JEAN M.AUEL Books

In the second volume of the Earth’s Children® series, Ayla embarks on a personal journey of discovery, leaving behind the Clan that raised her. Seeking others like herself and the love she longs for, she ventures into uncharted territories filled with danger and loneliness. Driven by her intelligence and curiosity, she navigates a harsh world marked by glacial cold and fierce beasts, where survival is a constant struggle. In a hidden valley, she forms a bond with a herd of steppe horses, mastering survival skills that no Clan member could. However, her life takes a turn when she rescues Jondalar, a young man from the Others, igniting a conflict between her yearning for companionship and her fear of the unfamiliar. As she grapples with her deepening feelings for Jondalar, he introduces her to the concepts of true friendship and love. Through powerful storytelling and a profound understanding of human nature, the narrative immerses readers in a vivid re-creation of the prehistoric world, offering a compelling exploration of the dawn of civilization.

Ayla and Jondalar have reached home: the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii, the old stone age settlement in the region known today as south-west France. Ayla has much to learn from the Zelandonii as well as much to teach them. Jondalar's family are initially wary of the beautiful young woman he has brought back, with her strange accent and her tame wolf and horses. She is delighted when she meets Zelandoni, the spiritual leader of her people, a fellow healer with whom she can share her medicinal skills. After the rigours and dangers that have characterised her extraordinary life, Ayla yearns for peace and tranquillity; to be Jondalar's mate and to have children. But her unique spiritual gifts cannot be ignored, and even as she gives birth to their eagerly-awaited child, she is coming to accept that she has a greater role to play in the destiny of the Zelandonii.

THE LAND OF PAINTED CAVES concludes the story of Ayla, her mate Jondalar, and their little daughter, Jonayla, taking readers on a journey of discovery and adventure as Ayla struggles to find a balance between her duties as a new mother and her training to become a Zelandoni - one of the Ninth Cave community's spiritual leaders and healers. Once again, Jean Auel combines her brilliant narrative skills and appealing characters with a remarkable re-creation of the way life was lived thousands of years ago, rendering the terrain, dwelling places, longings, beliefs, creativity and daily lives of Ice Age Europeans as real to the reader as today's news.