A Breath of Snow and Ashes-Review
Book 6 of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series
It's the eve of the American Revolution, Jamie Fraser is torn between two opposing sides: the Crown, which he has made an oath to in order to start a new life in the colonies, and the Rebels, who he knows will inevitably win this fight and create the America his daughter will go to grow up in. Claire knows the resolution of this conflict in minor detail, having lived in 20th century Boston for the past 2 decades. Together she and Jamie must navigate a careful balance between the loyalists and rebels in order to keep their family safe. In the meantime, their daughter Brianna must also face a difficult decision: Stay with her family and fight for the freedom of the country she has grown up in? Or go back to her own time to keep her children safe from the ensuing conflict?
After a 2 year hiatus, I finally picked up the next book in the Outlander series. A Breath of Snow and Ashes was daunting at first, it's a massive book at over 1,400 pages, but I think it's one of my favourites since book 3: Voyager (not much can beat that printshop reunion am I right?). The fifth book in the series wasn't my favourite so I avoided finishing the last 3 for a long while just because of it, boy was I wrong to do so, the 6th book came back with everything I love about Gabaldon's writing. Humour, heartache, romance, historical accuracy. It didn't even feel that long because there was so much action throughout.
There were so many things I loved about this book. One thing I found that set this one apart from her other books was that there was so much more humour, there could be full chapters that had me in tears from laughter. (The Sow and the General was a personal favourite, you'll know what I mean once you read it). Given that this was the book that also had some of the most troubling content I've read in this series so far, I understood Gabaldon's need to balance it out with light moments of laughter, and it worked.
Speaking of the sensitive material, for those that need trigger warnings, this book doesn't have any so here's your warning. It's not too graphic but is still hard to read through in places. I do think that Gabaldon did a superb job explaining the after-effects of trauma and the different ways people cope. Some characters got to fight their demons in this book, and some didn't, but that's ok too because it's not always possible, not because of lack of strength, but because sometimes you just need to be able to put it in the past and move on. (It starts with the malting shed for those about to read).
The character growth in this book was also a favourite of mine. Throughout the books, Claire can be quite cold sometimes, putting her own beliefs and values from her own time before that of the people and places around her and she always seems to escape with no consequences. This book, unfortunately, had her face some pretty rough situations where she learned quite traumatically the true risks of choosing to live in this volatile time. She became a much more mature and understanding character I found. That being said, what happens to her is way too common in this series than need be and I'm pretty sick of this particular plot point. However I did like how this book capitalized on Jamie's growth throughout the past 3 books, he's definitely changed from the hot-headed Scot that charged in before thinking and snapped at Claire for things she couldn't understand like back in books 1 and 2. I loved how he became the steady rock that held the family together in this book, after so much of his own trauma, he's finally grown into his own and able to be there to help his family through this difficult time. Bree and Roger also settled more comfortably into the roles they fell into, I personally enjoyed that Roger finally found his calling and how even though he and Bree have a difference of opinion, they're still able to support each other.
There were quite a few "parts" to this book and each one had a beginning, middle, and an end. It felt like multiple stories in one big anthology. I really liked how it was set up that way in this book because you usually had a resolution to the heartbreaking sections without having to wait till the end of the book to get any type of comfort. It also sectioned the book into short exciting pieces which made it easier to read through and didn't feel like a full 1,400 pages.
I really, really enjoyed this book, it's made me want to set a goal to finish the next two before the year is done, I just can't get enough of the Frasers, I missed them these past two years. Once I'm finished book 8 I'll just have to patiently wait for the release of book 9 like the rest of the world.
If you haven't started this series yet but loved the show (or even if you're a GOT fan), you will love these books. Don't let the size of them scare you away, they read much quicker than you would think. I give it a 5 star read. I can't wait to start An Echo in the Bone.