Outlander
by Diana Gabaldon
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Book Reviews of Outlander
Book Review: Adore this book, don't want a movie
Summary: 5 Stars
What can I say about this book that hasn't been said by over a thousand other people? Like some, I heard mention of this book and how good it was, so when I came across it at the bookstore, I picked it up and went home and put it on my bookshelf. I think it sat there for months before I finally picked it up and decided to read it. I don't know what took me so long to read it. The first 50 or so pages didn't really lure me in as much as the rest of the book did. Once I got a couple chapters in, I knew I was addicted.
Sure, some (okay, a lot) of the scenes are quite graphic. And the big horribly graphic scene at the prison, I had to put the book down a couple times and do something else knowing what was coming and I just didn't want to read it. It was painful to get through, but I did it and moved on.
The love between Jamie and Claire sometimes brought tears to my eyes and I can only hope that I find my match as Claire did. And I know this may sound weird, but I loved it when they fought (minus when he beat her the one time). Their fights were so intense, but you could see they were filled with passion and it brought them closer to each other each time.
After finishing the first book, I immediately picked up the second one in the series. Since then, however, due to the seriousness and heaviness, I found that in between books, I had to pick up a light hearted book to bring me back down before picking up the next one. In fact, I think I've been ruined for other time travel romances after reading this series because I just read A Knight in Shining Armor and found myself comparing it to Jamie and Claire. I have just started the 4th book in the series today and am already not looking forward to reading the 6th book knowing the 7th isn't coming out until next year.
For those who are looking forward to a movie, I'm not so much. I would much rather read this book 10 times than see the movie and have it ruin all the scenes I have seen in my head and I don't think any actor could live up to the Jamie I've created in my mind. I'm happy with the book.
Book Review: I wanted to like this book
Summary: 2 Stars
On a short trip and looking for a book to read at Target, I picked up "A Breath of Snow and Ashes" which is apparently the 6th book in this series. I didn't realize I was buying a book as part of a series, which was my mistake. Still, I tried to read it and didn't get very far for obvious reasons.
Since I enjoy long series I decided that I'd go back and start from the first book. I tried and tried to make it through. My second mistake was hoping this would be even sort of like A Song of Ice and Fire or Erikson's Malazan books. Not even close. My main problem is that a big part of enjoying a book is that the characters act realistically. I cannot get over how apathetic the main character seems to act towards the fact that she has traveled 200 years back in time. It's like something that happens every day to her. I expect panic. I expect her to be terrified, not for 5 minutes, but for every second until she figures out how to get back to her own time.
On top of that, this book is BORING. Nothing happens. She doctors people, she eats meals, she talks to some people....that's it. I made it to page 265. I stopped two times before that, not wanting to admit to myself that I'd wasted money not only on this book but on its 5th sequel, which I'll never read. But at page 265, after she's wed and bedded a stranger from 200 years previous, that was enough for me. At that point I wondered, ok I've read 265 pages, when does the story start? I still didn't have a clue what the actual story of this book was. There is no meat. There is no conflict (yet). She doesn't seem to care too much about getting back to her own time so I don't either.
I also don't like the author's tone. She goes out of her way to make her heroin "witty" and it just comes off as corny. People don't talk like this!
Despite all this, I do care enough to wonder if she ever makes it back to her own time, if she's eventually able to travel back and forth between two different times, etc. There's all sorts of potential. Obviously a ton of people like it. I guess it's just not for me.
Book Review: Outlander
Summary: 4 Stars
Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon
I was hoping to post a review of this last friday, but I underestimated just how long it would take me to read it. I knew from the start that it was 850 pages, but it took me much longer than it should have; it was an extremely slow read.
Claire, an englishwoman, served as a nurse during World War 2, but now she is content with just being a housewife to her husband Frank, who has an odd obsession with his own genealogy. Which happens to be why they're in that specific area of England at the beginning of the book.
One day whilst she is out inspecting a standing circle of stones (much like Stonehenge), she falls through a crack in one of the stones, which also happens to be a crack in time.
When she comes to on the other side, she finds herself 200 years in the past and caught in a struggle between some Scottish Highlanders and an English Captain (who just happens to be her husband's predecessor). The Scots think she's an English spy, and the English think she's a spy for the French.
She makes her way as a doctor, and gets accused of witchcraft for her troubles. She flees with the help of her husband (her new one, Jaime), who happens to be wanted by the English for murder. Of course, he gets caught and ends up in an English prison, from where she must free him.
Really, the author was trying to do waaaay too much with this book, especially since its part of a series. Not only that, but the book contained all kinds of unnecessary filler; a full third of the book could have been removed without sacrificing any of the story. That's really my only complaint, though. The story itself was pretty interesting, it was just so slow that I would find my attention wandering; especially in the first 150-200 pages.
Memorable Quote:
We have nothing now between us, save--respect, perhaps. And I think that respect has maybe room for secrets, but not for lies.
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Book Review: Thoroughly enjoyed it. It transported me...enriched me
Summary: 5 Stars
I rarely write reviews although I read quite a few books, but this book compelled to take the time to write. I found Outlander to be a book that kept me completely absorbed throughout its 850 pages, and the characters and love story have stayed with me since I finished it. I would like to address some of the criticisms that I have read from other reviewers.
The book is written from the first person point of view which actually frustrated me a little during the first 150 pages or so. The source of my frustration came from the fact that the author does not freely give the reader all the thoughts in the protagonist's head - motivations, logical reasoning, etc. I was often left wondering "why is Claire doing that" or such. Later in the book though, also after adapting to this style of writing, I found most of my questions were answered. More importantly, I came to the realization that the way the author presented Claire's reasoning and thoughts regarding her actions/words, was more realistic because I believe seldom do individuals know precisely all the reasons for their actions/words. Life unfolds and evolves, and individuals often act on intuition, and reason later. My bit of frustration was replaced with a feeling of relatedness, a recognizable parallel with my own way of thinking and acting.
The love story between Claire and Jamie is beautiful. I enjoyed its evolution and felt the building passion and emotion between them both. I do not agree with the reviewers who believe there was no chemistry between Claire and Jamie. There was tension and forces which made the evolution to revealing each of their feelings to one another very difficult, but that is what made it so special to me. I am totally in love with Jamie, and as corny as it sounds, have been daydreaming about his character quite regularly. I find myself sort of smug that I married a man who has ancestral roots from one of the Scottish clans. Jamie is a true hero (as is Claire).
I cannot wait to start reading the next installment!
Book Review: Wayyyy Enjoyable!
Summary: 5 Stars
Originally published in the early 1990's, I was introduced to Gabaldon's Outlander in 1998 and quickly bought all of the subsequent books. I am a fan! Rereading this book has been a summer treat. I easily read its 850 pages in a couple days.
The joy of reading this book is the author's effectiveness as a storyteller. She has created characters who I want to meet taking action, getting into situations, and having experiences in which I am interested. And it is all set in one of my favorite areas of the world, the Scottish Highlands.
Claire, the main character, is an experienced field nurse fresh off the fields of France at the end of World War II. Jamie is a Scottish clansman with a penchant for nobility and trouble - and born some two hundred years before Claire. They meet when Claire stumbles through time from a circle of large stones near Inverness.
The era Claire and Jamie share is the period leading up to the return of Bonnie Prince Charlie to Scotland. The Scottish Clans are in regular contention with English soldiers, cattle-stealing is a semi-honorable pastime, one's tartan declares one's heritage, and the smell of peaty single malt saturates the evenings.
And, as it says on the cover of the 2009 Special Dell Mass Market Edition, "Within these pages ..., you will find it all....history, warfare, medicine, sex, violence, spirituality, honor, betrayal, vengeance, hope and despair, relationships, the building and destruction of families and societies, time travel, moral ambiguity, swords, herbs, horses, gambling, voyages of daring, journeys of both body and soul....".
Gabaldon has written six more books in this series - and a couple of other books highlighting other characters from the original series. I monitor her website to find out when I can get my next Claire and Jamie fix. If you are new to the series and get hooked, I envy you the hours of reading enjoyment that you have a head of you! (This review initially written for Luxury Reading's website.)