The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel

This book took me completely by surprise. Upon reading the description on the back cover, I knew it wouldn't be something I'd be interested in. It's a story set in the stone age, and that in itself was enough to turn me off from the book completely. However, I had read many great reviews on it; numerous people have talked about how beautifully written and how much of a page turner it is. I think I was at a point where I had been reading too many light books, that I was ready for something good and substantial. I decided to give this a try.

I was completely absorbed.

This book really lived up to all the raves I read. It was more than I imagined. I never thought that I would be so engrossed in a prehistoric setting, but there I was not being able to sleep because I just had to know what would happen next. The descriptions were so lush and vivid. The characters popped out of the pages, and I simply could not put the book down.

It's a story about a little girl named Ayla who loses her parents and is found and raised by a group of Neanderthals. Her mental, emotional and physical development and the relationships she forms with her newfound family were just so captivating. She represents the superior Cro-Magnons, and reading about her rise in the clan from an outcast to someone quite indispensable and, subsequently, her fall brought about by a jealous member, makes for such an engrossing read.

I will be reading the next book in the series, and I hope it will be just as good as the first.

5 stars *****