Cool story, I appreciated the unexpected casual education about Neanderthals.  The main character was unlikeable, but in an intriguing way, which is a combo that really works for me in literary fiction.  I found it difficult to stay focused on the story due to the writing structure – the storyline frequently bounced between the real time events and the main character’s research into the commune and its mentor.  Overall an interesting read, but I had to work for it (and more than I wanted to).