So... whoa. That was a long book. It seemed even longer, I think, because of the lack of a central story line. At all. It was 400 pages more than the previous installment, but even so I feel that I was hampered by a piece-wise method of storytelling. It took me over two weeks to finish it with no outside interference that limited the time I could commit to reading. I found myself putting it down after just a few pages, several times a day, because Gabaldon would tell me about one scene, and then the next would spring forth from some unrelated mind.
That said, I enjoyed most pieces of story individually. A lot happened in this book. SPOILERS ENSUE!
We see Jocasta and Duncan's wedding, for a long time it seems, along with so many small happenings that seem quite unrelated. Lots of time spent on the Ridge, with odd visitors, deaths and births, Adso the kitten, and quite a few episodes describing rustic farm life. Then the whole militia vs. regulators story line, which is important in the long term, I'm sure, but was my least favorite tangent.
New tenants, government officers, old acquaintances, old enemies, and a whole slew of other people were introduced. I felt like I needed to write down all of the people because she would refer back to someone and it would take a bit of context before the light over my head came on. There were still a few lovely tender moments shared between Jamie and Claire, and Brianna and Roger, but they were so far between that this was definitely less of a romance and more historical fiction.
The overarching story is discernible now that I've finished, but so much was lost in the minutiae that I feel a bit frazzled. Still enjoyable, but I'm happy to move on to book 6.
- Series: Book 5 of 8 (so far)
- Number of pages: 1443 (Mass market paperback edition)
- Year published: 2001
- Days to read: 17 days
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