Content levels
Positive tags
Protagonist archetypes
Synopsis
A young man in modern America is terrorized by visions of an earlier, primitive life. Across the enormous chasm of thousands of centuries, his consciousness has become entwined with that of Big-Tooth, an ancestor living at the dawn of humanity. Big-Tooth makes his home in Pleistocene Africa, a ferocious, fascinating younger world torn by incessant conflict between early humans and protohumans. Before Adam is a remarkable and provocative tale that thrust evolution further into the public spotlight in the early twentieth century and has since become a milestone of speculative fiction. The brilliance of the book lies not only in its telling but also in its imaginative projection of a mindset for early humans. Capitalizing on his recognized ability to understand animals, Jack London paints an arresting and dark portrait of how our distant ancestors thought about themselves and their world.
Is Before Adam appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 16 and up.
This early 20th-century speculative novel explores human evolution through a modern man's visions of his Pleistocene ancestor. Expect moderate violence typical of prehistoric survival—conflict between early humans and protohumans—but no sexual content or profanity.
What to know going in
This book has moderate violence, no sexual content, and clean language. Content notes include death and violence.
Who'll love this
Teens interested in human evolution and prehistoric life will find this an imaginative exploration of how early humans might have thought and lived.