The Last Neanderthal: A Novel Kindle Edition

Great read. Cameron has done an excellent job of pulling in most of what we now think we know for sure about Neanderthals, and adds a good sprinkling of the most reasonable inferences. It is also interesting that the main character in the "way back" part of the story is a sympathetic view from the point of view of a Neanderthal woman. One is immediately drawn to Jean Auel's first Ayla book, which was from the point of view of a human. As in Auel's first book, the circumstances of being an orphan with "the other humanoids" at the time plays a critical role. So that part is not novel. That said, some sort of orphan scenario is the least confrontational way to explore a close relationship between modern humans and Neanderthals. It avoids the more confrontational and violent aspects of what must have been the interactions.The other half of the novel is set in out time and is about the interactions with what we are left to infer as being the ancient heroine of the story by a modern woman archaeologist. Some aspects of the modern story, while being a fair portrayal in their situational realities and complexities, are never-the-less a bit extreme, especially when contrasted to the more even flow of the "way back" story. One gets the sense that there is an influence from Diana Gabaldon's work with her character Claire in the Outlander series, as the perspective shifts back and forth between two eras. One Claire influenced by another?There is one aspect of the design of the book itself, which is not clear as to whether it is something Claire Cameron did, or perhaps the book design team at Hachette, within Little Brown did. We are not told in the book itself and I have not been to an author reading where I could ask the question. But, the book ends with a Photoshopped version of an otherwise quite famous 6000 year old human/human couple burial from Northern Italy by Dagmar Hollman. The actual human male in the Hollman photo has had its skull changed to appear Neanderthal and presumably be the female lead character in the book, while the female human is inferred to be her male partner. It's a great tease as a way to provide a starting point for a story-line for a follow-on book, and presumably a movie.If there is a movie and follow-on series and industry that starts from this, let's hope that it captures the authenticity achieved by JJ Annaud in "Quest for Fire" as opposed to the complete mess that was made of the Ayla story in the Clan of the Cave Bear Movie, which I do not think was even the least bit the fault of Daryl Hannah. Chapman was just no where nearly as skilled as Annaud, but then who is? But my point is that this is a really exciting start, which could lead to more great books and at least one good movie, or it could be a really bright spot that starts going downhill. Let's hope that Claire Cameron has the talent and toughness required to keep things going in the well above average (not great, but well above average) direction she has started.Now if only a few good authors and directors would take on the human/homo erectus interactions ...

I have so many thoughts. This book has stayed with me for days. Literally days. I have sat down and tried to write this review more than once and the words just escape me.How do I explain the ways this book moved me? How do I convey the ways this book made me think and question? I don't know that I can.The Neanderthals have always fascinated me, especially from a creation perspective. Where do they fit into our biological history? Who were they? Our knowledge of them has always been scant and speculative, as is much of archaeology, but in recent years, we are discovering more. Claire Cameron does an amazing job of bringing these fascinating people to life. She incorporates new information, such as how they looked, how they communicated, how they hunted, and how they lived.Modern-day archaeologist Rosamund has discovered two skeletons side by side in a cave: a Neanderthal and a Homo Sapien. Her quest is to find out how they came to be deliberately buried together in the same location.Thus, the story alternates between the past and present narratives of Girl and Rosamund.The colorful, rich descriptions of Girl's life and her family were brilliantly portrayed. I could imagine walking where she walked and experiencing what she did. The family dynamics were fascinating: how the strongest survived, how they hunted and lived together. How mates were chosen and for what reasons. These people didn't have the vocal abilities we do and likely not the language capabilities that we have, but they communicated. They understood, and they were intelligent.Honestly, I could have done without Rosamund's story. I get the comparison that the author wanted to make: both women becoming mothers, both women being the strong and capable, but Rosamund was an incredibly selfish and unlikeable character. Compared with Girl's complexities, Rosamund is a shallow caricature of a woman, without the strength or depth that the author desperately wanted to show. The comparison is laughable.These Neanderthals come from a strong matriarchal society. It is the female who leads the family group. It is the female who teaches and guides and instructs. It is the female who decides with which male she will mate. Girl's mother also adopts an orphan boy. A child unlike them, with a different look and without the same strength. But compassion is stronger than differences and Runt, the Homo Sapien child, becomes part of Girl's family and, eventually, under her care.Because of the discovery of the skeletons in the beginning, we know that Girl ends up at some point meeting an adult Homo Sapien. And I looked forward to that. I, too, wanted to know who this other person was and how they were together? Was it romantic? Was it out of necessity for them both to survive? I wanted to know how Girl ended up being the last Neanderthal.Unfortunately, I found the ending disappointing and without the answers I sought.I relish books about the strength of women. I love seeing them triumph in their own right and not because of a man or a romantic relationship. The Last Neanderthal is at its strongest when we're reading about Girl. Her story is tragic and harsh, but with moments of tender poignancy. For that perspective alone, even with the disappointing ending, I can wholeheartedly recommend this story.

You might remember the Earth's Children series by Jean Auel that came out starting in the 1980s. The heroine was an early modern human, Ayla, who was taken in by a Neanderthal clan. Once she matured, she was exiled and sent to find her own kind. In this book, the tables are turned. Girl is a member of a Neanderthal family that takes in a funny looking little guy named Runt. The book is a splendid imagining of what it might be like to be an ancient hunter, who truly understands the mindset of predator and prey. Unfortunately, it is interspersed with chapters from the point of view of a modern archaeologist who has found two skeletons, one Neanderthal and one homo sapiens, together in a cave in France. Truly, I could have done without those chapters and that neurotic woman. But the gorgeous and well researched speculation on prehistoric times makes it all worth the read.

This was a great 👍 book although all to real about what could happen. Not a good ending though wanted it to keep going 😕.

The author has studied aboriginal people, elephants and other animals, and has brought that knowledge to bear on how Neanderthals might have lived, what they ate, even how they felt. The story is told simply and is fairly engrossing, if not a page turner. I loved her boot "The Hidden Life of Dogs" and her autobiography.

I was not entirely satisfied with the authors depiction of the Neanderthals.They seem to have a vocabulary of only a handfull of words despite having vocal chords and working as teams as part of their life style and existing for hundreds of thousands of years.Don,t get me wrong there are a lot of good points in the book(Loved the ending),but I think the Neanderthals were smarter than this book gives them credit for.

I really enjoyed this book. It was savage yet sweet. I loved the way it looks at the core of being a woman in the modern and extreme world. Would recommend to other historical readers!

Enjoyed this novel having previously read a about life in neanderthal times. I think , from what we know, it is pretty realistic. A simple but enjoyable tale

Could not recommend highly enough and especially so to those interested in this part of our history

I'll admit the concept was great and it had a good start to it all. Unfortunately some parts of the story made me lose complete interest. At first the very graphic incest was off putting but I pressed on. When she killed and ate the cat I was already done with it. I didn't realize the description of "two mothers sharing a similar journey together" was going into similarities on the feelings on infantocide.