Monday, March 29, 2010

An Echo in the Bone, Indeed...

SPOILER ALERT: Dinna read unless you have read chapter 5 in AN ECHO IN THE BONE. 

I don't know how I'm going to get through this book. I tear up constantly when I'm reading about Bree, Roger and the kids at Lallybroch. It started to rain - Roger went to the kitchen to close the windows - and that was it - I was crying... again. The granite counter tops are original??? They are stained with "the juice of currants" and "the blood of game and poultry". Oh. My. GOD. I am a huge fan of genealogy...and family heirlooms... so this part of the book is grabbing me by the heart and pulling me under its spell... and I have no choice but to enjoy the ride.

Do you have any family heirlooms you absolutely love, not because of their monetary worth but because of their emotional worth? I have a guilded mirror with a Victorian bust carved on the top; my husband's great grandfather had it made for his great grandmother. I love that mirror so much because of all the people who have looked into it over the last 100 years. I have a gate leg table that was my great grandmother's...and I smile every time I serve desserts on it.. wondering what my great grandmother served on it all those years ago.

That warm feeling is what I get during every second of Lallybroch. Shannon described the early chapters in Echo as "lounging in your favorite, comfortable chair"... and now I totally get what she means.

9 comments:

  1. I love your sentimentality. It is very sweet. We have a similar mirror and when I think of the years and the people I get choked up. It is one of the reasons I love reading historical fiction. Imagining and revisting. : )

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  2. What did you think about what happened to Mrs. Bug? I'd be very interested to hear your reaction to that. (The first of many things in ECHO that I definitely did NOT see coming :-) )

    Karen

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  3. Not really an heirloom, but my house is 117 years old (built in 1893), and I often think of all the people who've moved in and out and what life was like for them way back when...

    Re: Mrs. Bug--I didn't see that coming either! I definitely had more mixed feelings over her death than I did with Malva. On the one had, she had it coming (lesson learned: dinna ever shoot at one James Alexander Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser and expect to remain unscathed). On the other hand, she was in many ways a likable character whose faults you could kind of forgive b/c they came from a place of grandmotherly concern. Poor Ian: "She was like my grandmother." SOB.

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  4. Oh! I know this entry is more about the things we have in our lives that echo our ancestors. I feel a little like Jamie in that regard- I don't have much in my life like that. Of course, there are things that we do in our family that we've always done - that's an echo from the past, too. But to think of something like Lallybroch, that Bree got to see in its heyday with Jenny at the helm and also see brought to life again with herself as Jamie Fraser's heir, returned to be the head of lallybroch! I love it.

    And, re: Mrs. Bug, I really felt for this storyline! I was SO TOUCHED to see Ian's grief. Ian, who had to lose not one family but two, in his own family and Emily as well, losing a third family in the loss of Mrs. Bug and the end of that way of life on the Ridge. SO SAD! So amazing how DG highlights that the hubris and pride of men in things like gold cost us all more than the gold was ever worth! As tracey said, SOB!

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  5. I'm so glad I found someone who loves these books as much as I do. I discovered Outlander about 8 years ago, and have read each book as it has come out. From what I gathered, you and your friend have discovered them more recently and have had the luxury of reading them in a row. Nice! I just finished Echo two nights ago, and I am lost...desperately lonely for Claire's voice. It's sad really. Love your videos, btw. Great discussions - wish I was sitting there with you!

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  6. I'm Pam, btw. Nelson, my husband, and I have a blog of movies we've rented and watched, moviewatchers-nelson-n-pam.blogspot.com.

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  7. Thanks Cathy - I am too sentimental. The Lallybroch stuff makes me break into tears. Good tears - but tears none the less!

    Welcome Nelson and Pam!! A few of us were JUST SAYING THAT the other day - that we are so happy we were able to put one book down - and pick up another right away. I dinna know WHAT I will do when I am finished the series! I feel your pain!! Anyway - we're glad to have you - and I'll check out your website!

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  8. And PS - Karen - I just blogged about Mrs. Bug. I canna believe I forgot! I get so excited when I'm reading - and I want to stop and blog every five minutes - and I force myself NOT to because I'll never read if I keep blogging! But then I forget to blog about everything! I ended ABOSAA without mentioning the Bugs and the gold, too! Insanity on my part!

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  9. Hi, Carol! I loved this post! I was reading Chapter 5 and feeling so envious of Bree and Roger that they get to live at Lallybroch... With those countertops! I love genealogy too and I LOVE the time travel aspect of these books ! It seems like when you research an ancestor you somehow can get a sense of their personality and I've often thought how AWESOME it'd be to get to go back and meet them and hear their voice and talk to them. The closest I come to that is looking at a census from, say, 1910 and thinking that the person taking the info was face to face with my ancestor!

    I have a little tilt-top table that was my great grandmother's and some silver engraved napkin rings that were my great grandfather's and while they're not worth a lot monetarily, their intrinsic value is priceless!!

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