The Caves of Perigord

Bjorn Kurten, a famous paleontologist, said that the use of a novel to discuss or portray early humans about whom very little is know except for the physical artificats they left is the appropriate way to do this. In this novel those artifacts are 17,000 year old cave paintings in France. And that is what Matin Walker the author does in this book. Kurten thought that speculation by professionals about such people in professional texts are taken too seriously and literally by the public. Such speculations are just stories made up by the professionals based on their best guesses. He thought such stories should be told as such. The author in this book uses a realistic tale of the adventures of some members of the French underground led by aa trio of a French, British, and American special forces membersflown into German occupied France just before the invasion by the Allies. Harassing the Germans, this group used the caves in the area to hideout and store their equipment. One such cave contained these early paintings made famous by those that exist in the Cave of Lascaux. The author does a very good job of intertwining his WW II adventure based loosely on what actually occurred as the French underground from their caves delayed a strong German force from reaching the invasion site to repel the Allies, and his speculation of what life may have been like for the inhabitants of those caves 17,000 years ago. If you like realistic WWII adventure and are interested in speculating over the what life was like for our ancestors some 17,000 years ago, you will enjoy this book.

Martin Walker has written more than a fine thriller. He lets the reader into the deeper meaning of France, French legend, French history, the centrality of art in French life, and why this extraordinary country exercises such a hold over the world.The book is cut into three layers of time. The traditional flip-flop between the current era and WW2 - a standard favourite of thriller writers dealing with wartime themes for decades - is given new depth by a love-story set in pre-historic times when the famous wall paintings of Lascaux created art done by human hand.Thus the book reads fast but the author's three decades or more of deep knowledge about French politics, attitudes, way of life and priorities in reflected is Walker's book. He was one of the most distinguished of Britain's foreign correspondents of the 1968 generation and like all great reporters he had strong political views - a love for the United States, a passionate belief that Europe must construct itself with his own country, Britain, finally a acknowledging its European destiny and a passion for that adulterous politics of all true Englishmen - a semi-unrequited desire for France.Walker could have written a standard account of France today - and how many of our shelves groan with those journalist essays that are never worth reading a year or two later. Instead Walker has poured into a novel his affection for France, his cynicism about the twists and lies of French politics, and his understanding that only through its history and its art can anyone even begin to comprehend today's Frenchness.His portrait of Francois Mitterrand cum Amdre Malraux - as the chief protagonist, Francois Malrand - is magnificent political biography disguised in the novelist's art.Walker deserves a Legion d'Honneur or as much free wine, confit de canard, and cheese that the Perigord region can bestow on him. He will attract visitors in their thousands to explore this beautiful corner of a beautiful country.Forget the current betises - stupidities - about France and the USA. France has a history and destiny that every Anglo-Saxon must understand in order to deal with this great but madly frustrating nation. Walker's book is the finest start to that process we have on offer. And since he is still has decades of good writing in front of him we may look forward to more novels though many of us Brits would love to see him writing foreign reports and commentaries again as the press in both Britain and the United States has, with a few notble exceptions, the weakest group of foreign affairs writers seen in generations.Denis MacShane is the author of a biography of Francois Mitterrand. He is a British Member of Parliament and a Foreign Minister in Tony Blair's government. He speaks and writes French.

Walker should get into a lot of trouble for this one. I lost a weekend to the rich tapestry of the Perigord, as evoked through his writing. Immediately after finishing, I passed the book on to a friend of mine, who was looking for something to read on the journey home, before she returned to studying for her exams. She never got round to the studying, and has spent the past few weeks frantically preparing for re-takes. She doesn't regret it though - the depth of characterisation and the fluid, yet gripping, plot made it all worthwhile.Others have tried, with varying degrees of success, to evoke our pre-historic ancestors in fiction, but I often find myself left cold by the worlds they create. Not in this case. Walker has created a pre-historic world that I would like to believe in. One that I could (almost) live in. For the first time in a long time, pre-historic man has a human face - an appreciation for beauty, a desire to create, and a capacity for love beyond that which you'd expect of a cave-dweller. The Clan of the Cave Bear has been usurped by the Keeper of the Bulls.But it doesn't stop there. Prehistory is seamlessly woven into tales of a further generation of Perigordan cave-dwellers - the fighters of the French Resistance. Knowing Walker's reputation as a historian, I expected much of these sections, but what we're given, although historically accurate in theme, is so much more! Where I expected a history lesson, I got a fast-paced ride through weapons drops, disabling train tracks, and the lives, loves, and energies of those involved. The Second World War, although in living memory, has never really had a face for the underground battles that were fought, and the risks encountered by those brave enough to fight for their beliefs. Walker has given the Resistance movements fictional heroes and champions, who no doubt bear resemblances to those whose stories were never told.The modern rediscoveries of the caves, and the hunt for the explanation that no-one believed possible is supported by a strong cast of characters. However, many authors have recreated the modern world for us, and that is not where the challenge lies. The difficulty of this book, and where Walker succeeds the most, is recreating for his reader worlds that are both long-gone and right-now. History, whether accurate or interpreted, jumps straight off the page and into the mind's eye of the reader.

I can't think when I last read a book that enthralled me at som many different levels. It's about art and war and life, and there's a subtle message runing thru that says it's the art that makes us human. The plot might seem complex; we weave from 17,000 years BC in the culture that produced the Lascaux cave paintings, and then go to the same part of France during World War Two in the time of the Resistance, and then come home to today, where a hunt for an undiscovered cave takes us back to the same valley. Because Walker creates real characters who make us care about them in each of these three time lines, it's like getting three books in one. And there is this sense of continuity, as if characters from one time find their echo in another. I sat up till 4am to finish it, and loved it. What a brilliant movie this would make. I can almost see Tom Cruise in the leading role, from Stone Age artist to Resistance fighter to modern French politician.

In 1500 BC in the Vezere valley (what is now La Ferrassie in the south of France), only the true artisans are allowed to paint. These artists are a brotherhood that is considered holy and each man is only allowed to paint one animal. The Keeper of the Bulls tries to defy tradition by becoming the leader, thus forcing the keeper of the deer and his mate to run away. They find a cave far from their people and begin painting inside it. In occupied France in 1944, murder occurs in that same cave. American Captain Manners sent to help the resistance and Francois Malrand, a leader of the French Resistance, agree to hide the caves. In the present day, Manners' son goes to an auction house in England with a rock painting from that cave, wondering how much it is worth. Lydia Dean knows it's priceless but before any decisions can be made about what to do with it, the painted rock goes missing. Since all roads lead to France, Lydia and Manners cross the Channel to try and find the rock and the cave where it belongs. THE CAVES OF PERIGORD is a fascinating look into the prehistory of man, the French Resistance just prior to D-day, and the politics involved in the modern art world. The three tales are told in alternating chapters and Martin Walker is so talented the reader never loses interest when jumping from one era to another. Although there is plenty of action, this novel will be a literary success because the audience will care about the characters and hope everything turns out all right for them.Harriet Klausner