Now there are a few things in life which I don’t let myself think about too much as they make my brain hurt– it’s not that I don’t understand their concepts, I do, it just makes me feel funny when I dwell on them too much. These include space (it has to end somewhere), time travel (yes Im aware this doesn’t actually exist but the concept pickles my brain), humans growing humans (or baby making if you will) and evolution…*shudder*. Anyway, I managed to get past these evolution shenanigans while reading The Clan of the Cave Bear, but it does make you think.
The Clan of the Cave Bear is a young adult book about an ancient tribe of Neanderthal cave people. The reader learns all about their customs, traditions and beliefs through the eyes of Ayla, a human who is rescued by a woman of the clan and who is taken in by them as one of their own. Like us readers, she is an outsider within the clan, and she is referred to as one of ‘the Others’ who has to learn their ways and constantly challenges their beliefs and traditions. Even though this is set hundreds of thousands of years ago, the novel raises and questions many issues relevant in today’s society; religion, sexism, feminism, and racism – all the isms – so it’s a good moral tale for its younger audience I guess.
Now, you may have noticed that this one took me a while to get through! It is looooong, and although I quite liked it, it was just an OK kind of book. Nice to read on my commute but it wasn’t one I was eager to pick it up and read elsewhere. It also does tend to drag – Jean Auel obviously did her research into this ancient time, but there are many overly long descriptions which are unnecessary and I found myself skipping over them. Some of the storylines do drag on and the characters seem to only have one focus or purpose each. The submissive women annoyed me and the fact that the main character Ayla always went against the grain but came out on top was slightly annoying too. I probably would’ve read and enjoyed this when I was about 12, but Im not sure I would’ve wanted to pick up one of the sequels, or have read over and over and over again like I used to when I was younger.
This is an inoffensive story with interesting ideas, but just a ‘fine’ kind of a read.
