Jean M. Auel wrote The Clan of the Cave Bear at 40, after her career in business stalled out when she hit what she describes as a “glass ceiling.”
It’s no wonder that the book ended up on so many recommended reading lists for kids despite its depictions of sexual violence and frank treatment of topics like contraception and abortion: It’s a truly triumphant tale not just about one girl’s coming of age, but about humanity’s.
At its core, Cave Bear is speculative fiction about a young girl named Ayla and her survival and resilience in an elaborately imagined authoritarian society. Ultimately, though, Ayla’s ability to learn and do both women’s and men’s work is key to her own survival and safety; indeed, Auel makes it clear that it’s key to the evolution of humankind.
* From excerpts taken from a review by Tammy Oler
SOURCE
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2014/05/clan_of_the_cave_bear_and_feminism_dystopian_precedent_to_the_hunger_games.html
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2014/05/clan_of_the_cave_bear_and_feminism_dystopian_precedent_to_the_hunger_games.html
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