The Last Neanderthal

A Novel

By: Claire Cameron

Narrated by: Lisa Stathoplos, Casey Turner

Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

One of the most anticipated books of 2017: The Millions, CBC, Chatelaine, Globe and Mail, Maclean's

From the author of The Bear, the enthralling story of two women separated by millennia but linked by an epic journey that will transform them both

Forty thousand years in the past, the last family of Neanderthals roams the earth. After a crushingly hard winter, their numbers are low, but Girl, the oldest daughter, is just coming of age, and her family is determined to travel to the annual meeting place and find her a mate.

But the unforgiving landscape takes its toll, and Girl is left alone to care for Runt, a foundling of unknown origin. As Girl and Runt face the coming winter storms, Girl realizes she has one final chance to save her people, even if it means sacrificing part of herself.

In the modern day, archaeologist Rosamund Gale works well into her pregnancy, racing to excavate newly found Neanderthal artifacts before her baby comes. Linked across the ages by the shared experience of early motherhood, both stories examine the often taboo corners of women's lives.

Haunting, suspenseful, and profoundly moving, The Last Neanderthal asks us to reconsider all we think we know about what it means to be human.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2017 Claire Cameron (P)2017 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Forty millennia separate the two female protagonists of this impressively executed novel from the author of The Bear.... [The] book's greatest strength [is] its ability to collapse time and space to draw together seemingly dissimilar species: ancestors and successors, writer and reader." ( Publishers Weekly)

" The Last Neanderthal is astonishing. With delicacy and tenderness, Claire Cameron imagines the struggles of a Neanderthal family to sustain itself physically and psychologically in the face of extinction. As we follow Girl, her mother and brothers, and a mysterious stray called Runt, we are put in touch with what is most ancient and noble in human nature. At the same time, the parallel contemporary narrative shows us how little, over the eons, the human heart has changed. I'm thrilled by Cameron's adventurous and deeply empathic tale, an example of what fiction at its best can do." (Pamela Erens, author of Eleven Hours)

I didn’t want it to end!

Amazingly in-depth character development, for all its speed; I found myself able to empathize with the Archeologist, as well as the Neanderthal, ‘Girl’. I enjoyed the detailed descriptions of the construction and maintenance of the shelters, as well as the scientifically accurate description of what is now known as, ‘Rabbit Starvation’. This last is a metabolic disorder caused by lack of fats in a diet of primarily winter Rabbit meat.

Disappointing

I didn't care for this book. I enjoyed the parts set in the past with Girl, for the most part, but Rose, of present day, was one of the most unlikable characters I've ever come across. She's incredibly arrogant regardinng her work, and naive regarding her pregnancy, motherhood, and post-partum plans of work. She's also very inconsiderate and, dare I say, downright cruel to her partner and father of her child. Stubborn, arrogant and defensive, I couldn't make myself like her. And to top it all off-the book ended in the middle of nowhere! Very sudden. I found myself looking forward to what was going to happen next to Girl, and suddenly the end credits play. I was so surprised that I thought I had accidentally skipped some chapters, but I had not. To me, it was a very unsatisfactory ending to a very disappointing story. Would not recommend.

Heartwarming and life afffirming

What a wonderful story to compare and contrast two homo species. Both stories are compelling and the comparison between them is so subtle it’s hardly noticed. That’s how well it’s written in.

amazing read!

I was never bored white listening to this book. the Dieu draws you in so deep.

They were people just like us.

Great quick book. Makes me think more about our ancient ancestors. They have the same mindset as modern humans, but they lived in a much different and harsher world.

Abrupt ending

Sad the story didn't really have an ending. Ending was very abrupt. Well written but slightly disappointed

An enjoyable story.

I did not care for the abrupt shifting back and forth of the neanderthal and anthropologists perspective. However I did throughly enjoy the story of both women. It’s worth the listen.

Eye opening

I'll never think of Neanderthals the same way again. The author writes an historical fiction type story that is both entertaining and incredibly informative. I could almost feel what life was like for Girl while she experienced the slow decline of her people. It is truly shameful that we've been led to believe that Neanderthals were knuckel dragging morons. Unfortunately I now have to find a new way to describe my brother in law. Hats off to the author for making learning something new so enjoyable.

A great book

I enjoyed this book tremendously. It maybe fiction but the author has done their research properly.

Unsympathetic protagonist

Several of the reviewers offered harsh takes on the main narrator’s voice. My sense, though, is the narrator is not the problem. The problem is an entirely selfish and whiny protagonist, incredibly annoying. Very unsympathetic. Further, the dialogue of this character is wooden and inorganic. The interactions are often awkward and unfamiliar to normal conversation.

The plot helps gloss over this weakness, which is a good concept. The Neanderthal protagonist is much more approachable, which also helps.