Review: The Land of the Painted Caves, by Jean M. Auel

Children were not separated from adults and regularly taught in an organized way. They learned by observation and trial of adult activities, for the most part. Young children were with a caring adult most of the time, until they showed a desire to explore on their own, and whenever they expressed a desire to explore on their own, and whenever they expressed a desire to try something, they were usually given a tool and shown how. Sometimes they'd find their own tool and try to copy someone. If they really showed an aptitude or desire, child0size versions might be made for them but they weren't toys so much as smaller-size fully functional tools.
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Community activities always included children. They were all encouraged to join in on the dancing an d singing that were a part of various festivals, and some became quite good and were encouraged. Mental concepts like counting words were usually picked up incidentally, through storytelling, games, and conversation, although one or more of the Zelandonia would occasionally take a group of children off to explain or show some particular concept or activity.

From The Land of Painted Caves, by Jean M. Auel

Learning from life. There is no better description of this philosophy of education than above, and there will always be people who disagree, or who would argue that our times have changed so drastically since those days of prehistory that such learning is no longer possible, but when I read this passage from Auel's new book I marked it and had to go back and reread it. It was a like a mantra.

It was also the only really good part of her new book. I should have known that after such a long wait nothing could live up to expectations. Beginning in the very first chapter it is clear that the author has lost touch with her characters. They aren't as rich and well drawn in this book as in her previous ones. I wondered if that was part of the plan, since some of the story deals with difficulties in their relationship, but since it picks up right about where the last one left off, the change is sudden and doesn't feel like a natural one.

The book also suffers from increasing long-windedness. This was not unenjoyable in earlier books, when she was describing the landscape as our heroes traveled from place to place, but in Painted Caves we spend the entire middle section (the second of three) touring caves with them, and this is not a case of "no two caves are alike". Monotony and repetition. Monotony and repetition. We spend 25 pages touring one cave, at the end of which I was skipping paragraph upon paragraph of descriptions of strange animal representations and images of female genitalia.

Editing, or lack thereof, is another problem. Repetition has always been Auel's style, but in the past it was part of natural flow in the story while here it seems like a way to fill up pages and make the story seem thicker. As time passes I would expect our characters and the story to dwell less on the past, recapping less of the previous books, but we never get such a reprieve. And some of her "in-book" repetition ends up being contradictory. At one point in the middle of the first section our heroes come up with a seemingly brand new ingenious idea, which would be fine if they hadn't already discussed it at the beginning, and then at the end of the section the concept is revisited again as if it has already been worked out at a point before their second brainstorm. That lack of continuity happens more than once, but it isn't nearly as disruptive as the feeling that Ayla, our heroin, continues to be a source of surprise, and sometimes angst, to the people of her mate's cave. Even in the final section, after she has lived with them for six years, and even to her mentor of as many years. Really, they have to know her by now.

Part three of the book, the final section, is its saving grace. While it still feels contrived and disjointed, and while the characters are still missing the depth of personality we've been treated to in past books, there is at least somewhat of a return to a focus on social interaction. There is a strange feeling, though, when, now six years later, some story threads from the fifth book are picked up as though no time passed at all. This was okay with me—they are familiar and comfortable threads—but really they are out of place.

I didn't hate the book, but honestly if I hadn't read any of the first five I think I would have. The only thing that kept me engaged throughout was my previous attachment to the characters themselves. And if I read it again I might just skip the middle section. This is supposedly the last book for the series, but Auel leaves a door wide open at the end, and as our people begin dealing with the first flushes of monogamy she hints at a possible major twist. That's as close as I'll come to giving anything away, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was a sequel at some point. I think she's threatened never to write again before anyhow.

Book 8 on my way to 52 in 2011

Review: The Earth's Children Series, books 3-5, By Jean M. Auel

The Mammoth Hunters is book three in Auel's Earths' Children series, and it makes a rather sudden jump to perpetually racy. For a people who existed before internet, TV, books, or games of any kind, I guess it would make sense that s-e-x was the only form of entertainment available to them, but I think she overdid it a little in this book. I may have spent more time cringing than reading. The story between all the spicy goings on is a good one, though. Auel moves a little away from the focus the time period and enters the realm of human relationships. She started this with the second book, of course, but this one takes it a step further. Cattiness, religious idiosyncrasies, power struggles, intolerance, it's not all that different from modern day society (not to forget that this is pre-historical fiction), except that, while men tend to be relied on for jobs that require strength and size, the groups are nearly matriarchal in form; they worship a feminine god and it's the women, and their lines, that bring status to families and even whole groups. It's an understandable arrangement since they have no means of knowing that men have anything to do with the creation of new life. Women are honored, revered.

The fourth book in the series is The Plains of Passage, and thankfully this was a return to the traveling and descriptions of the Paleolithic landscape and its flora and fauna, that I love so much. The fifth book, Shelters of Stone, is a little lighter on the sex, but heavier on the cattiness. It's a series, and each book builds well on the previous one, but reading them in quick succession like this has made it painfully obvious how repetitive Auel's writing can be, not just between the books, but within them. She phrases and rephrases feelings, memories, and actions all through the book, and I think each book got a little longer than the previous one because she recaps so much, and so often. That worked in my favor. I couldn't have finished all five books in one week, in time for the new release tomorrow, if I hadn't been able to skim so many pages of recap. But the characters are true and well defined, and the descriptions of life and land so well studied that these books are pure joy for me. Tomorrow Calvin and I will travel to Borders to pick up the sixth book, The Land of Painted Caves.

Books 4-7 on my way to 52 2011

Review: The Valley of the Horses, by Jean M. Auel

In the ten years since last I read this book I had entirely forgotten about its rather racy last few chapters. If it weren't for the rest of the book and its vivid descriptions of the life and times of the Upper Paleolithic I'd be embarrassed to admit to reading it. On the other hand, while racy isn't my cup of tea, I do like a good love story.

This is a beautifully romanticized and vibrant depiction of prehistoric human life. It's long-winded at times, but I love the descriptions of the land and the animals that roamed it. My only complaint is amount of time spent on memories and on recapping what happened in the first book. If I'd never read the first book, or if there had been more than 3 minutes between when I finished the first book and started this one, I'd probably have been glad for the recaps, as it was I was able to skip over a lot of writing and finish the book sooner, which is good since I have about a week to finish the three remaining books before the new one comes out.

Book 3 on my way to 52 in 2011

Review: Clan of the Cave Bear, by Jean M. Auel

It had been about ten years since I first, and last, read this book. I picked up the series, The Earth's Children series, in my college years when it was an appropriate companion to my beloved anthropology and biology classes. I loved it then, and I love it just as much now. It was like meeting with a good friend after a long absence. This is the first book in Auel's series, and also the most pivotal. It's not as thick with beautiful descriptions of landscape and epoch as her other books because it is more of a character study, one that is crucial to the entire rest of the series. That's not to say that it isn't heavy on the long winded descriptions, and I know many find the book tedious, but it's her ability to draw the Paleolithic world and its inhabitants that draws me to the series.
Auel's sixth and supposedly last installment of the series is to be released on March 29th and I'm racing the calendar to see if I can re-read all five of the existing books before it arrives.
Book 2 on my way to 52 in 2011