The Land of Painted Caves

I've read the hole series, from when I was a boy picking books off my parents book shelf. This book series has changed my life. Not only has it sparked my love of reading but has also helped me to appreciate the world and the people I share it with, taking time to sit out in nature, far from the noise of the world; whilst also to build long lasting relationships with and fully appreciate everything my family represents. It has also helped me to appreciate my partner as an individual and take into account her needs, her amazing ability in so much but most simply being human. I love these books. I love the characters and the world's depicted. I love the human minds amazing ability to create a whole world simply from the words written by others. But most of all I love Jean, for everything she has done for me and offered me by simply following her passion and showing us a glimpse at those who came before, those who made us. Thank you for everything, thank you for changing my life.

I'm such of a fan of this series but I must admit this was a long and drawn out book with a bit of drama and spice only towards the end. Auel goes into great and interesting detail about the lives and surroundings of the Zalendonii caves and people, but too much of Ayla and Jondalar's journeys and past experiences were repeated. Whether the ending was good or bad is just down to personal preference, but I found there was no 'grand finale' to the series in this book. Just a Inconclusive ending.

I got this book from the library, the first time I have sampled a Jean. M. Auel book. I am usually fairly quick to click on to a 'bad' read and stop reading but with this book I soldiered on because I always felt there was something just around the corner that would attract my interest. As it turned out, there wasn't. This was a story of stone age people who demonstrated modern social graces, with the odd slip back into orgies and the like. Ayla, the 'heroin' of the story was in her prime at twenty seven years of age when I would have thought she would more likely be on her last legs, dying of old age and totally spent from the harsh lifestyle they lived. And so on. The book went on and on and on about this Ayla, the 'wonder woman' who was followed everywhere by her pet wolf and rode horses (something apparently no one had thought of yet) and although an outsider to this tribe was apparently rising to become its prime religious leader. In short the book didn't ring true and it was a very boring read.