The Clan of the Cave Bear

Title: The Clan of the Cave Bear

Series: Earth's Children - book 1

Author: Jean M. Auel

Rating: 4 stars

Genre: Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 502

Publication Date: 1980

Publisher: Hodder

TBR Challenge: Read a book that was recommended to you

Summary (from the back of the book): Orphaned by an earthquake at the age of five, Ayla is left without a family or people. Until she is adopted by the Clan, a group of Neanderthal. Ayla inspires first surprise, then wariness and finally acceptance by the Clan. She is cared for by its medicine women Iza and its wise holy man Creb. Only their future leader, Broud, is not willing to accept this strange women. Consumed with hatred, he does all he can to destroy her. But Ayla bears the marks and the spirit of her totem, the Cave Lion. She is a survivor.

I used to see this book series in the library all the time but never picked it up. However, in my second year of university, one of my lecturers mentioned how the Earth's Children was one of her favourite book series. When I realised that the books I kept seeing everywhere were the same as the one's she had recommended, I figured I should probably pick up The Clan of the Cave Bear and give them ago. I was pretty excited when I got my TBR challenge this month because it gave me an excuse to move this book up to the top of my TBR pile.

This book did take a while to get into. One of the things that I struggled with was the way that the characters communicated. Rather than speaking with words to one another, the Clan (aka the Neanderthals) talk in a series of hand gestures and a few spoken words to help emphasis certain points. To portray this as well as what she did, would have been no small feat and shows just how incredible a writer Jean is. It does, however, take a while to wrap your head around, especially in the beginning but soon you find yourself getting use to reading someone gesturing a sentence as opposed to speaking it.

In line with this idea of a different communication style was the incredibly different cultural portrayals that Jean created. For example, because the Clan speaks with hand gestures, it is considered rude to look at others, especially when they are 'speaking', much in the same way that we consider eavesdropping to be rude. But I really enjoyed learning these social customs of the Clan through Ayla, who as an outsider or other, struggles to learn the new social customs. This was particularly obvious in how the Clan originally viewed Ayla's smiles as signs of hostility which they saw as bearing her teeth, like an angry animal would and Ayla crying when she was overly emotional which they saw as her having weak eyes.

Jean also created interesting parallels between the Clan and the Others. In particular the idea that the Neanderthal relied on memory and as a result were a stagnant people, unable to let go of their traditions and move forward, never creating. While Ayla's people, the Other, were forward thinkers, able to create and think ahead, as opposed to constantly seeing the past. Yet despite creating this parallel, at no point did she ever diminish the Neanderthal by giving them an unjust stereotypical unintelligent persona.

Through doing an archaeology degree I have both indirectly and directly looked at human evolution and I am amazed at the world Jean created 30 odd years ago. A lot of the ideas that Jean has presented in this book surrounding Neanderthal are ideas that have only recently been accepted as true. Sure there are some points that are questionable, but considering when The Clan of the Cave Bear was published, Jean must have done a lot of research.

Vertigo - TBR Challenge

For my August TBR Challenge I had to read a story that is published on Wattpad or Fictionpress. For my challenge I ended up reading Vertigo by Carmel March. I always love it when you find a gem on these websites, that one story that reminds you why keep looking and reading all the different works that people have created. 

Vertigo is one of those gems. The story follows a team of CIA agents who are trying to prevent an arms dealer from causing some major damage. Gemma Hart is the protagonist in this story, she is a smart and talented CIA agent who is pushed to her limits and forced to rise to the challenge when she is pulled from logistics and into the field. Facing not only trouble at a national security level, but also problems with her civilian boyfriends parents...and then there is the fact that she may or may not be developing a close relationship with her CIA partner, Boone.

One of the main things that I liked about this story was that the characters were real. Sure these agents are kickbutt, but at the end of the day you don't end up saying: "if only you could do that in real life" which many of these more action based (and movies) stories tend to go towards. 

The action in this story was another thing that I really loved. The action didn't dominate the plot line, it complimented the story as it was needed. The romance was another factor that I liked in the story for the same reason. Once again it seemed to fit seamlessly into the story without taking over the plot line and throwing it out the window. Everything in this story was one wonderfully woven flow of words.

To add to this amazing story is a sequel: Ricochet. Ricochet is still in the process of being written but Carmel March gets a new chapter up each month.

To this amazing little gem I give it a solid 4.5 stars and I can't wait for the September update.

Black Beauty

Title: Black Beauty

Author: Anna Sewell

Rating: 4 stars

Genre: Classic

Number of Pages: 245

Publication Date: 1877

Publisher: Scholastic

Summary: As a young horse, Black Beauty is well-loved and happy. But when his owner is forced to sell him, his life changes drastically. He has many new owners - some of them cruel and some of them kind. All he needs is someone to love him again...

Whether pulling an elegant carriage or a ramshackle cab, Black Beauty tries to live as best he can.

For the month of July my TBR Challenge was to read a book that I have never finished. I found this challenge really hard, I don't stop reading books unless they are really bad but as I was looking over my bookshelves I saw it...Black Beauty. I'm not really sure why I have never finished this book (considering my never ending obsession with horses and books), I have picked it up to read so many times before but I just seem to never quite reach the end. However, those days are behind me.

Black Beauty was originally published in 1877 and most people have heard something about this incredible story. This classic children's book will break your heart while at the same time being heart warming. This book is told from the perspective of Black Beauty from his time as a foal at his mother's side up until he is approximately 14 years old. The story follows Black Beauty as he goes through many owners, some good and some bad. This story is inspirational in the way that Sewell gets inside the head of the horse. Somehow she manages to capture the essence of how a horse would feel and think going through life.

This book is a quick read and while I did struggle with the younger audience language it was also part of its charm. The story is very direct in what is happening to Black Beauty even if the reasons for why some of the horrible things are happening aren't. After all the story is being told from the perspective of a horse. Sewell's story is inspirational in how people treat not just horses but people and other animals too. Sewell is especially clear in her contempt for the bearing rein (which causes a horse to hold its head back and it's neck in an arch) a cruel yet fashionable way of having horses pull a carriage during the Victorian era.

I would recommend this story to anyone of any age who loves animals or even just to someone who wants to read something that inspires you a little. So I give this book a solid 4 stars.

The Queen of the Tearling

Title: The Queen of the Tearling

Series: The Queen of the Tearling - book 1

Author: Erika Johansen

Rating: 5 stars

Genre: Paranormal, Dystopia

Number of Pages: 434

Publication Date: 2014

Publisher: Bantam Press

Summary: It was on her nineteenth birthday that the soldiers came for Kelsea Glynn. They came to escort her back to the place of her birth - to ensure she takes possession of what is rightfully hers. But like many nineteen-year-olds, Kelsea is unruly, has high principals and believes she knows better than her elders. Unlike many nineteen year olds, she is about to inherit a kingdom that is on its knees - corrupt, debauched and dangerous. Kelsea will either become the most fearsome ruler the kingdom has ever known...or be dead within the week.

For the month of June by TBR Challenge was to read a book by a new to me author. So I went looking for an author I had never heard of and I didn't read any reviews, I simply picked the book up based entirely on its summary.

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen was a new and refreshing read and is filled with a good dose of realism. The story follows the journey of Kelsea as she becomes the Queen of the Tearling, a dangerous and difficult role as Kelsea is forced to fight for the lives of her people as well as herself.

When and where this book is set I'm not really sure. It is a dystopian world but whether it is set in our world or another I'm not 100% on. But this is one of the reasons I loved it. There is a small amount of paranormal to this book, and I suspect the second book will contain more, but is otherwise set in a medieval type setting.

Another thing I loved about this book was the lack of romance. Yes, that's right, lack of romance! While there is a handsome guy Kelsea likes, her thoughts and feelings and their interactions are only seen in a mere 20-30 pages throughout the entire book.

The main thing I loved about this book was that we got to see the political side of being a Queen, politics being a subject most authors seem to gloss over if possible, because lets face it, politics can go very wrong. But Johansen found a balancing point and managed to write a good deal of detail without causing anyone to drown.

I did have a few small issues with the book though. I felt there were a few incidents and details of the story that didn't seem to match as seemlessly as they could have. However, thankfully these details were usually a part of the back story and easy to overlook.

I look forward to picking up the next book in the series, The Invasion of the Tearling and I hope I can give the second book a 5 star rating as well.