earthquake kills her family and leaves her stranded alone in the middle of a harsh unforgiving wilderness (a little cliched I know, but as a plot device to kick things off I'm prepared to swallow it). However, it's not long before she's taken in by a new tribe calling themselves the Clan, who decide to raise her as one of their own. The thing is, they're Neanderthals, and their culture is vastly different from the one she grew up in. The book charts Ayla's journey from childhood to maturity, her long quest to find acceptance within the Clan, and her efforts to overcome those intent on destroying her.

Considering the subject matter, it would be very easy for a book like this to stray from Compelling Dramatic Narrative Street and take a walk down Ridiculous Avenue, but somehow it never does. The Neanderthals in this story are not brutish simpletons grunting and banging rocks together - they are articulate and intelligent beings in their own right, with their own hopes and fears. And yet, the alien nature of their society is never far from the surface - they're like us, and yet not quite. To her credit, Auel has done a thorough job of creating a rich and believable culture for her characters to exist in.

This is a well written, wonderfully paced book that features engaging characters, a poignant storyline and a genuinely sympathetic and compelling protagonist (a rare thing these days). This makes it even harder to accept when bad things start happening to her. And believe me, they do - this is an unflinching portrayal of life in a harsh environment, and an even harsher culture. And that's part of the core question that the book poses; which is more dangerous - the wild untamed world or the jealousy and hatred of others? More importantly, you never get the feeling that any scene or conversation is not significant in some way, and the book almost never drags - take note, Diana Gabaldon.

Now, all this wonderful gushing on my part might give the impression that Clan of the Cave Bear is a sublime story with less imperfections than the monolith from 2001. And although it certainly ticks most of the boxes, it does fall down in a few areas.

For a start, Broud, the antagonist of the story is about as believable as a Scooby Doo villain, and exists purely to be a complete bastard at every opportunity. Second, the descriptions of the landscapes, animal behaviour and hunting techniques tend to drag things down and interfere with the narrative flow. Yes, you've researched the Ice Age, Jean Auel - we know. We don't need to be bombarded with information about it every few pages. Lastly, there are a few none-too-subtle digs at the nature of patriarchal culture and the oppression of women. This is a theme that runs through most of Auel's later work work, and while I can't exactly blame the author for having an axe to grind, it's a bit disconcerting to be constantly beaten over the head by it like an unruly anti-war protestor.

Still, overall these are minor gripes - a bit like criticising the Great Pyramid for looking a bit rough these days. On that subject though, The Clan of the Cave Bear has weathered the ravages of time rather better than its geometric counterpart. It was written nearly 30 years ago, yet it feels as fresh and interesting today as it was back then.

Heartily recommended.

One of my favourite ever books
I love this series of books! The story is completely involving, and you really care for the characters. I love all the all the descriptive detail of the prehistoric people's way of life. I never would have thought that long passages about collecting medicinal plants, and preparing food, or making tools would be so interesting!

Because the main character is a young girl, who grows up through the series, I imagine girls and women might possibly be more instantly involved in the story. But particularly in later books, the story centres around male characters aswell, and 'caveman stuff', so I'd recommend these books to men too. Plus there's a surprising amount of explicit sex.

Really enjoyable escapist reading, for curious people.