There’s no hidden art to Clan of the Cave Bear. Both feature orphans who don’t fit in, are surrounded by magic, and who unfairly gain a sworn enemy (all common enough storytelling patterns).
Clan of the cave bear series#
There are interesting parallels with the Harry Potter series (1997 -), too. It suggests a strict male:female hierarchy which can be troubling at times, yet Ayla’s character arc offers a recognisably modern sense of equality.
Nonetheless, Auel’s imagining of the past is fertile and immersive. This includes an instance of rape, which has seen the book banned from children’s libraries. The book’s plausibility drives its tension – but so does the knowledge that the adult structures Auel describes involve children, whom we’re told matured much earlier in prehistory. So tender it almost fell from the bones, the meat was carefully raised.” They pulled back limp scorched leaves and exposed the sacrificial beast in a cloud of mouth-watering steam. Ebra and Uka began removing the warm soil from the top. “Everyone gathered around the large pit in which the haunches of bison were cooking. She paints a compelling picture of religion, magic, housekeeping, menstruation, sex and childbirth, all details that bring this era to life. The author’s painstaking research is apparent in detailed descriptions of plants, recipes, animals and tools.
Clan of the cave bear how to#
A vivid version of prehistoryĪ non-fiction book, How to Think Like a Neandertal, shows how accurate Auel’s research was in conveying aspects of Neandertal life. One Neanderthal hunter, Broud, hates her so much he vows to destroy her it’s a tension that comes to dominate her life and the book. She teaches herself to hunt – an act of female rebellion that almost sees her cursed to death. They’re short and stocky with heavy facial features the tall, blonde girl seems ugly to them.Īyla does her best to become like her adopted family but has a wilful, independent streak that leads her into trouble. The Clan favour sign language over speech, and can access shared memories. Then a Neanderthal tribe find her badly wounded but alive, and it seems like a blessing from the ancestral spirits.īut while her new family quickly grows attached to the girl, they’re very different. After an earthquake destroys her home she’s left at the mercy of the untamed environment. “The child was alone in a wilderness of grassy steppes and scattered forests…”įive-year-old Ayla is an early European modern human (i.e., Cro-Magnon) child. The first book in the Earth’s Children series, The Clan of the Cave Bear brings the world of mammoths and Neanderthals vividly to life.
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