Anyway, back to An Echo in the Bone. I don't even know where to begin. The book begins with Brianna and Roger adapting to their new lives in the "present" time. Brianna finds a box full of letters written by Claire and Jamie in the 1700s. I can't recall where Brianna found the box of letters, but they are very special to her. She and Roger do a good job of taking their time to read the letters. This keeps the connection between the centuries strong. Claire is truly writing to Brianna in the future, letting her know what is/was going on after Brianna returned to her own time.
Other than that... this book seemed to cover the most and had the most parallel stories compared to any of the other books. There were the Claire and Jamie stories. Claire does so many surgeries and procedures on the fly. Amazing! Gave me a lot to think about. There were Brianna and Roger stories, adapting to live in Scotland of the present in addition to connecting to their life in the 18th century. A character from the 18th century who has haunted Roger somehow shows up in the 20th century. Roger and Brianna are part of both work stories and personal stories. The kids, Mandy and Jem, have their own stories as well. (The Mandy and Jem stories are those that have me the most curious as I take a break between novels.) We've got Lord John's stories (several of them) which are completely distinct from much of the William stories. William as a soldier. William as a cousin. William as a son. We've also got Ian's story... which is a big, big story in this novel. Actually, Ian has stories. He falls in love... and he reconciles with his parents in Scotland. So many of these subplots intersect, with the long list of characters becoming more intertwined than they have been in the past. There's a Fergus story or two. There's an interesting Laoghaire story. Yes, this book is very involved.
With all that was going on, I was surprised that it wasn't terribly difficult to pick up the book and put it back down again. But as I've mentioned earlier, I would be hard pressed to tell you what was covered in this book. Was there anything I didn't like? No. I liked it all. I have no complaints. Yet I'm still struggling to figure out what to write about.
I've realized that I know a whole lot less about the American Revolution than I probably should. I was so focused on getting through the book, though, that I didn't drift off to do research about the Battle of Saratoga when I was in Saratoga last week. Surprising since that's something I'd normally do. As always, it is so cool to read a book while you're in the exact location where the book is set. So cool And yes, I'm a history geek.
When I went to Philadelphia later in the week and saw that a museum of the American Revolution was opening at the end of the month, I was disappointed, wanting it to be opened the day I was there. Wanting to be inside that building so badly. Wanting to learn more about the Revolution the way only a visit can help you do.
My other disappointment while in Philadelphia was the weather. Had the weather been better, I would have explored a few more of the places mentioned in the book by foot. With the horrendous rain we experienced, I was lucky that I go to see the outside of the new museum, take a stroll past Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. I wondered where Lord John's house was in Philadelphia. Had I wandered past it without even knowing? Is there a Philadelphia companion book to the Outlander series? Diana Gabaldon, are you reading this? Is this something you'd be interested in doing? I'd love to work on a project like that with you.
Having nothing to do with the book
(For the first time ever, I saw the Rocky statue. Totally getting off track here but this is a very big deal. I was attending school and living in Philadelphia when the Rocky movies first hit the screen. I've been to Philadelphia numerous times over the years. And this was the first visit to the Art Museum since the late 1970s and my very first time to see the statue. Just my luck, the steps to the museum were "closed" to prepare for the NFL draft which will take place there at the end of the month.)
Was this the longest book in the series in terms of word count? I don't think so. I'm not 100% sure, but it sure felt like this book took me the longest time of any of the books to read. Since book 9 most likely won't be published until 2018 at the earliest, I think I'm going to take my break from the series now, knowing that I can pick up book 8 whenever I want. If I read book 8 soon, I know there will be a big wait for book 9. One of the advantages of being late to the game of reading a massive series is being able to read on my own schedule rather than waiting (with longing) for the next installment to be published. Only those of you who read these types of series will understand that!
Good job, Diana Gabaldon for keeping me (and millions of other readers) engaged for so long!
I'll end with some questions I have at the end of An Echo in the Bone which I don't believe are spoilers.
- Where is Roger?
- Where will Jamie and Claire settle next?
- Will they ever return to Fraser's Ridge in North Carolina?
- What will William do next?
- Will Ian ever find happiness?
- What does Jenny think about America?
- Any more time travel for anyone?
- Who wins the war? Okay... only kidding.
No comments:
Post a Comment