The Land of Painted Caves

Earth's Children, Book 6

By: Jean M. Auel

Narrated by: Sandra Burr

Length: 34 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

Ayla, one of the most remarkable and beloved heroines in contemporary fiction, continues to explore the world and the people around her with curiosity, insight, and, above all, courage.

As the story opens, Ayla, Jondalar, and their infant daughter, Jonayla, are living with the Zelandonii in the Ninth Cave - a shelter of stone. Ayla has been chosen as an acolyte and has embarked on the arduous task of training to become a spiritual leader. The wisdom that Ayla gained from her struggles as an orphaned child, alone in a hostile environment, strengthen her as she moves closer to leadership of the Zelandonia.

Whatever the obstacles, Ayla’s inventive spirit produces new ways to lessen the difficulties of daily life: searching for wild edibles to make delicious meals, experimenting with techniques to ease the long journeys the Zelandoni must take, honing her skills as a healer and a leader. And then, there are the Sacred Caves, the caves that Ayla’s mentor - the Donier, the First of the Zelandonia - takes her to see. These caves are filled with remarkable art - paintings of mammoths, lions, aurochs, rhinoceros, reindeer, bison, bear. The powerful, mystical aura within these caves sometimes overwhelms Ayla and the rituals of initiation bring her close to death. But through those rituals, Ayla gains A Gift of Knowledge so important that it will change the world.

Spellbinding drama, meticulous research, fascinating detail, and superb narrative skill combine to make The Land of Painted Caves a captivating, utterly believable creation of a long ago civilization that serves as an astonishing end to this beloved saga.

Listen to more in the Earth's Children series.

©2011 Jean M. Auel (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Her life with her new people

This book is unlike the rest of the Earth's Children series, in that it doesn't really read like a novel, with a beginning, middle, and end. Instead, it is essentially a sequence of events -- the life and times of the series' beloved protagonist(s).

It may sound terrible initially, but it's pretty subjective: this book reads more like retelling of events, as in a journal recorded by a third party. My wife and I enjoyed this book, but felt a bit let down because it lacked the narrative weight of the previous books.

My biggest complaints are the slightly over-the-top accent the narrator does for Ayla (although Sandra Burr is still one of my favorites, and I wouldn't want anyone else to voice these books) and the inconsistency of pronunciations compared to the previous books (which is understandable, after so long, but still distracting).

I know I would have enjoyed it more if it were more like the previous books -- or separate from the previous books entirely, so that there were no such expectations. Having the others set the bar when it came to conflict and excitement made this book seem less satisfying. But it was still an enjoyable read, and it was nice to spend this time with characters who almost feel like family after so long.

This book won't be the reason I recommend this series to others -- like the first three books -- but I am glad to have had the experience of reading it.

Love this series

One of the best series. Just love it. I have read it and now listened to it. Just gets better.

well done

loved it!
and tremendous job on the audio Sandra . hope they make a movie

It's ok

It was really hard to get through. Too many flashbacks, repeats, and what's up with the accent?

here we go again

Is there anything you would change about this book?

does she really have anything else to say??? i have been reading this series since the 90s
i think auel is done- find some new characters .

Would you recommend The Land of Painted Caves to your friends? Why or why not?

not really

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

sure

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

no

Any additional comments?

no

Meet the Flinstones...

I LOVED Clan of the Cave Bear, I really liked Valley of the Horses, I liked Mammoth hunters, I was kind of alright with Plains, and happy with Shelter.... But, this book was so so so inferior. The characters are shallow, the conversations belong in a junior high reading book, the plot is non existant until about the last 10th of the book, the descriptions of caves go on forever, the mother song is sung over and over and over again! If you have to read this book I suggest the library so you can at least skim the majority of the story.
I pray this is the last of the series...

just okay.

not as realistic as the first books I had read with this series. not to exciting.

I Love the Earths Children Series

This book was not my favorite of the series but it was good. Sandra Burr is an amazing narrator. I want more stories but this book claims to be last which saddens me I wish the ending was better! But Jean is a brilliant writer and her details bring everything to life!!!

repetitions

I fell in love with earth's children series. this last book however was disappointing. it had good parts but is repeated a lot of thing. Wishing it would have told more about the clan and what became of her son. but it was nice finally getting to read the last book.

Enjoyed

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. I think before I ever read them again I will try to find pictures of the places, the caves, the types of people that 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 preherstoric times, when womyn were warriors. I am glad that the author spent so much time researching for 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 read them, trek back to the Caves.