4.10 avg rating — 283,269 ratings

"Added mainly because this book had a noticeable influence on the shaping of my childhood interests and the seeds of my spirituality, and because my first experience of this book had an almost 'tribal' feel: My sister retold most of the story from memory in one night's sitting! Without the adult parts. When i was older I read it and enjoyed Auel's hypotheses about pre-historic life and spirituality, and especially Ayla's knowledge of medicinal herbs and treatments. Then it kind of went down hill from book 2 onward (despite exploring some interesting ideas about animals, early craftsmanship, ancient medicine and shamanism etc) when Ayla became too perfect, when she and some characters started behaving too modern, and the stories felt more and more like x-rated Harlequin novels for Stone Age buffs... I've read books 1-3, barely remember book 4."