#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In this, the extraordinary conclusion of the ice-age epic series, Earths Childrenr, Ayla, Jondalar, and their infant daughter, Jonayla, are living with the Zelandonii in the Ninth Cave. Ayla has been chosen as an acolyte to a spiritual leader and begins arduous training tasks. Whatever obstacles she faces, Ayla finds inventive ways to lessen the difficulties of daily life, searching for wild edibles to make meals and experimenting with techniques to ease the long journeys the Zelandonii must take while honing her skills as a healer and a leader. And there are the Sacred Caves that Aylas mentor takes her to see. They are filled with remarkable paintings of mammoths, lions, and bears, and their mystical aura at times overwhelms Ayla. But all the time Ayla has spent in training rituals has caused Jondalar to drift away from her. The rituals themselves bring her close to death, but through them Ayla gains A Gift of Knowledge so important that it will change her world. Sixth in the acclaimed Earths Childrenr series
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The Shelters of Stone opens as Ayla and Jondalar, along with their animal friends, Wolf, Whinney, and Racer, complete their epic journey across Europe and are greeted by Jondalar's people: the Zelandonii. The people of the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii fascinate Ayla. Their clothes, customs, artifacts, even their homes--formed in great cliffs of vertical limestone--are a source of wonder to her. And in the woman Zelandoni, the spiritual leader of the Ninth Cave (and the one who initiated Jondalar into the Gift of Pleasure), she meets a fellow healer with whom to share her knowledge and skills. But as Ayla and Jondalar prepare for the formal mating at the Summer Meeting, there are difficulties. Not all the Zelandonii are welcoming. Some fear Ayla's unfamiliar ways and abhor her relationship with those they call flatheads and she calls Clan. Some even oppose her mating with Jondalar, and make their displeasure known. Ayla has to call on all her skills, intelligence, knowledge, and instincts to find her way in this complicated society, to prepare for the birth of her child, and to decide whether she will accept new challenges and play a significant role in the destiny of the Zelandonii. Jean Auel is at her very best in this superbly textured creation of a prehistoric society. The Shelters of Stone is a sweeping story of love and danger, with all the wonderful detail--based on meticulous research-- that makes her novels unique. It is a triumphant continuation of the Earth's Childrenr saga that began with The Clan of the Cave Bear . And it includes an amazing rhythmic poem that describes the birth of Earth's Children and plays its own role in the narrative of The Shelters of Stone . Lire la suite Fermer

This novel of awesome beauty and power is a moving saga about people, relationships, and the boundaries of love. Nominated as one of Americas best-loved novels by PBSs The Great American Read Through Jean M. Auels magnificent storytelling we are taken back to the dawn of modern humans, and with a girl named Ayla we are swept up in the harsh and beautiful Ice Age world they shared with the ones who called themselves the Clan of the Cave Bear . A natural disaster leaves the young girl wandering alone in an unfamiliar and dangerous land until she is found by a woman of the Clan, people very different from her own kind. To them, blond, blue-eyed Ayla looks peculiar and ugly--she is one of the Others, those who have moved into their ancient homeland; but Iza cannot leave the girl to die and takes her with them. Iza and Creb, the old Mog-ur, grow to love her, and as Ayla learns the ways of the Clan and Izas way of healing, most come to accept her. But the brutal and proud youth who is destined to become their next leader sees her differences as a threat to his authority. He develops a deep and abiding hatred for the strange girl of the Others who lives in their midst, and is determined to get his revenge.
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Chassée de la tribu, Ayla erre à travers les steppes du nord de l'Europe. Luttant pour sa survie, elle découvre le secret du feu...
Passé la surprise et l'émerveillement suscités par Ayla, la jeune étrangère aux cheveux blonds qu'ils ont recueillie, les hommes du " clan de l'ours " ont pris peur de ses dons extraordinaires. Parce qu'elle prétend chasser comme les hommes, parce qu'elle éprouve des sentiments inconnus d'eux, parce qu'elle voudrait garder son enfant pour elle seule, Ayla sera maudite et exilée. " Pars à la recherche de ton peuple, lui a dit Iza la guérisseuse. Va vers le nord, retrouve ton clan et un compagnon. " Un long voyage solitaire commence, au bout duquel Ayla rencontre deux jeunes gens. L'un deux est Jondalar. Comme elle, il est blond et ses yeux sont bleus. Lire la suite Fermer