If one goes back to the time of Charles Dickens, he was paid by the word when he wrote. The more words and fluff, the more money to sustain his sizable family and lifestyle. Nowadays, writers attempt to shorten their sentence structure and their fiction, because a lot of attention spans are unable to endure the length of this longish work. Jean Auel does an overwhelmingly pedantic job of detailing the flora and fauna (nearly every nook and cranny, mind you) of the environment ensconced in "The Mammoth Hunters," and she gets caught up with too much repetition in her novel. I think part of this is due to the idea that when the "Earth Children's" series began, one had the notion that starting any of the books anywhere and getting a "last time, you remember" nod, it reads much like the old serial dramas of yesteryear. However, that can get boring. This hefty tome could have been edited down from its massive length, and I could see a good editor making the novel read even better if given the chance. It would be interesting someday to find out who had final say as far as what was left in the novel and what was okay to leave out for continuity's sake. Ayla is the main heroine of the series and her bestie-mate (there's a new hyphenated word for you! LOL) Jondalar, the hero. Ayla appears to have a so-called "magic touch" in which she discovers how to ride and train a horse, how to start a fire from a spark struck on flint, curing hides, treating people with herbal medicine, and so on. Without sounding too critical, one sometimes has the impression that Ayla can do no wrong, is saintly, may indeed walk on water, perform miracles and have an inner track to the spirit world- all rolled into one character. How does she do that, you wonder? Is this the prototype of how Neanderthal/Cro-Magnon Man existed? No. We have to accept the fact that these wonderments imposed on us when we read are things that humankind overcame and mastered to get to where we are today in this crazyfast world of ours.On the other hand, poor Jondalar is the tragic hero, whining and crabbing most of the time and not enjoying the wonderment of this dawn of civilization. But he can flint-nap with the best of them, and his sexual prowess is known wherever he may be in this caveman world. Imagine that. Almost sounds as though he is a mutt-dog and every third child is his. But not so. Just another nod to the openess of how it was during Ice Age times. When he and Ayla "hook up" (to use modern day lingo), the sexcapades read like adult soft porn that is also boring. It is remarkable that Auel uses "manhood" to describe Jondalar's sexual organ, and in my view, reads poorly when that happens. I think you ought to call it what it is: a penis. But that is perhaps going from an adult novel to a young adult novel, and if you do that, you may get more readers to buy the epic tome, but young adults won't be permitted to read the book because of the sex scenes. Hard telling. Be that as it may, in fairness, there is a lot of information geared toward survival in the wilderness, and Auel has done considerable research. For this alone, hats off to Jean Auel. She gives a shout out to those that helped her, and for this alone, she should be congratulated. Sometimes, highfalutin authors don't do that enough and should . So, good for her. Other reviewers of this work/series on Amazon are too sarcastic in their review of Auel's novel, and that stinks of being unkind. In general, the novel is a winner, but again, it could have been edited down when it came out. And finally, don't pay any attention to the movie version of "The Clan of the Cave Bear" with Darryl Hannah, because that movie got terrible reviews. Most times, movie versions of books/novels suck. I could see where "The Mammoth Hunters" would do poorly at the theater as well. Last: for me, I am locked into the "Earth's Children" series, because for the most part, there are good things happening. My intention is to finish the entire series, full speed ahead, Mr Sulu. My recommendation is that you read the plot/storyline and decide how much of the detail on the land, the people, the flora and fauna and animals you can keep or toss out. Give the leftovers to the predatory animals interspersed throughout the novel. You may even want to skip a little, so long as you don't give important information away.
Don't give up on this great series. Finally, I always believed that this novel and "Clan" should be taught in high school. That's the liberal mind in me. Bear in mind however, that most high school district school boards would be aghast to allow the openness of how life was back then for the major characters with or without the sex scenes. But it should be read, at least this book and "Clan." It's okay with three stars, but could have been better with quality editing.
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Top reviews from other countries
Mariana
Tem partes ótimas mas parece uma Bárbara Cartland de 35 mil anos atrás.
Reviewed in Brazil on January 19, 2022
Angelica
Great book, bad edition
Reviewed in Mexico on October 31, 2020
Angelica
Reviewed in Mexico on October 31, 2020
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クリムゾンマニア
エイラがマンモスハンターと暮らした１７歳〜１８歳の記録！さて運命の男との運命は？
Reviewed in Japan on June 6, 2012
クリムゾンマニア
Reviewed in Japan on June 6, 2012
Earth’Childrenは第１部「The Clan of the Cave Bear(1980)」（洞窟熊の氏族：邦題「大地の子エイラ」）から始まり、第２部「The Valley of Horses(1982)」（馬たちの渓谷；邦題「恋するエイラ」）、第３部「The Mammoth Hunters(1985)(マンモスを狩る人たち：邦題「狩するエイラ」)の前半３部作で１９９０年までに全世界で2千万部というベストセラーだそうです。「Earth’s Children」の名前の通り紀元前約３万年前、氷に閉ざされた大陸に暮らしていた人類の祖先の物語です。
ヒト（ホモ・サピエンス）の祖先となるクロマニョン人として生まれたエイラは5歳の時に大地震に会って家族を失い、その後、絶滅の運命にあるネアンデルタール人の一氏族・洞窟熊の氏族に拾われた５歳から１４歳までの生活を描くのが第１部。その氏族を一人追われて、１７歳まで間、一人洞窟で暮らしながら同族（クロマニョン人）との出会いを待ち、ついに、「運命の男」と出会いを描いたのが第2部。
第３部は、運命の男とマンモスハンターの一族に身を寄せた時代の記録で、主人公エイラの魅力が多くの人々に認められたり、一方、排斥されたり。期間は１７歳から１８歳までと短く、第１部、第２部のような劇的な出来事も少なく、しかし相変わらず、紀元前の生活描写はたまらなく面白いです。
中年の私が、読んでいて退屈なのは、主人公エイラをめぐる男二人との三角関係が話のメインになっている心理葛藤描写です。しかも、さらに突き詰めていえば、運命の男の「嫉妬」が９０％です。まあ、なんと、「うじうじ」している奴か。新しく読む方の楽しみを減らしてしまっては失礼ですが、上巻も中巻も、この下巻の大半も「うじうじ」です。
私が購入したこの本は、著名な翻訳家・中村妙子さんの訳で、素晴らしい描写力なのですが、１９２３年生まれの方なので、現代の語彙、表現とは異なり、若い方には違和感があるかもしれません。しかし第2部よりは、かなり読みやすくなっていますよ。それと性的な描写もあるので、もし小学生や中学生の女の子に親が与えるのであれば、どうぞお読みになってからお勧めください。
なお、同類の書籍としてクロニクル千古の闇シリーズ「[[ASIN:4566024113 オオカミ族の少年 (クロニクル 千古の闇 1)]]」、アリューシャン黙示録シリーズ「[[ASIN:4794962274 母なる大地 父なる空〈上〉―アリューシャン黙示録]]」、「[[ASIN:4794204817 トナカイ月―原始の女ヤーナンの物語〈上〉]]」をお勧めします。
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Kathy J.
The series starts to go downhill with this book.
Reviewed in Canada on August 29, 2018
