From the author of The Bear, the enthralling story of two women separated by millennia, but linked by an epic journey that will transform them both.

Forty thousand 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, The Last Neanderthal asks us to reconsider all we think we know about what it means to be human.

While I did enjoy this story, the ending left a bit too much for the reader to fill in.
It did have rich detail and drew me into the plot, especially Girl's story. I wish I knew more about her life.

This was such an epic, engaging story. The concept was intriguing, even if it didn't flow together as well as I'd like. Some parts felt intense, but overall, this was such a great idea and was mostly very well-executed.

An original premise, interesting topic and delightful writing make this a very good read. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

I really tried to get into this book. The plot sounded so promising from the description but it just didn't have a smooth flow and I kept finding myself re-reading pages because it didn't keep my attention. I did enjoy the overall idea of the story, I just didn't feel like the story had a good flow from page to page, it was dull and sometimes even confusing for me to keep my interest.

Maybe don't read this book if you are pregnant, or have a child younger than one year old. Maybe read it later instead.

This fascinating tale told through the archaeologist’s eyes of the last Neanderthal family. The way she describes the last Neanderthal and the first Homosapien women whose remains she discovers in the cave. Since their remains are staring each other in the eye, she tells this very compelling story of their lives. You’ll get totally invested in imagining the Neanderthal’s life. A five star read. #NetGalley

The Last Neanderthal by Claire Cameron is one of the better novels about ancient woman that has come along in a long time. Absolutely loved reading this delightful story of a small Neanderthal family struggling to survive. The side story of the female archeologist intertwines perfectly! I wish the author would have included an ending that truly brings closure to the book. So, I'm hoping there might be a part II?

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Authors on the Air review: Gripping tale of two women who are separated by forty thousand years! This is the story of Girl, who lives with her Mother, brothers and Runt. Runt was taken in by the family at the last great gathering at the river. The family group lives in a small cave. They do not talk much.. but, they know what it means to be “warm”. The feeling of safety and harmony of living with one’s family.
France, archaeologist Rosamund finds a small cave that is rich with Neanderthal presence. She begins her dig with a small crew. Carefully brushing away the dirt from the skeletons that she has found. A find that is going to rock the archaeological world. One of the most important finds in history. Two beings.. One a Neanderthal woman and the other.. a Homosapien. They are found staring into each other’s eyes. Rosamund continues working on her site well into her ninth month of pregnancy.
I highly recommend reading, ‘The Last Neanderthal’!! It was an easy read. The story sucks you in from the get go! I loved reading about the daily life of a Neanderthal family! How they lived, worked, the everyday chore of finding food. They are meat eaters who really cannot tolerate eating veggies! Lol. They communicate mainly in non-verbal ways. A look, hand signs, etc.. But, they can also speak. They just tended not to speak often. A thought provoking story that will make you feel as though you were there among the last Neanderthal family. You will be there for the hurt and pain of watching your loved one’s die. I absolutely loved reading this book! I raced through it in a few days. Being a mother.. has never changed, no matter how many millenniums have passed.

I tried really hard to get into this one - who doesn’t love a good caveman story, but it fell flat with me.

I found The Last Neanderthal to be a quick and relatively entertaining read. I liked the concept the author used of intertwining the lives of the two main characters even though their lifetimes were separated by thousands of years. For me, the character of Girl was much more sympathetic than the modern day Rosamund; her struggles were matters of life or death, rather than ones of comfort and convenience. Both characters are independent and trying to maintain relations for their own benefits. The portions set in the early times were often most compelling when describing the character's interactions with nature and other living beings. These times were also somewhat unrealistic in the naming and usage of other things. The parallel story lines worked well to propel both stories forward to conclusion.
All in all, I enjoyed this book.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing an advance copy for review.

The Last Neanderthal by Claire Cameron is a story set in two time periods - current day and 40,000 years ago – on the premise that the Neanderthals were more like current humans than we perhaps think. The story of the past and the character of Girl is the more interesting one. Overall, the book is an enjoyable reading experience but not as compelling as I had hoped.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2017/08/the-last-neanderthal.html

Reviewed for NetGalley

When considering requesting a copy of The Last Neanderthal for reviewing, in true Michelle fashion I skimmed the synopsis, said this sounds interesting, and hit the Request button. There is always danger to that process, and I have been caught more than once reading something on which I would have passed had I more closely read the synopsis. In the case of Claire Cameron's novel, it worked. While it was not what I expected it to be, I was still impressed with the story she tells, especially about the Neanderthal woman.

The Last Neanderthal is a tale of two women. What is surprising is how different your reactions are to each woman, even though their circumstances are similar. Girl is a remarkable survivor, intent on preserving her family and its traditions but not afraid to break from those traditions as required. She is surprisingly independent but still puts the needs of her family ahead of her own. The hardships she endures would break most people, but she seems to thrive on them. She is intelligent, thoughtful, self-aware, and resilient.

Rosamund is equally intelligent, self-aware, resilient, and thoughtful, but she is not quite as enjoyable a character as Girl. Perhaps it is because Rosamund has the ability to speak, whereas Girl cannot. Girl must rely on facial cues, body language, and hand signals to express her thoughts, wishes, and demands. This means she must weigh her thoughts before expressing them to determine just what she wants to "say." There is a deliberate carefulness to her actions which prevents her from acting out in anger or saying something she does not intend to say. Rosamund is not bound by such constraints, and often her words come out shrill and harsh. While Rosamund is just trying to protect what is hers and live her own life, her responses to potential threats are much more strident and discomfiting, making her almost unlikable.

Ms. Cameron develops a vibrant story for Girl and her Neanderthal family. In fact, they virtually come alive. No matter that most of how they shared dreams, what they thought, and what they felt is pure speculation, Ms. Cameron bridges the gap between theory and fiction to create a family that is no different than you or me in all the ways that matter. The differences, as one would expect because they are a different species after all, are intriguing and are so well incorporated into the novel that one wonders if they could possibly have existed. They also give rise to questions about certain abilities that did not carry over between the species. The fact that there is no way to prove Ms. Cameron correct is disappointing but adds a little spice to her interpretation of Neanderthal communication and their use of their senses.

The scenes in which Rosamund is the focus are drab in comparison to those with Girl. Some of this has to do with the fact that Rosamund is not nearly as sympathetic a character as Girl; her lack of soft skills may make her formidable in the field but do nothing to endear her to readers. It also has to do with familiarity. There have been many books written about women in traditionally male-held careers who struggle to keep their position/authority/prestige when faced with pending motherhood, and Rosamund's story does not provide any new insight into that perpetual battle. My general dislike of Rosamund and her reactions to her situation had me skimming those sections in order to get back to Girl and her very unique predicaments.

Because of this disconnect between Rosamund and the reader, it is difficult to wholly endorse The Last Neanderthal. I wanted so much more of Girl and her story and much less of Rosamund and hers. The book is entitled The Last Neanderthal after all, so not only are the modern-day sections jarring, they are almost unwanted. Girl and her family are so well-developed and so interesting, they are strong enough to hold forth over an entire novel. Unfortunately, Ms. Cameron did not agree.

I'm not exactly sure what I expected from this book, but it definitely surprised me with what was within its pages. Oh and warning, there may be a few spoilers in this review.

The story focuses mainly on Girl, a Neanderthal within a family of 5, and the extinction of her race as her family starts dying off on her as well as those around her. Another perspective was surprisingly thrown in there too: an archeologist who found the remains of a female Neanderthal and a human boy, evidence of the two coexisting at the same time. As the story continues, you realize the Neanderthal is Girl, but always try to figure out where the human comes into the story. I didn't mind the present day perspective so much, but it wore out its welcome at times because I just wanted to read more from Girl.

Three things bugged me about this story though. First, was the incest. It was just awkward to read about siblings having sex, even though I'm sure it did happen. Second wasn't as bad, but as a guy, I find it hard to read about a girl giving birth and everything she goes through. Ok, it might've been fine if it was just once, but when both MCs were giving birth back to back, it just got weird, even though I knew why the author did it. And lastly, was the ending. Cause the story builds up making you believe you'll find out the answers to the Neanderthal extinction, or even more about the bones they find. But you find out nothing, you can only guess who the human may be and why the Neanderthals were wiped out. So it kinda bugged me.

But, I still thoroughly enjoyed the story and the way the author separated the MCs frames of mind when their thinking patterns would've been totally different over the span of thousands of years. So props to her for that. And if none of the above stuff bothers you, give it a read, cause it was worth it.

I read the Clan of the Cavebear series when I was inappropriately young, so I was quite intrigued to read The Last Neanderthal by Claire Cameron, the author of the emotional novel The Bear, which I really enjoyed and featured in my February 2014 reading roundup. The Last Neanderthal takes place 40,000 years ago and tells the story of Girl, the oldest daughter in a family living in a harsh landscape, and in the modern day, as Rose, an archaeologist, works to excavate two newly discovered bodies.

Like last time, I really loved Cameron’s writing in The Last Neanderthal: it was intense and emotional at the same time. Both stories were compelling in their own way, while there was a clear connection between them, I struggled with having both in the same book. One story was always left on a cliffhanger before switching to the other, and I found it really distracting. The cliffhangers were the worst for the modern day portion, so I ended up skipping ahead to find out what happened, but by the end of the book I ended up wishing Cameron had just focused on the past. I though her exploration of the Neanderthal life was really intriguing and well-written, and I wish she had stuck to that so I could stay immersed in that world. Still, The Last Neanderthal definitely reconfirmed my commitment to read any future novels by Claire Cameron, and I will be curious to see what unusual world she explores next.

A surprise that I enjoyed. I recommend to fans of the genre.

PLEASE NOTE: My review will NOT be posted until Saturday morning, July 1st. I have included the review in full below. My abbreviated goodreads review will not be updated until the blog entry publishes.
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I received an advanced copy of this book through netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Random:
Can I gush over this cover for a minute? It's gorgeous! As soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted to read this book.

Thoughts:
Girl's story is incredibly intriguing and the author's skill with wordplay shines through. She has some very beautiful lines and paragraphs that are absolute magic to read. A word of caution, there are some very uncomfortable parts. We are dealing with a dwindling population on the brink of extinction and a protagonist who must do what she can to survive. It makes sense, I just wasn't quite expecting it when I walked in. 😓 It's handled with care, but it's still weird to read something that can only be described as uncomfortably sensual.

I didn't like Rose or her role in the book. Her treatment of the other characters (one in particular) is pretty appalling and she's not seen long enough for her thoughts and actions to make sense. The story parallels are a bit of a stretch and don't do anything to enhance the overall story. In fact, she took away from the ending. There is so much buildup about the skeletons and it just ends up falling flat.

Content wise, I feel this would have been a fantastic novella. No Rose, just Girl.

Verdict:
3/5
It's a short book and the neanderthal parts are lovely to read, but you could easily skip Rose's chapters if you were so inclined. 😉

Quibbles:
-A good bit of filler in Girl's story.
-Random perspective changes in the paleo-narrative. If flowed well enough, but still. 😒

I found this book to be packed with intriguing and fascinating details about the life of ancient humans; the next time I complain about having to go to the grocery store for the second time in a day, I should remember how exhausting the whole 'hunting-gathering' life is! The premise of this novel is to delve into the lives of the Neanderthal people in France, while at the same time telling the story of the paleo-anthropologist who is discovering the bodies on her dig literally thousands of years later. The non-verbal lives of Girl, Him, and Big Mother, as well as Runt (the modern human child she adopts) are depicted in short chapters, full of details of a year in their lives. Each night I picked up the book, wondering "Do I really like this book?"; usually that question was answered in the affirmative in a few minutes, as I was drawn back into the ancient world of humanity. I was unclear if I was as interested in the story of modern day Rose, as she struggles with the balance of financing the dig and staying true to her research, as well as her own pregnancy and the problems it creates. However, as the story crescendos in the final third of the novel, Cameron deftly brings the two stories together, weaving a powerful theme of survival, loyalty, strength, and perseverance. This is a different book that will leave you in awe of the research, writing skills, and character development; if you want to take a walk on the wild side of long-ago history, I highly recommend it.

In her new novel, The Last Neanderthal, Claire Cameron draws on new scientific information to create a world where our human ancestors and Neanderthals coexisted. Of course, DNA sequencing of Neanderthals has proven that they are also part of our ancestral heritage. No longer can we imagine that human superiority overcame an animalistic, inferior group. So what then did cause the extinction of the Neanderthal population?

In this novel, Girl is part of a small family group that just survives, living in isolation on their territory. Big Mama is in her early thirties and her body is failing. An older sibling has already joined her mate's family. Girl has a younger brother, Him. They have allowed a hanger-on, Runt, to join the family. Runt is small, talks too much, and is without the Neanderthal musculature and bone structure. But if he is weaker than Girl he also is brave and resourceful.

During the time of the fish run the local Neanderthal population gathers at the river to feast on spawning salmon, intermingle, and mate with individuals outside of the family group. This year will be Girl's time to mate and leave.

In alternating chapters, the contemporary foil to Girl is the archaeologist Rose who is excavating Girl's skeleton. Rose is independent, strong, and a leader, like Girl. Rose is also pregnant, as was Girl.

The two stories lines offer a contrast and comparison. The one difference is that Rose has a support group around her, for human society evolved through a social contract beyond the family group. Girl, on the other hand, has lost her family and finds no one at the summer river. She is vulnerable and alone--and doomed.

Humans larger social groups allowed them to share innovations and new tools. The Neanderthals' isolation limits their technological advancement. But they seem to have an instinctual race memory as well as acquired knowledge that is passed through generations. Girl pushes away abstract thinking when it arises as it interferes with the alertness that guarantees her survival.

Readers will compare this novel to Jean Auel's 1980 blockbuster The Clan of the Cave Bear. I have not reread the Auel book since it's debut and will not comment on a comparison. I will be interested to hear how Auel fans will react to Cameron's novel based on new research, but also on how her characterization of Girl and her presentation of Neanderthal and human interaction compare to Auel's book.

I have read some reviews by Goodreads readers who did not like Rose. Another reader pointed out that being a female scientist in a male-dominated field is hard. Rose needs to be dedicated, single-minded, and protective of her work. I liked Rose as a foil to Girl. Both are dominant, capable women. They allow readers to connect the similarities and differences of women's experiences across the millennium.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this novel. At points, I felt that Girl's thinking was improbable as presented, or perhaps we are being shown that her ability for abstract thinking was emerging.

For instance, when she comes upon a human fire pit she knows exactly how the fire was created. I would expect Girl to only note concrete evidence, such as strips of birch bark for fire starting, but she also knows that the fire creator had to save and bring the bark with them. Girl imagines her baby wants to crawl back inside of her. This shows an ability to put oneself inside the feelings of another.

Cameron discovered she has 2.5% Neanderthal DNA and this novel is not an exploration of 'the other' as much as an imagining of our common ancestry.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

I've really struggled with this book. I enjoyed Ms. Cameron's The Bear but this one was just not my cup of tea!

What a book! Really enjoyed! Highly recommend. Perfect book club pick!

And the moral of this story is "It takes a village." To survive.