Jean M. Auel Message Board
Tina posts on 7/2/2013 2:10:52 PM
I thoroughly enjoyed book 6. I realize that it was a bit less action than the others but life isn't always so melodramatic. I was brought to tears more than once. I sincerely hope there are more books to follow or that she has been grooming a grandchild (or child) to take over for her.
I keep seeing something about a book 7 and a book 8 but haven't found any of them online. Are there others and are they available yet?
Melisa posts on 3/9/2013 1:02:30 PM
I came here looking for discussion about the ending of book 7. The reason is that I can't figure out what the ending was supposed to communicate. Every other book was all about mankind progressing forward while Ayla did. New things learned from this tribe or that, new innovations and ways of doing thing, new ways to see the world around them. While this one does end with the same thing, it was more like the story of learning too much and being thrown out of the garden of eden than anything uplifting that made me happy. So I really want to understand the point - were we supposed to believe that this knowledge led to something wonderful, without noticing that it was also what has led over the centuries to the subjugation of women's bodies and the belief by men that they someone have a right to control the reproductive process? I'm very confused, did anyone else notice this?
Paula Haller posts on 3/3/2013 10:57:42 PM
So very disappointed in book 6 and it's endless cave drawings, dots, and echo's but felt cheated with the ending which was no more than a repeat of The Mammoth Hunters. Where is the explanation to Ayla's dream of her 2 sons fighting? Why could she not discover who her family was? Why couldn't there have been an encounter with a clan who had news of Durc? Gee, it could have been so much more fulfilling, but it left me totally dissatisfied and hurt that Ms Auel would do this to her faithful fans that waited YEARS for book 6. If the rumor is true about a 7th book, then I hope she brings a much better story and one that comes full circle, not leaving us readers with feelings of being cheated.
bill k posts on 3/3/2013 10:40:45 PM
@Afton, I have always wanted Ayla people to find her. I also was hoping Ayla and Jondalar would have to move and start a new cave near Doni's Healing Waters and the close mountains, between Lanzadonii and the Ninth Cave. That could have been done after Jondalar got in the fight.
Afton posts on 3/2/2013 7:21:56 PM
I am saddened that so many were disappointed with book 6. I did not feel it near her best, but then again all stories do die and she is in her 70s so we should cut this woman a little slack for at least trying to finish her story. Everything was mounting up to this point starting with book two, so there were obviously some high expectations. I truly believe this is one of the few authors that really wrote for the love of the story only.
That being said, I just read on here that there might be a 7th book. I googled to find out that yes she has been quoted at least twice saying she will continue writing the story and possibly create a 7th. I will buy that one the day it comes out just as I did with 6 if for no other reason that to ensure Ayla and Jondalar are still doing well. This story is what got me to love reading, which is now my favorite hobby. I was forced to read one of two books for a cultural anthropology elective I took around 2005. I love cultural anthropology but hated reading and the books just seemed boring. I chose Clan of the Cave Bear. I was poor and ordered a used book. It took double the time to arrive and I had to resort to scanning through it the night before the paper was due. So in essence I knew the ending before I sat down to read the book. When I decided to sit down and read it, I immediately ordered the remainder of the books and checked the mailbox every single day for them. I have read the books twice now and this is the only book collection I have ever liked enough to read twice. Mammoth Hunters is still my favorite, followed by Valley of the Horses which was originally my least favorite. I so wish she would have stayed with the mammoth hunters although I know that might have ended the series sooner. I definitely liked them more than Jondalar, at least at that time.
If she does write a 7th book (and God knows I want her to), I want to see at least one of three things. The least likely to happen would of course be to see Durc again. I don't want her to see the Durc which will be scared of her or hate her. I just want her to see that Durc is happy. Maybe meet someone who knows him well. Maybe find out that Durc is leader now and he is a fair and good leader. The second thing would be to see some of the Mammoth Hunters again. I loved Talut and Nezzie so much and of course Rydag who I know we could never see again :(. I loved all of them almost as much as Ayla. Lastly, I would love for her to meet at least one person of her own people. Someone that she can tell was part of her people by the look or by some recently exposed memories. Maybe she could learn the ways of her people and implement a few of them helping her to feel more complete. She deserves a bit of comfort. This is possible because her people could have moved west while she was still a young child. They could already be established somewhere west. It would also make since that they had to leave after the earthquake destroyed much of the caves in the area, so maybe because of their beliefs and cultural expectations they had to travel a long way to find a suitable replacement.
I am now 30, and I still know that if I was to live my life after any character it would be Ayla. No one could ever be as awesome as her character, but she definitely sets a good standard to strive to uphold. If I ever have a daughter, I will name her Ayla (which I thought was unique but have come to see that there are several people with that name...maybe for the same reason).
bill k posts on 3/2/2013 3:05:05 PM
I have read some of Sacred Mountain off the computer, but can not get into it. My question is reading off the computer like reading of a Nook or Kindle. If so I will stay with my books.
Michel Binette posts on 3/1/2013 3:25:48 PM
A few months have passed since I readed
Jean Auel's last novel. My first reaction has been 'a huge desappointement'.
But you know what... I wish to thank Jean Auel for all those hours of pure fun reading and re-reading her novels starting with 'The clan of the cave bear'.
Not too many writers were able to bring me back thousands of years ago when our ancestors were fighting for ''survival''.
I will never forget Ayla Jondalar and all the others that allow me to imagine what life could have looked like so long ago. She did that by bringing a deep knwoledge of the plants and animals of that era and, espacially a deep understanding of human nature when facing changes that threatened their way of life......in a way like humanity does today.
In conclusion, a huge thanks Mme Auel.
Beth1 posts on 2/24/2013 1:03:03 PM
To Anne H. You wrote "Never just assume something is a certain way and never try to rewrite facts to suit your world view."
Isn't that what fiction is all about?
Anne Hennessy posts on 2/24/2013 10:13:12 AM
I read a good portion of The Sacred Mountain before “tossing” it aside with disgust. The person who wrote this obviously did little of his own research into actual prehistory or archeology. He instituted Christian-Judeo beliefs onto these people thousands of years before the birth of Jesus. He could have gotten a better idea of the traditions of these ancient people by studying the traditions of Native Americans, a group of people who would be more closely associated with ancient peoples in customs. Having grown up among Yakama Indians and studied Native American History in college, I have come to know that “keeping one’s virginity for marriage” is considered odd and that “babies happen”. Babies were always welcome into the tribe whether the parents were “married” or not, simply because they replaced those members who had died either naturally or by accident or in disputes with other tribes. It was important that there should be a certain number of people in their tribes simply for the tribe to survive. Sex was just part of everyday living – you did it because it felt good and you did it with someone you liked or loved. Although most mated couples kept to each other, it was not (and still is not) uncommon for unmated people to enjoy sex.
The ideas expressed by the author in “The Sacred Mountain” are those of western European, Christian white men and not based on the reality of the time. Jean Auel had it right in showing that sex was indiscriminate, completely acceptable, and considered NORMAL behavior. Only forced sex was unacceptable, as it still is with Native American tribes today. Native peoples have more respect for their women than whites, there is no doubt about it, and always have.
Writers need to understand that doing research is tantamount to presenting an accurate view of any subject. Never just “assume” something is a certain way and never try to rewrite the facts to suit your world-view.
Ann Onomous posts on 2/24/2013 1:56:29 AM
I guess I hated LOPC much less than most people. For me it just had no journey. Ayla changed so little in the story line that it could have been done in a short-story format. As for the cave descriptions that everyone is complaining about, Jean did spend a lot of time going through the caves in France. Why would it come as a surprise that she would make them a large part of the story, especially when Painted Caves is in the title? I found the lack of sex in this book a refreshing relief. I almost threw down Mammoth Hunters because of endless descriptions of penis and vagina scenes including the descriptions of the taste of semen. I know that most folks like the fluffy love stories and for them, that is fine. Look to Romance novels. As far as seeing Durk again, that would be unfathomable. The Clan does not travel that kind of distance for so little reason, besides Durk has been told that his mama is dead. On the other end, Ayla would not travel back there. It was stated numerous times that she was done with long journeys, at least on purpose. Ms. Auel has done extensive archeological research to be able to bring the life-style of ice-age people to an interesting story. It is enough of a reach that Ayla and Jondalar spread ten thousand years of advancement into a single ten year time-span. I am talking in terms of iron pyrite for starting fires, domestication of horses and canine, advancement of flint knaping, not to mention the spear-thrower. Then when one considers the spread of this knowledge across half of the continent of Europe, like I said ten-thousand years. Jean has made a good share of the journey that she described in Plains. If you do not believe me, just follow the path on Google Earth as I have done. There are few, if any discrepancies. The maps showing the land areas are probably one of the biggest mistakes that she made. Sea-level would have been about one to two hundred feet lower with all of the ice on land in the form of glaciers. Even the continent of Atlantis before it sank. What I would in-vision as a continuation of this story would be for the main characters to move West and move the same technology to the Americas. After all the solutrian point in Europe is thought to be very close to the Clovis point found in North America, along with a version of the spear thrower. For those who do not know, the people who came from Asia across the land bridge used bladelet points, small chips of flint set in bone, resembling a serrated knife. To me that would be MUCH more plausible than for them to head back to see Durk two-thousand miles to the East. That would be a regression. No-one except Jean Auel wrote the story, so it is hers to tell. If it does not meet with my approval, so what! She does not owe me one jot or tittle. I owe her for a journey that I shared with an enthralling character in Ayla. If others want to appear as ingrates, so be it. I may disagree with some of the story, but it is Jean that told the story, not me, not you. Just be happy that she wrote Clan in the first place! Ann
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