The Last Neanderthal By Claire Cameron Source Received from the publisher
Published by Little, Brown on May 2, 2017
Received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Rating:
Cover image and synopsis from Goodreads:
40,000 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,Β THE LAST NEANDERTHALΒ asks us to reconsider all we think we know about what it means to be human.
I loved the concept of this book! And overall, The Last Neanderthal was really interesting, and was a fairly quick read.
I was really interested in the story of Girl and her family, set 40,000 years ago. And while I did enjoy the modern-day story also taking place, as the book went on I was much more interested in Girl’s story. Every time the story switched, I was impatient to get back to Girl’s timeline.
So I didn’t love this one, but I did like it and really liked parts of it. Recommended.
