The Clan of the Cave Bear (Earth's Children) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When her parents are killed by an earthquake, 5-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, have 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 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Imaginative, exciting."
--The New York Times Book Review

"Jean Auel has performed a minor miracle."
--San Francisco Chronicle



From the Trade Paperback edition. -- Review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 495 pages
• Publisher: Bantam Books; Bantam Reissue edition (November 1, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553250426
• ISBN-13: 978-0553250428
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (447 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #60,191 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 1 in The Earth's Children Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

88 of 101 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Am I Allowed To Do This?, August 21, 2001

By	Eric Wilson "novelist" (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

The upcoming publication of Auel's fifth book has renewed my interest in the EarthChildren series. I'm now re-reading the books and reviewing the first, which I originally read almost 18 years ago. Am I allowed to reminisce like this? Am I out of bounds? Well, don't try to stop me. This book is still clear in my mind after nearly two decades. In the early 80's, I thumbed through it at an Albertson's checkout line, finished the first chapter, and told my parents about it. I received it a week later for my birthday...and loved every minute of the story. Jean Auel's narrative powers swept me into a past rich and alive with people, creatures, smells, and sights that are immediately familiar, yet breathtakingly foreign. That's what first caught my attention. Then I began to care about Ayla, the skinny, pale child caught in an earthquake. I followed her story with keen interest and ached over her insecurities and alienation. This is a story about people with all the feelings and emotions of you and me. And though some tried to ban the book for one particular scene of forced sex, I found it in no way glorifying the act. In fact, as a teenager, it made me more aware of a female's struggle in a male-dominated society. I'll never forget the experience--indeed, that's what it was!--of reading this novel. To go back and relive the story of Ayla all over again is a treat. I can't wait for "The Shelters of Stone." Only rarely does an author create a world so rich and believable that we could almost call it home.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, Adventurous and Heart Warming..., November 21, 2001

By	Abbys (Moreno Valley, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Clan of the Cave Bear (Earth's Children Series , No 1) (Hardcover)

Earth Children Series:

1.)THE CLAN OF THE CAVE BEARS

2.)THE VALLEY OF HORSES

3.)THE MAMMOTH HUNTERS

4.)PLAINS OF PASSAGE

5.)THE SHELTERS OF STONE

What more can I say that 244 Amazon reviewers has not. This book is full of adventure and it let readers see through the past, on how early humans (cro-mags) live their life. Their cultures, beliefs, custom and tradition. Ayla, being born to Others was found almost dying by one of the Clan of the Cave Bears. She was eventually adopted by them and have to adjust to her new family, new environment. The challenge was overwhelming and I ache for the little girl. But then again, this is also where I admire her courage, strength and determination. The affection between Ayla, Creb and Iza was a heart warming read. I admit some parts of this book falls a bit verbose, other parts I find a bit far fetch or a bit hard to believe considering the time plot. I am not an Anthropologist so I may be wrong but Ayla's intelligence of finding and realizing things on her own sometimes left me doubtful especially for a girl her age. However, it's really not too deep to distract me. In fact, it piqued my interest all the more and made me read on. Overall, this book is imaginative, educational, entertaining and worth your time.

This is definitely a different reading material compare to my usual historical romance novels but I am thankful my mother in law suggested this book to me. It's the first of Ms. Auel's Earth Children Series. I am now in the middle of the second book of the series and so far, it is as interesting as this one. My mother in law waited 10 years for the fifth installment of this series and I'm glad I don't have to wait that long. It'll be out next year, 2002.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Clan of the Cave Bear, October 3, 2005

By	Kyle M. Knapp (Rochester, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The story's compelling, but often Auel's writing comes off as amateurish -- the quickness that Ayla grasps certain concepts, for example, such as when she guesses at the true cause of childbirth, or that she is "ugly" compared to Clan women, happen far too abruptly, even if she is a modern human. Something more dubious, though probably more forgivable if looking at the book as a work of fiction, is her decision to give the Neanderthal characters the gift of "racial memory," an ability to regain memories of their ancestors. that is connected to the enlargement of their brains toward the back.

Secondly, Auel's writing is not advanced enough to allow her to 'show' things rather than 'tell' them. This applies both to her characters and the society she is trying to depict. Most of the time, the characters -- Ayla being the exception, probably because it is easier for us (and Auel) to understand a character who is 'human' in the same way we are -- come off as somewhat flat. Potentially interesting character traits that Auel insists that these characters have are often negated when they act or speak. For example, she tells us that Creb is feared -- or at least seen as 'cold' -- by the Clan, but we never see this. She never shows us Creb's tenderness towards Ayla, we're merely told he feels it; She never shows us that Brun doubts his own authority, she simply tells us he does; both Creb and Iza treat Ayla with less love than we're told they feel for her. In addition, the 'formal' Clan way of speaking comes off as stilted and doesn't ring true, even if it's supposed to be a translation of sign language.

This same concept applies to Auel's depiction of the Clan society itself. She consistently fails to SHOW us the way the Clan functions -- she usually is forced to make a long digression from the story to explain to us a certain part of their way of life that is necessary for understanding the next part of the story; this has the double downside of being distracting and boring, as well as giving us a big clue as to what's about to happen -- she doesn't have the skill to use foreshadowing in any long-term or meaningful way. The effect is, of course, that by the end of the novel Auel's writing is entirely predictable.

But despite all of her faults as a writer, Auel is clearly a knowledgeable person, and even her digressions don't fail to carry some interest. Her prose, if not sophisticated, is usually clear, even if it does occasionally feel like reading a text book when she wanders too far from the story, or if she renders most of her characters faceless.