You know from the beginning that Ayla and Jondolar are going to be together. So why that doesn’t happen for 2/3 to 3/4 of the book is beyond me. Sometimes Auel got a bit too wrapped up in her descriptions of things like stone knapping. argh. I don’t mind the research that I’m sure went into it, but the point shouldn’t be to show off what the author’s learned for the book, but just use it to advance the plot. Otherwise I’d say the last 150-200 pages of the paperback version I have was ok to good. I’m undecided whether I want to continue reading this series.