Whoa! This is a lot! A crazy book to read at bedtime. My emotions were all over the place.
It’s worth the read. So much information! I love that the author did the narration, as you could tell her heart was in the read.
It’s so late at night that I can’t think of what to say that will help others to want to check out this book. It is so worth the read. I’m just warning you. If anger, excitement, sadness, hopelessness, regret, hope, and other huge emotions keep you awake, you might want to read this earlier in the day. I had too many 3 AM bedtimes that didn’t turn into actual sleep. Emotions about women, historical events, and all the wins and losses we’ve all lived through, but receiving only partial information played through my head, wondering what I would have done. What could I have done? How about the personal situations I’ve been through like some of these women; what needed to be done?
So read it for yourself and learn what you can. I was lucky to get to read (listen to) it on Libby.
Finally, I finished reading (listening) to part 2 of the tome. However, I couldn’t find the actual Audible version on which to write the review.
Ralph Lister was the narrator. Sorry. I think he may be the worst. Or maybe this would have been better with a cast of actors. The problem with Mr. Lister is it is hard to tell the characters apart. And his women sound demeaning to all women. Well, the whole book, and that time in history, was degrading to women, but there were positive things stated in the book, such as how wives took care of the money the men made, which may have been their only power. The next level from wife is Geisha, a step up from prostitute. So, to hear that demeaning voice just continued to make me angry.
My review for the first part can be found here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show…. There is a lot to this book, which includes my history of reading and watching this series.
Anyway, I am looking forward to watching the new series and will rewatch the old one. We don’t need to hide from past mistakes; we certainly can learn from all of them. Meanwhile, learning more about Japanese culture and beginning steps in the language was fun for me.
I read this way back in the 80s. It was a big, thick paperback. I loved it. Then I watched the movie (or was it a series?) with Richard Chamberlain. Then I was blown away. I was already crazy about Mr. Chamberlain—so much so that, as an early teen, I’d sneak a mirror into the bookshelf in the hall at just the right angle so that even though it was past my bedtime, I could watch Dr. Kildare. I still think I got away with it.
What I loved about every iteration of Shōgun was the passion, history, culture, and language presented. Richard Chamberlain is going to be hard to beat in his portrayal of Anjin-san, especially in the scene where he is committing Seppuku. But in this Audible edition, I felt that passion through the reading by narrator Ralph Lister.
I have gotten used to Mr. Lister’s reading, but I think this book needs separate actors. I absolutely hate hearing a man do a female voice. It always sounds demeaning to women. And all the men sound similar to each other.
Still, since I am taking Japanese on Duolingo I feel I understand more than the last time I read the book. I’m looking forward to book II and the new streaming series.
I love this series! I get to exercise my little bit of Duolingo French and travel with Laura, first to France and then to Montreal, Quebec, the destination of this book. The only bit of Canada I’ve been to was Victoria, BC. And then only a few hours on vacation when I was a child.
The relationship between Laura and Franc develops through cold and scary times.
Ms. Bradbury’s writing pulls the reader in. She knows how to tell her story.
I read this on Kindle. I read it a little at a time on one of my old phones. It was great for those moments when waiting, during commercials, etc. It took a bit, but the story stayed with me, so I never felt I needed to review the last bit I read.
I have already ordered the next book in her series.
This was my second “read.” I just listened on Audible. This time, I was less enchanted. I felt it was repetitive, repeating so many stories from the previous books. I wouldn’t say I liked Jondalar and got mad at Ayla several times. And the Zelandoni (I’m not sure how to spell the one that relates to the first one–Audible) didn’t seem the wisest of women either. And the grand adventures of the past books weren’t there. But it was fun to live in the story just a little longer. But I wasn’t as gooey as I was in my previous read. The review from a few years ago is below.
It is the times, my attitudes of now and then? I didn’t feel the same this time.
~~~
Why did I have to read these so fast? Now, there are no more cave-bear books.
Sandra Burr. Listen to her performance of these books if you get the chance.
I feel I have already reviewed this series. Before I reread them, I will try to find pictures of the places, the caves, and the types of people these books are about. It would be cool if Jean M. Auel could write a companion picture book. I must admit to having my curiosity piqued about the prehistoric times when womyn were warriors. I am glad that the author spent so much time researching these stories. Her knowledge of the geography, flora, and fauna made the world of Ayla come to life.
If you haven’t read these yet, you owe it to yourself. If you have, trek back to the Caves.
Below is a previous and better review than the one my tired mind can express at this time of night. It includes all the praises of the narrator, Sandra Burr, and the author Jean M. Auel. Besides, I really want to get started reading/listening to the sixth and last book of the series. My cousin told me she had reread them recently and that she didn’t like the last book. I’m anxious to be reminded how I felt about it and re-enjoy the book again.
I highly recommend this series if you haven’t read it. And if you have, a re-read is always fun.
~~~
As with the others in this series, I listened to Sandra Burr on the Audible version while reading along on my Kindle. I have really grown in awe of Ms. Burr’s narrative abilities. It is like I see only the characters and landscape in my head rather than thinking it is an actual person reading to me. How she can maintain the voices of each character so seamlessly is baffling! I’d love to see her in her processes, preparing for each part of the story and each person represented. Just amazing!
Ms. Auel’s story is still fresh and keeps me curious as I read. There are parts that are getting a bit overdone, but considering that this book doesn’t involve the travel angst that the previous books had, stay-at-home boredom seems inevitable. Yet it isn’t boring.
The research evidence throughout all these books is overwhelming! Yet, it is presented as part of the story. In this way, Ayla’s story comes to life. You want to believe that this little family did exist.
I read this a few years ago. Below is my last review. I am having a hard time separating the books. I have already started The Shelters of Stone. I love Sandra Burr’s narration, that is until Shelters. Why did she change how Ayla’s accent in Shelters? But aside from that, I enjoyed the Plains and the adventure of hiking the glaciers. Ayla’s growth and the growth of Jondalar as they move between societies and bigotries and Earth’s growing and evolving made a story I don’t want to stop. I know it ends, but I may love it more than I loved the last read.
~~~
June 23, 2016
This was probably my favorite of the series, both for the writing/research and also for the narration of Sandra Burr. I think Ms. Burr finally hit her Cave-womyn height with this one. I more often pulled away from the Kindle version and let Sandra tell me the story. In the Audible version, the characterizations were seamless. When it was a man talking, I pictured the man. I often forgot a woman was narrating. She kept each female voice different and consistent enough that I wouldn’t have needed to look to see who was talking. Amazing!
Another reason I enjoyed the Audible more than the Kindle (written) form because there were so many passages (no pun intended) with descriptions. I’m sure a lot of the research Jean M. Auel did was represented here. But if you follow Discovery or other science channels, you would have covered much of it. Ms. Burr kept those flowing and interesting. And her ability to pull the very essence of a sexual scene without making it raunchy was amazing (and sexy!)
I am writing this after starting the next book. I couldn’t leave Ayla out there in the ether!
I just finished my second reading of this book a couple of days ago. Below is the review from the first time. It is funny that my feelings changed on this book. I still think Valley of the Horses is my favorite so far, where as last time the Mammoth Hunters was my favorite. That proves my theory that where the reader is in their lives affects how the story comes through to them.
One thing coming to mind in this reading is how talented the narrator, Sandra Burr, is. She flawlessly changes voices for any person who speaks in the story. Her males are all different, and her females vary, too. Old people even have different personalities per voice. I’d love to learn to do this kind of narration. Of course, Sandra also has a gem of a series to read. I am equally blown away by the amount of research included or purposely left out just for the story’s sake.
I didn’t cry at the parting of the couple from their new friends this time. I was so busy doing my diamond painting that I wasn’t as emotionally involved at that stage. I also didn’t let a beat go by without loading up the next book.
~~~
How can one read with tears racing down one’s face? Good thing I had Audible’s version with Sandra Burr’s narration to keep the story moving. And it was moving!
I think I liked this one the best so far. I wanted to thump Jondalar more often than not. Communicate, was the word I shouted to the book, communicate! But then, I guess that would have left a very short book.
I have already ordered the Audible version of the next book and downloaded the Kindle version. I have no idea why I had never read all these before. Jean M. Auel is quite the storyteller! Oh, yeah, the books are all so heavy that my hands would have ached trying to read them.
Sandra Burr’s narration was more flawless than in the previous books.
Well, I can hardly wait to get started on the next one.
This was quite interesting. I was lucky to get the Kindle from Libby. Now, I want to get the paper version to catch the pictures, recipes, and ideas to read more slowly and start bringing more of these ideas into my life. What I’d really like to do is travel to these countries myself. I look forward to watching this on Netflix.
I used to live near the Seventh Day Adventist communities, the one in Loma Linda and the one in La Sierra, California. My friends attended that church, so I had an early intro to the vegetarian diet. That fit quite well for me as I never liked meat. I got to have special dinners with those friends and was amazed at the variety and full flavor of everything offered. The only thing I would object to is the smog. It was very thick in those areas. I would bet that these people would live even longer elsewhere.
This wasn’t a long or engaging read. I used Text-to-Speech and was through it in a couple of nights. Like I said, I look forward to having the book.
And the flounder is how to not hyperfocus on diamond painting and reading. I find there’s so much to do and read and so little time. I need at least 48 hours for my day!
Oh, my goodness! This book was fun from the very beginning. My eyes have difficulties tracking to read; even since cataract surgery fixed a lot of my issues, tracking remains nearly impossible. I have been an avid reader since I was little. Reading was slow going, but I got through the ten books allotted by the library every three weeks. The heft of the books was unwieldy, but I didn’t ask for help.
So, I began reading this book on my old phone using the Kindle app. It took me quite a while to get through even half the book. Finally, I caught up with the Libby audiobooks I had checked out, and Piglet became my bedtime book. Now, I could use text-to-speech and speed up the reading quite a bit. And give my eyes a rest.
Another reason I got into this book is my own dog, Kali, passed last spring after being nearly blind and having doggy dementia and bad hearing. It was so hard at the end of her life, but we had such a hard time from the beginning trying to learn from each other that the bond for her was strong in the end. I miss her so much and feel the need to help another dog as soon as I can. Meanwhile, Piglet helped me. Now I feel even stronger about getting another dog. I know there is one out there that needs me as much as I need him or her.
I think this book has a couple of other inspirational stories within. Melissa Shapiro is a veterinarian who tells her story of how she and her husband got together. Then, she shares her children’s aspirations with music. She tells of their college experiences.
By the way, one of her daughters and her husband have honest and raving reviews on the Piglet GoodReads page. I was delighted to read these as I felt I knew them from the book.
This book is full of the good feels a person needs these days. I look forward to looking all over the internet to find videos and follow the dogs, Melissa, and her family, and all the good they are doing for disabled people and animals.
When I feel I am floundering, I need to remember the floundering Ms. Shapiro and her husband went through with that one-pound blind, deaf puppy screaming his needs to them. Floundering is how one finds one’s balance. That is what February gives me. Meanwhile, today my turtles got a little more colorful.
Working on my series: Haven.
Doodler (zendoodle.com)
Music major: voice and piano
Mom of four great adults
Reiki II practitioner
I have been on disability/retired for 10 years now from depression, anxiety and fibromyalgia.
Books, games, music, and life — filtered through the mind of a writer, drummer, and philosopher who thinks too deeply about all of it. If it moves something in your chest, I'm interested.
The Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women at the CIA by Liza Mundy
Darswords 
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