Review: An Echo in the Bone

Last Sunday, I finished reading An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon. This is the seventh novel in Gabaldon's Outlander series, which feature Claire Beauchamp and Jamie Fraser. The series began with Claire traveling back in time from the late-1940s to 18th century Scotland, where she met and married James Fraser. The subsequent novels are about their adventures together and eventually the adventures of their grown children as well.

Though all the books in the series are on the long side (Echo was 814 pages in hardcover), the story is typically gripping enough that the pages seem to fly by.

I did not find this to be the case with Echo. I never thought I would finish this book. Maybe it was because there was so much going on - there are several storylines and numerous points of view. I found it hard to keep track of who was doing what and why. (Perhaps because, being a working mother, I was only able to read a chapter or two a night.)

There were two specific things that bothered me about this novel. One, Gabaldon's lengthy and detailed descriptions of medical procedures (including the amputation of a character's finger). Claire, who is the only character Gabaldon writes in the first person perspective, is a doctor, but is it really necessary to go into that much detail? Gabaldon's background as a research scientist is clear in these passages.

The second thing that bothered me was that Gabaldon spends so much time on the middle of the novel that the end feels a bit rushed. This is especially true of a fight scene between two characters that she spends the whole novel building towards. A gun goes off and then we cut to a few hours later, having to assume what happened. Very disappointing.

Other than that, I enjoyed the book. Gabaldon is a master of bringing the 18th century to life. Not just the big events, like the American Revolution depicted in Echo, but the day to day lives of the people of the time. How they cooked, washed their clothes, behaved toward each other. I find it all fascinating.

These are characters I have spent a great deal of time with having read the six previous novels, and I go through withdrawal every time I finish one and have to say goodbye. If you love losing yourself in another time, I highly recommend this series. The earlier novels (Outlander and Dragonfly in Amber) are much more streamlined and seem to zip along in comparison with the latter few.