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nmcannon 's review for:
A Breath of Snow and Ashes
by Diana Gabaldon
Here we are again and it is such a pleasure. Sort of.
Chronicling our beloved characters' lives from March 1773 to December 1776, A Breath of Snow and Ashes is full of fiery delights and fiery ends. As settlers reel from the War of the Regulation, a band of marauders stalks the Carolina backcountry. Presbyterian fisher-folk, including the vocal Christie family, settle on Fraser's Ridge, and a generation of teenagers explore the pathways of their hearts and veer towards self-destruction. Jamie acts as the King's agent to the local Cherokee tribes. Fergus and Marsali question whether farming life is right for them. Roger decides to become a minister. Ian mourns his wife. Stephen Bonnet stalks the waterways. First Phaedre and now the Bonnie Prince's gold have disappeared from River Run. The only things growing faster than Claire's healing business are the whispers of witchcraft. Lord John and Willie despair as Jamie's Tory, Loyalist facade crumbles to reveal his Whiggist American ideals. The revolution begins, and, of course, the bloody house burns down.
Yeah, so, if you can't tell from the mess of all that plot, it's basically a Gabaldon fiction. Like the other two books set in the American Colonies, A Breath of Snow and Ashes does not have a focused, overarching narrative. One could conceivably argue that A Breath focuses on the thematic question of "When does the Revolution begin?" Does it really start with the battle of Lexington and Concord? Or is it before that, in the minds and hearts of individuals who bend themselves toward change? What about for Claire, a British citizen, who only knows this history secondhand? Has it already happened for Brianna, a modern USA citizen? What about Jamie, who goes against clan, oath, and his very nature to be on "the right side of history" for once? Gabaldon explores this theme well.
However elegant the subtextual question is explored though, the textual plot of novel is haphazard at best. While Gabaldon's struggles with POV are over, this book's plot structure is distractingly bad. In broadstroke, A Breath reads like a series of novellas, which are taped together by occupying the same characters and the above question of revolution. Each novella's plot arc is told about 75% of the way through, abruptly ends, and the next chapter moves on to a different novella. It leaves characters and threads hanging and is unsatisfying to read. In the last 200 pages, Gabaldon remembers to finish her plot lines, and all is wrapped up in a tidy bow...which would be great if that felt in any way organic and not the author showing their hand. I'd heard in The Outlandish Companion that Gabaldon's writing process involves sort of writing big puzzle pieces and then fitting these pieces together later. That's super apparent here, and maybe her editor should have been more rigorous in the fitting.
Here's an exampleOne day, Claire receives a mysterious letter from Phaedre, telling her to come to River Run. A big hubbub of speculation is made about what Phaedre could need so badly, and Jamie and Claire drop everything to rush to River Run. Once there, Phaedre has disappeared, and Ulysses tells them about a missing ingot of French gold. The writing clearly gears up for a mystery. Jamie and Claire interview suspects and post notices. Jocasta reveals that Phaedre is Hector's daughter, and we find out Duncan and Phaedre have been having an affair. I am, like, so jazzed at this point. OMG intrigue! OMG confirmation of loving biracial relationships!! OMG what if they set Phaedre and her baby free!!! No. None of that happens. Jamie and Claire find out all these cool things, look at each other, shrug, and leave River Run, saying they can't do anything more. Next chapter. We don't get a resolution until 500 pages later, when we find out Phaedre was sold by Ulysses and ended up as Stephen Bonnet's kitchen maid on a tiny island of pirates and we get one (1) sentence about how afterwards they send her to Wilmington to work. That's it. All that build-up only to be torn away and then resolved so quickly and randomly. It's frustrating.
My other big bone to pick with the novel involves sexual violence and violence against women. As an amateur historian, I have a lot of respect for Gabaldon in her Outlander books, with how she doesn't gloss over how common sexual assault and even rape was in this time period. The threat of sexual violence is so, so high, even today. In past novels, these traumas feel organic to the plot and characters. The instances of violence are well woven in and dealt with respectfully. In A Breath of Snow and Ashes however, there are instances of gang rape, incest, and the sexual slave trade, and these moments are not given the same weight and space as in previous novels. They feel more like random events inserted in to give the characters something to react to and a chance to show off historical research. It was awful to read and awful to stomach. Bleh.
While I still love the characters and will continue to follow their journey, I'm not as keen on the series as I once was. Here's hoping that An Echo in the Bone goes better.
Chronicling our beloved characters' lives from March 1773 to December 1776, A Breath of Snow and Ashes is full of fiery delights and fiery ends. As settlers reel from the War of the Regulation, a band of marauders stalks the Carolina backcountry. Presbyterian fisher-folk, including the vocal Christie family, settle on Fraser's Ridge, and a generation of teenagers explore the pathways of their hearts and veer towards self-destruction. Jamie acts as the King's agent to the local Cherokee tribes. Fergus and Marsali question whether farming life is right for them. Roger decides to become a minister. Ian mourns his wife. Stephen Bonnet stalks the waterways. First Phaedre and now the Bonnie Prince's gold have disappeared from River Run. The only things growing faster than Claire's healing business are the whispers of witchcraft. Lord John and Willie despair as Jamie's Tory, Loyalist facade crumbles to reveal his Whiggist American ideals. The revolution begins, and, of course, the bloody house burns down.
Yeah, so, if you can't tell from the mess of all that plot, it's basically a Gabaldon fiction. Like the other two books set in the American Colonies, A Breath of Snow and Ashes does not have a focused, overarching narrative. One could conceivably argue that A Breath focuses on the thematic question of "When does the Revolution begin?" Does it really start with the battle of Lexington and Concord? Or is it before that, in the minds and hearts of individuals who bend themselves toward change? What about for Claire, a British citizen, who only knows this history secondhand? Has it already happened for Brianna, a modern USA citizen? What about Jamie, who goes against clan, oath, and his very nature to be on "the right side of history" for once? Gabaldon explores this theme well.
However elegant the subtextual question is explored though, the textual plot of novel is haphazard at best. While Gabaldon's struggles with POV are over, this book's plot structure is distractingly bad. In broadstroke, A Breath reads like a series of novellas, which are taped together by occupying the same characters and the above question of revolution. Each novella's plot arc is told about 75% of the way through, abruptly ends, and the next chapter moves on to a different novella. It leaves characters and threads hanging and is unsatisfying to read. In the last 200 pages, Gabaldon remembers to finish her plot lines, and all is wrapped up in a tidy bow...which would be great if that felt in any way organic and not the author showing their hand. I'd heard in The Outlandish Companion that Gabaldon's writing process involves sort of writing big puzzle pieces and then fitting these pieces together later. That's super apparent here, and maybe her editor should have been more rigorous in the fitting.
Here's an example
My other big bone to pick with the novel involves sexual violence and violence against women. As an amateur historian, I have a lot of respect for Gabaldon in her Outlander books, with how she doesn't gloss over how common sexual assault and even rape was in this time period. The threat of sexual violence is so, so high, even today. In past novels, these traumas feel organic to the plot and characters. The instances of violence are well woven in and dealt with respectfully. In A Breath of Snow and Ashes however, there are instances of gang rape, incest, and the sexual slave trade, and these moments are not given the same weight and space as in previous novels. They feel more like random events inserted in to give the characters something to react to and a chance to show off historical research. It was awful to read and awful to stomach. Bleh.
While I still love the characters and will continue to follow their journey, I'm not as keen on the series as I once was. Here's hoping that An Echo in the Bone goes better.