Can the Past be Changed? (Dragonfly in Amber - Diana Gabaldon)

Member Name: Kukana

Product:	Dragonfly in Amber - Diana Gabaldon
Date:	10/09/06 (184 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Exciting, well-researched, realistic

Disadvantages: Confusing for anyone who hasnt read 'Cross Stitch'

Bonnie Prince Charlie! That name conjures up many different images in people's minds. Was he a great romantic hero whose army was tragically defeated, or a self-centred power-seeker who cared little for his men?

We shall never know for certain, but reading the book Dragonfly in Amber', I began at last to get an idea of what life could have been like for the Scottish armies in the 1740s, and the reasons why so many people followed the young prince into the ill-fated battle of Culloden.

This novel is actually the story of Clare and Jamie Fraser, sequel to the book 'Cross Stitch'. But it's not a straightforward historical novel: Clare was born in the 20th century and accidentally went back 200 years in time in the first novel, so the conditions and people of 18th century Scotland are seen from the perspective of someone not unlike ourselves. It's a clever device, and one I found very effective. I don't usually read books that centre on armies and battles, but I've found both these books gripping.

'Dragonfly in Amber' begins in 1968, with Clare back in the 20th century visiting Scotland with her grown-up daughter Brianna. Clare commissions a young historian called Roger to do some research for her, and then - after several chapters - sits down to tell him and Brianna her story. Until this point Brianna had no idea that her mother had been back in time, or that her father was from 200 years previously.

So the bulk of the book is a continuation of 'Cross Stitch', beginning with Clare and Jamie in France, where they had fled after his life was in danger at the end of the first novel. Clare is well aware of the horrors to come with Culloden, where thousands of Scots are to be slaughtered, and hopes that they might somehow be able to thwart Prince Charlie"s attempt to regain the Scottish crown.

I had mixed feelings reading this book. The opening chapters seemed to me rather disjointed, not helped by switches between first person and third person narration. Brianna is a rather flat character so it was difficult for me to relate to her, and there were some anachronisms that were mildly irritating. These weren't in the main historical section, which was excellently researched, but in the early part of the book when the author (who is American) slipped up more than once in her use of English. For instance she has characters talk about a 'geyser' in the bathroom, rather than a boiler.

Had I not previously read 'Cross Stitch', I think I might have given up. However I was eager to know what happened to Jamie and Clare, and most of all what had persuaded Clare to return to the 20th century. For theirs was an incredible romance - deeply-rooted, strong and passionate, despite entirely different backgrounds and upbringings.

Besides, Jamie is a fascinating character, albeit a typecast hero: well over 6 foot tall, handsome, generous, erotic and powerful.

I found the answers to my questions, and learned a great deal about life amongst Scottish armies as well. On the whole, as with the first book, the goriness and horrors were described lightly. There was enough description to make me aware of what was going on, yet not sufficient to give me nightmares. All except for one section, which I could not even bring myself to read after the first paragraph. This was the detailed and vivid description of what it meant to be 'hung, drawn and quartered' - the terrible punishment awaiting traitors. I had previously assumed that the quartering took place after the victim had died. But apparently (even without reading the majority of the description) this process was only carried out by expert executioners and was designed to cause the maximum agony for the longest possible time.

Other than this - which seemed to me quite unecessary - I was able to read of stabbings and other deaths without too much emotional involvement. Inevitably Culloden was going to happen. The idea of altering history has often been proposed in science fiction books, but any such changes always seem to bring about even worse consequences. There are many other more minor threads of this sort lying through the book too: what happens to people in the 20th century if their ancestors die unnaturally early? What changes happen if Clare (who is a 'healer', well-versed in herbalism) saves the life of someone who would otherwise have died?

The author deals with these problems satisfactorily, I felt, in a down-to-earth kind of way. I'm not a huge fan of time-travel books in general, but there was really no science fiction element at all in this novel.

It took me over two weeks to read it, and I'm quite a fast reader. It's nearly 1000 pages, and I didn't find it exciting enough to abandon everything else and read continuously, at least not until I got to the last 100 pages. However, when I reached the section about Clare returning to the 20th century, and the reactions of Brianna and Roger to her story, I was utterly gripped! The ending of the book was excellent with an unexpected final cliffhanger that ensured I went straight ahead and bought the third book in the series, 'Voyager'.

Three stars for the first section, four for the middle, five for the last. So an average of four. If this kind of book interests you, I would highly recommend reading 'Cross Stitch' beforehand, as I think it would be very confusing trying to read this one first. There are too many events that are referred to, which would not make sense without the background of 'Cross Stitch'. There's not too much repetition of the previous book, which was good from my perspective (flashbacks of that sort can become tedious), but it does mean that it really has to be read as a sequel.

Published in paperback in 1994 by Arrow, 'Dragonfly in Amber' costs £6.39 from Amazon UK, or £5.99 from Play.com, postage free in Europe.

Summary: Romance, history, drama: sequel to 'Cross Stitch'.