Ana reviewed The Shelters of Stone by Jean M. Auel (Earth's Children, No. 5)
Review of 'The Shelters of Stone' on 'Storygraph'
2 stars
I didn't like this book quite as much as I was hoping to. I guess my main complaints are that Ayla just seems a little too, perfect? Too super-human. Reading through the book, I almost get the impression the story is as much about what a wonder Ayla is than about the life and times back then. I know that's probably somewhat the point, because whenever Ayla tells her story to someone new they rarely believe her, but I think the narrative would seem a bit more believable if Ayla was more like your every day person like all the rest of us, just trying to survive in the circumstances. Her exceptional beauty and perfect body take away from the otherwise uniqueness of the series. That's just my opinion though.
Apart from that, I do still enjoy the different setting and getting a glimpse into what life was probably like …
I didn't like this book quite as much as I was hoping to. I guess my main complaints are that Ayla just seems a little too, perfect? Too super-human. Reading through the book, I almost get the impression the story is as much about what a wonder Ayla is than about the life and times back then. I know that's probably somewhat the point, because whenever Ayla tells her story to someone new they rarely believe her, but I think the narrative would seem a bit more believable if Ayla was more like your every day person like all the rest of us, just trying to survive in the circumstances. Her exceptional beauty and perfect body take away from the otherwise uniqueness of the series. That's just my opinion though.
Apart from that, I do still enjoy the different setting and getting a glimpse into what life was probably like back then. I'm still planning to finish off the series.
