SPOILER ALERT: Dinna read unless you've read Chapter 31 in AN ECHO IN THE BONE.
Here's my watered-down consolidation of Chapter 31 in An Echo in the Bone:So we were on the ship, sailing to Scotland, and we were boarded by a ship. And they were really mean. And Jamie got in a big fight and I woke up on another ship. And then we sailed that ship for a while and then another ship came along and started firing at us. And I fell on the bare wood and then I got up and fell again and then again and then I fainted and I woke up in the hold on the other ship. And then when we were on that ship, another ship started firing at us and they put me back down in the hold and then they fired again and then I fell on the floor and a nice kid who was helping me fell on the floor and then we both fell on the floor. And then we went above and I tried to take care of everyone because I'm a doctor and that's what I do, damnit. Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ! Here comes another ship.
There. That's where I am now and apparently have been for days, much to the chagrin of my sister, Tracey who is almost finished Echo (actually she may have finished last night.) I have tried to warn her repeatedly that she should slow down - because once she finishes, there is no new Jamie Fraser for another 2+ years. But - alas - she isna listening. Echo is so damn good she canna stop, ken?
I'll keep you posted. I'm going back the ship now. Any ship. Whatever ship is nearby - that's where I'll be.
Not finished yet. On p. 761--chapter 90. Thought I would finish last night but I went out and when I got home was so tired that I didn't even read.
ReplyDeleteI expect to finish tonight. HOW CAN I NOT???? But I do understand Carol's point of view--I want to finish but at the same time I'm dreading it. I honestly dinna know what my reaction will be.
Carol - one thing to keep in mind about that very long chapter 31 is that Diana says she purposely wrote it in such a way to make the readers feel exhausted and confused, so they would identify with Jamie and Stebbings' state at the end of the chapter. So, if you are feeling worn out or overwhelmed with the number of characters, ships, plotlines to keep track of, that's actually what Diana intended. :-) This chapter does get easier to make sense of on re-reading.
ReplyDeleteKaren
Tracey:
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you're almost done! When you finish the book, please feel free to come over to Compuserve and share your reactions. I guarantee you will want to talk about the ending in detail, long before Carol catches up with you. :-)
Karen
I remember that being a confusing chapter ... who's coming, who's going, this captain, that captain. It is a bit of a relief to know that DG actually intended it to be that way and that it wasn't just me, which is what I thought.
ReplyDeleteTracey, if you feel the need to discuss where you are in Echo and what you're reading now, I'd be happy to listen and chat with you via email if you'd like or by some other means. I feel your plight about wanting to finish, not wanting to finish ... it's torture. :)
Happy reading to the both of you.
I, too, tried to read Echo slowly, but the last 150 pages MAKE you read fast, I swear! Stay strong, Carol!
ReplyDeleteTracey - no, there's no specific thread for newbies in Diana's section of the Compuserve forum. Just post whatever you like, where it seems appropriate to you. We get new people posting there all the time. Hope to see you there soon!
ReplyDeleteKaren
OMG I am with you Tracey. I truly dreaded finishing Echo. I had such mixed feelings - wanting to draw it out, but unable to stop :-( I also had some major mixed feelings about DG's choices in Echo - the ultra-long and confusing chapter is one of the things that I wasna so on board with. I think there are different techniques you can use to take the reader on that ride - and other ways that DG did it in her earlier books. But either way, this is the way she wrote it so I'm not complaining anymore. Uh oh I think I see another ship....
ReplyDeleteI was worried I had lost my Outlander mojo when reading this chapter. Try as I might I kept loosing my concentration and I felt like I should have my Outlander Addict status stripped. Oh Captain My Captain! -- Still don't understand why Jamie grabbed the post to show his back?? Did I miss the boat?
ReplyDeleteI actually really liked the boat chapter (I think I'm in the minority!)--I thought it was a return to the old-fashioned page-turning "what's going to happen next" J/C.
ReplyDeleteRe: Jamie's back--I just thought he did that so that they wouldn't fire on whatever ship they were currently on--the scars would make them less threatening.