The Shelters of Stone

Earth's Children, Book 5

By: Jean M. Auel

Narrated by: Sandra Burr

Length: 33 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

After their epic journey across Europe, Ayla and Jondalar have reached his home, the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii, the old stone-age settlement in the region known today as southwest France. Jondalar's family greet him warmly, but they are initially wary of the beautiful young woman he has brought back, with her strange accent and her tame wolf and horses.

Ayla has much to learn from the Zelandonii and much to teach them. She is intrigued by their clothes, their crafts, and their home, and wants to learn their customs and the ways that they live, so that she will fit in. She is delighted when she meets Zelandoni, the spiritual leader of the people, a fellow healer with whom she can share medicinal skills and knowledge. The Zelandonii are surprised to learn she was found and raised by the Clan, the ones that they call flatheads and think of as animals, and are skeptical when she tells them they are people.

After the rigors and dangers that have characterized her extraordinary life so far, Ayla yearns for peace and tranquility, to be Jondalar's mate, and to have children. But her unique spiritual gifts cannot be ignored, and even as she gives birth to her eagerly-awaited child, she is coming to accept that she has a greater role to play in the destiny of the Zelandonii.

Listen to more in the Earth's Children series.

©2004 Jean M. Auel (P)2004 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved

Critic reviews

"Burr is adept at reading the detailed descriptions of Cro-Magnon artifacts without losing our interest and at creating varied portrayals of the many characters. A fine performance of a long-awaited book." ( AudioFile)

This book is book 5 of The Clan Of The Cave Bear series by Jean M. Auel

This is a continuation into the imagination of the time when the earth was new. I read the whole series once and listened to it again. A total trip into the prehistoric imagination.

What is with the Ayla'S new accent

You haven't given Ayla a accent the whole series and you start on the second to last? Weird.

Ayla a Russian?

The story is very good, I have all Jean’s books in hardcover. I bought them as they were released and have not been able to find them in digital form until recently and was disappointed when after listening to the books that suddenly Ayla has a Russian accent

So Ayla is Russian now?

Any additional comments?

I'd just be repeating what everyone else has already said. Wondering if this choice to change voices/accents was due to the long period of time between the 4th and 5th books, if Jean Auel requested it, or if the narrator took it upon herself to make changes?

Alright

Sandra Burr's consistency is all over the place with pronunciation of names, its kind of annoying.
For the story itself, the sex scenes are the same thing over and over again. I find myself skipping over these parts. Other than that it's pretty good.

Took Adjustment

I have enjoyed the narration through the previous books in this series , her inflection and various tones have made it easy to follow. It took some adjusting to the use of an actual accent for Ayla, partly because this was the first time it was used, and partly because it sometime seemed to be Irish based, sometimes Eastern Europe. It was about halfway into the book I finally could accept it. Jean M Auel's gift for descriptive language has enabled me to see the places in my mind and form a real connection to the characters and their experiences!

The Shelters of Stone: Earth's Children, Book 5

Jean had done a great job and keeps you attention thru the entire book. Reader does an excellent job.

Fun and extremely interesting series

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Shelters of Stone?

The sharing of knowledge between Ayla and The Others, all over the series, actually.

Which character – as performed by Sandra Burr – was your favorite?

Ayla, which in this book showed a very marked "foreign" accent!

Any additional comments?

It's also a very heart-warming and intriguing book for those who have close ties and care for animals.

Why did she change her accent?

I enjoy audio books especially series- you can relate, but when the reader changes mid-series or as in this case changes the accent of one of characters it almost ruins it!! I just do not understand why she suddenly has a bad Russian accent??

Accent?

Why? Why in the reading of the 5th book did you have to make Ayla talk with an accent? It’s making it hard for me to listen. It’s terrible. It’s been mentioned in all the books from 2 thru 4 that she has an accent. But it wasn’t read that way. So why change it? It’s not even a good accent performance!!!! AAAGH!!!