The Shelters of Stone (Earth's Children, 5)

Rating:
Summary: Reading Auel in context
Review: While I certainly agree that Jean Auel's writing is repetitious and badly in need of a good editor, and don't understand how her publishers failed her so badly, reviewers who see only that aspect miss the point of the series, as do those who complain about Ayla's mythic status. This *is* a myth, carefully developed through the series starting with "Clan of the Cave Bear" to show how circumstances, time, and distance combine to evolve a mythic figure out of a talented but still very human person.

The great, and enduring value of the series is (1) its portrayal of the 35, 000 year-old world when Cro-Magnon and Neanderthal overlapped, the great art of the cave painting and ivory carvings was created, and human ingenuity was starting to make itself felt, and (2) the psychological and cultural interactions of very different mind-sets. Auel condenses the historic record of human invention into one short period for good reason: it helps to convey the difficulties and importance of such creative and flexible approaches in a world where humans were few and weak.

To read these works as you would a realistic novel about today's world is to deprive yourself of a rich - and enriching - imaginative experience. If you need realism/naturalism then don't real Auel. Perhaps it is best to classify her work as historic fantasy, or magical realism, or even surrealism.


Rating:
Summary: Could have been better
Review: As soon as I heard this book was coming out, I placed the date on my calendar so that I could buy it immediately upon release. I had read the other four books, and was hooked after reading Clan of the Cave Bears. By far, the first book was the best, and I really was rooting for the character, Ayla. I read the other three books, and my interest waned a bit with each, but in general I was still enamored with the series. However, Shelters of Stone was not the book I was expecting. I must agree with many of the other reviewers who were tired of the repetition that Auel used, and I found myself skipping over large repetitive sections of the book. In addition, as usual from books 2-4, I continued skipping over the romance novel love scenes of Ayla and Jondalar. Enough about his large "manhood." I feel that these romance novel interludes were added to books 2-5 to attract a larger reading audience, which is a real shame because the first book, Clan of the Cave Bear, did not have these scenes and is by far the best. However, I digress. The main thing I did not like about Shelters of Stone was that throughout the series we have followed almost every single day of Ayla's life, starting at age 5, or so it seems. However, when it comes to her pregnancy, which was built up to the be the climax of the storyline about her use of contraception/Jondalar's desire to have a child of his hearth, Ms. Auel almost skips it entirely. Instead, it was like a fast forwarded version of a pregnancy. I must say though, that although I was disappointed by the book, it was readable and I have read it once again since my initial read. Also, I will tune in for the sixth installment, just to see how it ends. I guess after you invest that much time into something, reading 5 books, you just need to know the ending, even if it appears it may be anticlimatic. My suggestion is to read this book if you have read the other four, and really need to know what happens to the characters. However, if you are not emotionally invested in the characters it will probably not be worth your time.

Rating:
Summary: SHELTERS OF STONE
Review: I HAVE READ ALL THE OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES AND THOROUGHLY ENJOYED THEM SO I EAGERLY BOUGHT THE LATEST INSTALLMENT IN THE SERIES. I TRIED READING IT SEVERAL TIMES AND GOT BOGGED DOWN SO I ENDED UP GETTING THE UNABRIDGED AUDIO VERSION FROM THE LIBRARY! IN MY OPINION THE BOOK COULD HAVE BEEN CUT IN HALF. THE AUTHOR REPEATS HERSELF CONSTANTLY, EXPLAINING OVER AND OVER AGAIN DETAILS OF JONDALAR AND AYLA'S JOURNEY. I FOUND THAT UNNEEDED AND VERY ANNOYING. I LIKED THE FACT THAT AYLA WAS A VERY STRONG CHARACTER AND THAT WOMEN WERE CONSIDERED AS EQUALS TO MEN IN THE BOOK AND IF YOU CUT OUT ALL THE REPETETIVE DIALOGUE AND INFORMATION IT IS A FAIRLY GOOD READ. HOWEVER, I AM NOT SURE IF I WILL BOTHER WITH THE NEXT EPISODE.

Rating:
Summary: Dreadful...
Review: Clan of the Cave Bear was required reading my sophomore year in high school. I read it 20+ times, it was so wonderful. I read 2-4 a fair number of times, and anxiously awaited #5. When it was finally released, after 10 years of waiting, I bought an autographed hardcover copy. 2 days later I was kicking myself for wasting the money. What an awful follow up to what was such a promising story. This book was dreadful, trite, boring, and it took a supreme effort for me to even finish it the first time. Needless to say, that expensive hardback copy wound up in the Goodwill pile. I'm never going to read it again.

Rating:
Summary: Terribly boring
Review: Even though I enjoyed most of the previous books in the series and looked forward to reading this one, I found it was not only a terrible book, but a boring one.

Repetitive, uneventful, heavy, unpleansant to read, etc. etc. Nothing justifies reading hundreds of pages to sumerize it in only a few words. Ayla and Jondalar ger married, Ayla has a baby, Ayla proves (yet again) that she has wisdom and 'powers', end of story.

I feel cheated and fear the publication of the next one in the series.

Rating:
Summary: Nice pillow.
Review: I've read all the series and never felt compelled to review until I finished Shelters of Stone. Well, I sort of finished. Between skipping a few passages and forgetting others two seconds after reading, I question what I got from this particular book in the series. I found myself waking up several times with my head face-down in this book. Not good.

My understanding is that these books are a modern political and social commentary on caveman lifestyles.

In the Mammoth Hunters, we learn that Ranec is black - not that there's anything wrong with that and Ayla is down for whatever whenever with whomever - not that there's anything wrong with that.

In the Plains of Passage, we meet femi-nazis who don't appreciate Jondalar and Ayla's beauty and power - there's definitely something wrong with that.

In Shelters of Stone, we learn that people with deformities are "special" - not that there's anything wrong with that. We also learn about contraception and abortion - I'm not even going to comment.

But let's stick with Shelters of Stone. The book appears very formulaic. Lots of repetition seemingly at specified intervals.

1. "Ayla has an accent" noted 80 times
2. "Whinny, Racer, and Wolf are wondrous. People are frightened and then tentatively stroke them on the head." noted 60 times.
3. "Ayla is blonde and beautiful and so is Jondalar" noted 50 times.
4. "Remember the time when Iza taught me to wash" noted 20 times.
5. "Remember the time when Thonolon and I were attacked by a cave lion" noted 15 times.
6. "Remember the time when Ayla drank the LSD (or whatever) and went on a long trip" noted 15 times.
7. "Zelandonia looks at Ayla with new respect for her powers" noted 15 times.
8. By the way, "Ayla has an accent and was raised by the Clan Remix" noted 8 more times.
9. "Guess what new modern invention me and Ayla have to show you idiots" noted 40 times.
10. "I'm gonna pick ____ plant because it _____ and Iza taught me how to know what to do with ____ plant because she was a medicine woman of the Clan and raised me as her own" noted 35 times.
11. All remaining pages filled with twenty verses of the Mother Song and entire passages lifted from previous novels.

Clan of the Cave Bear remains the strongest book in the series.



Rating:
Summary: Ayla is Tina Turner?
Review: Wow, may I just say this: This series has been hard enough to get through (I got the audiobooks free from a friend), but now it's intolerable. Remember how in the early 90's Tina Turner all of a sudden had this weird brit/european accent? For no apparent reason? Well, the same reader has done books 2-5, and now- in book 5, Ayla has this weird accent. She rolls her r sounds and has this broken language deal going on. Whatever. Like the storylines aren't lame enough, now it sounds awful, too.

I'm so tired of their sex life by now, Ayla certainly must be, too. Of course, she is the queen of the instant orgasm, so maybe not. Lucky girl, I guess. Anyway, that's my review- no need to review the story because it's the same as all the others. But to change the entire speech and cadence of the main character's voice is just ridiculous. What crap.

Rating:
Summary: These reviews are better than the book!
Review: I've spent the past week reading nearly 700 Amazon reviews of this book. The reviews are more entertaining than the novel! Most are hysterically funny, witty and sarcastic. They are also hard-hitting and get right to the point. I wonder if Jean Auel has read them?
Incidently, I just saw an online photo of Jean supposedly taken in 2002 and she looks NOTHING like she does on the back cover flap of "Shelters of Stone." No resemblance whatsoever.
The biggest problem with Ayla is--she's too perfect. And Jondular has turned into a dumb hunk with nothing to say. I laughed at Ayla's intuitive understanding of alcoholism--I almost expected her to start a 12-step AA program for her white trash neighbor!
But then again, Ayla is a super-woman who knows everything.
If "The Shelters of Stone" is made into a movie, Britney Spears should play Ayla! Daryl Hannah is too old now. This book definitely marks the "dumbing down" of the Earth's Children series.
Reviewers have ridiculed Ayla for inventing modern civilization, but hey....someone had to create herbal tea, birth control, mouthwash and tampons!
Jean Auel is no longer pretending to be a serious novelist. Ayla has become a gorgeous New Age prehistoric goddess.
Regarding the sex scenes--we already knew that Jondular has a big...umm..."manhood." Mrs. Auel describes their sexual antics in gynecological terms and that's a turn-off. Actually, their sex life has become boring and routine.
And Marthona--Jondular's perfect mother--keeps her dishes and herbs on SHELVES in her stone-age kitchen. Imagine that! Her "condo" is as well-decorated and luxurious as any modern townhouse. And Jondular's sister is a cool teenager who likes cute guys and beautiful clothes.
The book is escapist entertainment---but that's okay.


Rating:
Summary: Excellent, just like the rest!
Review: I just finished reading the book, and I wanted to say that I thought it was excellent, and I really enjoyed it. The entire series has been wonderful, and I am really looking forward to the next book. For the reviewers who said they were disappointed, bored, skipped pages/sections, etc., I am wondering if you read the same book I did? Yes, there was some repetition in the book, but I did not find it unnecessary or distracting. I have read the entire series over the last 1 1/2 years, so it was all fresh in my mind, and I did not find it to be a problem at all. With the amount of time between the 4th and 5th books, I would think it would have been helpful for someone who had not read the other books as recently. My first thoughts when reading a lot of the other reviews were that many of the reviewers were looking for things to find wrong with the book. (Short attention spans came to mind as well, but that's a whole different story by itself!) Could any of them honestly have written the book better? NO! I think it was very well done, and just as enjoyable as the previous 4. Of course the lives of the main characters have settled down a bit- their journey is over, they have a family now- isn't that to be expected? If I had been travelling as long and far as they had I would think my life would be more settled too! And I think if I had just arrived in a new place living with new people as Ayla had, I would probably be telling the same things over and over again just like she did in the book. I for one think the book was excellent, and I would highly recommend it.