A Breath of Snow and Ashes (Outlander)

A Breath of Snow and Ashes is the sixth installment in the time travel/historical adventure series by Diane Gabaldan. The central character is Claire Fraser, a 20th century woman who accidentally traveled back in time in the 1940's and ended up in 18th century Scotland. She returns to her own time pregnant from her true love, and then returns again to find him 20 years later. Now Claire is settled with her 18th century husband and is building a life in the 18th century from 1771-1776.

Claire, her husband Jamie and her daughter Brianna live on an enormous property in the mountains of North Carolina. The rigors of frontier life from a 20th century perspective are detailed in an interesting and captivating manner. Claire is a trained surgeon and works to provide medical services using 18th century tools.

The difficulty and danger of 18th century life for both men and women is the theme of this enthralling adventure novel. Strangely enough the first time I picked this book up, I did not read beyond the first few pages, but upon the second try I thoroughly enjoyed it and could not put it down. Gabaldan's writing continues to develop. She writes beautifully and lucidly both in her description of the natural world, as well as in her intense portrayal of relationships. The main character, Claire, continues to develop as a person and physician in a way that makes the reader feel they have grown along with her. This sixth book of the series is more adventure and historical novel than romance and is the better for it. Highly recommended!

Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander" series is without a doubt my favorite in all fiction. (I consider J. R. R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Ring" trilogy to be in a category of its own). I had been hoping for another novel about the fabulous time-traveling Fraser family but thought "The Fiery Cross" would be the last. Needless to say, when I heard that a sixth book was in the works, I reread my already well-worn copies of the first five installments, and pre-ordered "A Breath of Snow and Ashes." I must say that Ms. Gabaldon is the only author I know of who is able to maintain her storyline, the tension and excitement, through thousands of words, and six novels, over a period of fifteen years. She continually invents new adventures, accurately recreates history, and allows her characters and their relationships to grow to extraordinary depth. I can only say BRAVO(!), as she has yet again come up with a winner.

As Gabaldon fans know, Claire and James Fraser have weathered more storms than most. They crossed oceans and centuries to make a life together. Readers were first introduced to Jamie and Claire in "Outlander," right after Claire made the voyage from peaceful 20th century Scotland to 18th century Scotland and total mayhem. We witnessed passion, love and friendship grow between this couple as they began married life, and experienced adventure, adversity and attempted to alter history. They finally settled in North Carolina along with their daughter Brianna, her husband Roger, their son Jemmie, many of their family members and friends from Scotland, including most of Jamies fellow prisoners from Ardsmuir and hundreds of refugees in exile in the wake of the Jacobite rebellion.

Claire, now a beautiful matron in her 50s, spends much of her time utilizing her physician's skills and searching for ways to bring 20th century science to her 18th century practice. James is the founder of the Fraser's Ridge community and acts as an unofficial clan chief to the families who look to him for leadership. Brianna and Roger, and Fergus and Marsali are young couples coping with a heavy daily work load and parenting. This is a period when backbreaking work, from first light to last, is necessary for survival.

"A Breath of Snow and Ashes" opens in the year 1772 on the eve of the American Revolution. Even in the backwoods colony of Fraser's Ridge, NC, people are rebelling at the increased taxation by the British, with no government representation for themselves. Word of the Boston Massacre has reached the Frasers and their neighbors, and, in fact, one of the novel's characters was involved in the event. The American colonies are in turmoil. Tension builds as isolated cabins are burned in the wilderness and families murdered. North Carolina Governor Josiah Martin asks James Fraser to help unite the backcountry population, including the Native Americans, in support of the King. However, Jamie knows about the revolution to come. His wife, Claire, has traveled back in time from the twentieth century, as have his daughter Brianna and her husband. They are well aware that it's only a matter of a few years before the start of the War of Independence.

Looming over the Frasers is the threat of a tiny newspaper clipping from The Wilmington Gazette, dated 1776, which Claire discovered before returning to the 18th century. The article reports the destruction of the house on Fraser's Ridge, and the death by fire of James Fraser and all his family. Claire and James know from experience that it is not possible to change or effect future events, but they are determined to do all in their power to prove the newspaper report wrong.

While not as good a read as "The Outlander," (but what is?), this is a fabulous novel and the historical events portrayed are fascinating. I am from the Northeast and when I studied the American Revolution I usually focused on events in Philadelphia and New England. Ms. Gabaldon gives another perspective here, which has motivated me to further explore the history in the southern colonies.

The author has an imagination for which I will always be grateful, and she is as skilled a writer as there ever was. She develops characters so that they truly come to life and remain with the reader forever - no small accomplishment. Her ability to capture the essence of a loving relationship, whether between lovers, spouses, parents and children, or friends can easily move her readers to tears. The dialogue is excellent and the wonderful Scottish dialect, interspersed with Gaelic, adds much to the novels' credibility and the readers' enjoyment.

I highly recommend "A Breath of Snow and Ashes." And for those who have not read the other books in the series, do yourselves a huge favor and begin with "Outlander" and read straight through all five sequels. You will be delighted and richly rewarded.

Just a closing note: I know many men who have read and enjoyed these books. These novels are much more than chick lit!! ENJOY!
JANA

Bodice-ripper romance? Check. Historical fiction with oodles of period detail? Double-check. Time-traveling fantasy? You bet. A BREATH OF SNOW AND ASHES (actually, all six volumes in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series) combines most of the genres I love, which means I couldn't put it down --- and at a hefty 992 pages, that's saying a lot. While immersed, I felt I was never far from Fraser's Ridge, the North Carolina homestead where Jamie Fraser, an exiled Scotsman, and his wife Claire, doctor and displaced 20th-century person, make their home. There are two other refugees from the contemporary world in the community: the Frasers' daughter Brianna (conceived in the 18th century, born in the 20th), and her husband Roger --- plus assorted saints, ruffians, eccentrics, rogues, floozies and fanatics.

Gabaldon's conceit, for those new to the books, is that certain individuals are able to pass from one century to another by means of ancient circles of standing stones. In OUTLANDER, the first volume, Claire time-travels quite by accident while vacationing in the Highlands; from 1946 she is hurtled back some 200 years, when the Jacobites, Scottish supporters of Bonnie Prince Charlie, were fighting to oust the English and reestablish their own king. She meets and marries Jamie, but after the rebels are crushed at Culloden in 1745 and he is condemned to death, she returns to modern life (and her bemused 20th-century husband) to save her unborn child.

Sounds pretty crazy, but Gabaldon makes it plausible because her research is so meticulous and her characters so sympathetic: heroic, yet attractively flawed. You get to know the central quartet --- Jamie, Claire, Brianna and Roger --- especially well, since they take turns narrating the book. Okay, I'll admit that the two couples' literally timeless devotion and undying ardor (sex scenes galore!) are so idealized that lots of plot action is essential to keep the reader from becoming bored and/or skeptical: Somebody (Claire twice and Brianna once) is always getting abducted by villains and rescued by the clan.

But A BREATH OF SNOW AND ASHES, though a close cousin of the historical romance (think a more prolix version of Philippa Gregory), has another dimension, thanks to the sci-fi element. A modern sensibility and vision lurk within the pre-electric interiors and wild, uncharted scenery of Fraser's Ridge --- Brianna dreams of hot running water; Claire struggles with the concept that she is Jamie's property; Roger, originally an historian, looks ahead to the triumph of the revolution and the bitter fate of the Native Americans. The book reminds us how dangerous it was to be on the "right" side of the Anglo-American conflict, and how hard and labor-intensive it was to accomplish the simplest tasks of everyday life. It shows us Claire and Brianna recreating resources we take for granted, from matches to ether (Claire's medical adventures, wherein she combines contemporary knowledge with herbal traditions, is my favorite part of the series; in this volume she handles a breech birth, fixes a twisted hand, and treats syphilis with a home-grown form of penicillin). The women characters are not only amazingly strong, but also possess a feminist consciousness that they bring to bear on an impressive number of unwed pregnancies and other local scandals. And always the modern refugees are wondering whether there are other time-travelers like themselves --- whether, in fact, every invention is really a reinvention by people from the future.

The temporal ambiguity of the book also gives it emotional depth. All the characters, time-travelers or political exiles, have a feeling of displacement and a deep longing for the home they've parted from. Jamie, contemplating the "glorious, terrifying" emptiness of the land, becomes aware of a "more terrifying emptiness within": He "had said good-bye to Scotland at the rail of the Artemis, knowing full well it was likely his last sight of the place. And yet the notion that he would never set foot there again had never fully settled on him 'til this moment."' Our stories of pioneers and immigrants have passed into myth, so it is easy to forget how much courage it took to break with the old and familiar and sail off to a whole new continent.

A BREATH OF SNOW AND ASHES isn't great literature. It's way, way too long; full of breathless prose, cornball archaic language, and Gaelic phrases; easy to make fun of or relegate to the status of guilty pleasure. And yet, there is something so honest, rich and complete about the alternative worlds Gabaldon creates that I think she is a kind of genius. I can't wait to find out what happens next in the story of the Frasers and their kin (the end is quite a cliffhanger).

If you're already addicted to Claire and Jamie, this review probably isn't even necessary. But for Outlander "virgins," I have some advice: Pick up a copy of THE OUTLANDISH COMPANION, Gabaldon's handbook to the series, which includes not only synopses of the first few books but also family trees, character analyses, research minutiae, a Gaelic glossary and grammar, and more --- all the insider info a hardcore fan could want and a newcomer could need.

--- Reviewed by Kathy Weissman

A Breath of Snow and Ashes answers all of the questions that have cropped up and lingered on for the last five books - Where is Steven Bonnet? Is Jemmy Bonnet's child or Rogers? Does the house really burn down with the Frasers in it? What happens to Willie and Lord John Grey? Does Willie ever find out about his relationship to Jamie? Do Brianna and Roger have more children? What happened to Ian's Indian wife and child? Does any member of the family return to the 21st century? It is as if Gabaldon decided to maybe - just maybe - end her series with this book. I got the sense that if she writes another it will be because she really wants to rather than she feels she has to.

As for the book itself, this book reminded me why I loved Outlander and Voyager so very, very much. Although the book was long and at times ponderous, the story was enthralling and the characters were simply wonderful. I have often thought that Outlander series was the closest anyone will ever come to matching Gone with the Wind. This book reinforces that opinion. Brianna and Roger grew in this book in such a way that they no longer were distractions for the story, but instead because a vital part of it. I never cared for the character of Brianna - she was too self-centered and too spoiled - but in this book, I grew to like her very much. Ian plays a larger part in this book also. The relationship between Ian and Jamie becomes more of a partnership, as well as uncle and nephew. I like how Ian "watches his back", and the decisions he makes. If I have any lingering questions at all concerning the characters, it would be concerning Ian. It just didn't seem as if his life is wrapped up to my complete satisfaction. As for Claire and Jamie, Claire, oddly enough, plays more of a sideline character in most of the book. Situations seem to happen TO her rather than because of her, but Jamie - Jamie reminds you why you fell in love with him over a decade ago. Although I was happy for all the conflicts to resolve themselves, I was sad to leave Jamie. This book is quite simply a triumph. If Ms. Gabaldon stops writing here, these books will still be read - and republished - a century from now. She has bought her place in immortality.

Thank you, Ms. Gabaldon.

I was one of those many readers who loved the first four books but was harshly critical of The Fiery Cross, her fifth book. However, this book is terrific. First of all Claire and Jamie are more present in this book with all their love and passion, fierceness and courage, which had been dimly expressed in The Fiery Cross. Brianna and Roger are more believable and loving towards each other - Roger is less of a wimp, Brianna has gotten over her whinny self, and Jemmy is a terrific kid, not just a pooping, nursing machine.

Ordinarily, I am impatient of a lot of description, do a lot of skimming, and want to get down to the meat and potatoes of the plot. But not in this book. Every vignette, even if not central to the plot, is vivid and fascinating, giving the reader a glimpse into life in those days. I found myself devouring every word, enjoying the journey rather than being in a rush to the destination. Gabaldon is just such an incredible writer; such an imagination - you find it hard to believe she wasn't actually there. And when Jamie says things like "If I die, dinna follow me. The bairns will need ye. Stay for them. I can wait." I find myself crying and feeling like an idiot, since this is fiction, but it touches me so.

Enjoy!