SPOILER ALERT: Do not read unless you've finished VOYAGER.
So I finished Voyager yesterday. I had a lot of back and forth email with Tracey about it and should post some of that here. There has been a large discussion brewing between Tracey, Jenn M and myself regarding Jamie's sex life over the last 20 years. Tracey thinks he bedded others; the whores included. I say "NO WAY". I just don't think he had the time or inclination, what with all that cave-dwelling, Ardsmuir prison-running and Helwater grounds-keeping he was doing. He had Mary McNabb in the cave... himself in prison... and Geneva at Helwater. Then Laoghaire at Balriggan. Tracey thinks got a piece whilst carrying out his sedition and smuggling in Edinburgh. She thinks he was skimming off the top at the brothel. I disagree vehemently. I don't think he would have touched one of the whores; it would have gone against his "honor" (snicker.) I think he was busy doing his thing - and he wasn't there that long. A year? 18 months?
And speaking of honor... have I shared my views about forgiving Jamie for letting Claire walk into the lion's den-o-lies on more than one occasion? I finally put it away and reread the section where Jamie gets down on his knees and swears his loyalty to Claire. Wait a minute - I just need a minute...
OK I'm better now. I was just picturing Jamie Fraser down on his knees, swearing his loyalty to me... and I almost had to go lie down. Now back to my point...
I was just bothered because I didn't feel like Jamie was respecting Claire's honor. He's not the only one with integrity and dignity, right? Tracey feels like he was stupid by taking Claire back to Lallybroch when Loaghaire lived close by. Stupid, yes. But also WRONG. How about Claire's honor? How about telling Claire about Loaghaire just because it was the "right thing to do"? What of that, Sassenachs?
OK so anyway - moving on - I was OK with the end of the book. I LOVE Geillis as a character and was thrilled to witness the return of that character. I was also thrilled she's the one who died in the cave, because I didn't want Margaret to be offed in such a cruel manner. I loved her eerie relationship with the slaves. I also loved the slave uprising... and I felt like Claire would have been leading the movement had she not had other matters to attend to. Which - reminds me of something Jenn M brought up yesterday. Claire is always attending to JAMIE'S matters; not her own. I want to see more of Claire's own situations in the next book. Remember when she was the doctor at Leoch and Lallybroch? Remember the hospital in France? Remember her dealings with Raymond? I want Claire to have something of her own to deal with, that doesn't involve following Jamie around through his own struggles.
ALSO - I was OK with the hurricane on the ship... but I thought it was a little over-the-top when Claire fell into the water... and when they ended up - yet again - in a strange room somewhere, with one of them in need of medical attention. We've seen this scene multiple times. No more rooms with small beds and a window and a fireplace. I would have been fine if they'd come up on shore after the hurricane and just sat there - side by side - on the beach. Oh god. I'm doing it again. Picturing sitting side by side with Jamie Fraser, on a beach. A secluded beach, preferably. Holy crap. I have to go. I canna type anymore with so many lovely visions dancing around in my head...
OK, random comments from aforementioned sister...first I have to add that I have just finished Drums, and out of the first four books, I think Voyager is my favorite (Outlander a close second, DinA and DofA tied for third). Voyager, IMO, was the best combination of complete and utter emotion, page turning plot, hot lovin', and what I like to call "small moments" between J&C (for example, the "kiss it make it better" scene).
ReplyDeleteOK, so responding to Carol's thoughts...
• Re: Jamie bedding others--I'm thinking that Jamie prolly did NOT sleep with any of the lasses at the brothel, cause--well, he says on on p. 324. ("I said I didna bed with the lasses," Jamie replied circumspectly. "I never said I didna look at them.") However, I still think that McNabb, Geneva, and Laoghaire (aka, "The Wee Ho") were NOT Jamie's only bed partners over the 20 years apart from Claire was this line on p. 330: "I willna say that I have lived a monk," he said quietly. "When I had to--when I felt that I must or go mad--" To me, this says that he sought out "comfort"--and I would not classify the experiences with McNabb or Geneva as ones he "sought out." Maybe he was only talking about Wee Ho, but I don't think so. He may not have hit the brothel, but c'mon--I'm sure any number of willing Edinboro lassies were throwing themselves at him at any given moment, and he no doubt took advantage of that fact "when he had to."
• Totally agree about Jamie's stupidity AND wrongness re: not telling Claire about Mrs. Wee Ho. Of all the shit he's pulled so far, this was the one that made me pretty much throw the book across the room and put J in deep-ass time out. I seriously still cannot figure out his logic..."hmmm, how can I keep this secret from Claire? I know--I'LL TAKE HER TO LALLYBROCH!!!!" Duhhhhhhh. But again, the mofo hooked me back in with the whole "knowing the secret of someone" and "with you I have no name" speech. Smooth talking son of a bitch. ;-) (BTW--did anyone notice that he ALMOST told her on page 286?)
• Re: voodoo ceremony--hated it on first reading. Biting the heads off chickens and such is far too "Angel Heart" for me. But after a couple readings, it was more interesting. It was cool how Jamie was sort of Claire's catalyst for hearing Brianna.
• Re: cave. Idaknow. This "we're back at the stones" moment just didn't have the emotional impact for me that the ones from Outlander and DinA did. I didn't really get right away that if Gellie made it through, Claire would have to go back to save Brianna--and because that wasn't made clear, with a great scene between J&C (and of course, at least a couple of hot rolls in the hay), it just didn't move me the way it probably should have.
• Sort of related to what Carol said about Claire having her own moments--I would have liked to see more scenes that involved Claire sharing her world and what happened to her over the 20 years with Jamie--sort of like the "landing on the moon" scene. I felt that for all the secrets Jamie kept, we ended up seeing Claire's reaction to them much more than Jamie's reaction to her life.
• Hurricane--was a little much, I agree--but they needed some sort of a device to get them to Georgia, and that was probably the best way to do it.
I'd be curious to know what other people thought about the cave scenes. Did you cry there? (I didn't.) And if not, where DID you cry? (Me: "I have no name with you," Fergus wedding, and, of course, almost the entirety of chapters 24-25. ("Bent over it, his back turned to me, was Jamie." Sobbing begins... ;-) )
I thought the cave scene felt rushed. Like Deadline City. I definitely didn't cry. But that might also be because you are always a book ahead of me - so I knew Jamie and Claire would be fine. PS - "When I had to--when I felt that I must or go mad--" = McNabb and Laoghaire. End of story. Stop trying to make my chaste and virginal Jamie into a slut. STOP or I'll put YOU in a time out! :)
ReplyDeleteI just finished Voyager and I have to say that I didn't cry at all this time! I did like the book but I thought that ceremony with Margaret and the chicken and Brianna talking was a little much for me. I did read that part a little quicker just to get it over with...
ReplyDeleteI do miss them back in Scotland, the Carribean just didn't do it for me although it is nice that they aren't freezing their tushes off for once!
I agree that I would love to see Claire do something for herself in the next book, she is so intelligent that she needs to fulfill that part of her soon I think.
I was surprised to like John Grey as much as I did. I thought I wouldn't like him at all but in the end, I did feel sorry for him and I liked that he helped Jamie out even though he is jealous of Claire-but aren't we all LOL!!!
I am looking forward to Drums of Autumn. My husband ordered for me as a surprise but it won't be in until the 23rd so I have 2 weeks to wait!!!!
Oh no!! Two weeks! Take this time to read back over key parts of the first three... and to ready yourself for the continued ride!!! :)
ReplyDeleteCarol- years later, you can say that you called it! Season 3 of the series gave you the sitting on the beach ending that you wrote about here! Good call :)
ReplyDelete