Outlander
by Diana Gabaldon
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Book Reviews of Outlander
Book Review: The book by which I judge all others
Summary: 5 Stars
I first found this book by accident close to 20 years ago. My local (miniscule) library had a very poor selection and I'd read practically every book of interest they had on the shelves. I lived a good distance from the library and was looking for books that might last a while to save me a trip every other day. Cross Stitch was newly published and was FAT in hardback. That'll do for me I thought! I read the inside cover and thought it sounded dubious, but it was FAT......so it came home with me.
It was the best book I could have stumbled across. Regardless of how lengthy it was, I tore though it in record time because it's just the best tale EVER. I love this book so much. It's the book by which I judge all others.
For something that is obviously so far fetched, it just seems so real. The descriptions of characters, events and surroundings are so fleshed out as to make you feel as if you are right there with it all. That's what makes this book (and all the others that follow) so readable, it's all to easy to fall into the pages and lose yourself.
The worst part about the books for me was the 2 year wait between each! It helped that I live within driving distance of all of the Scottish places mentioned in the book and spent many a happy day trawling round the settings, soaking up the atmosphere. I've lost count of the Close's in Edinburgh that I've peered into, looking for 'the' print shop :D
I have gone back to these books again and again over the years and they never fail to entertain me. I recommend these to everyone I come across that asks for book recommendations and have yet to hear that the books were not liked. Sometimes I feel that there couldn't be anyone left that hasn't read this series because I tell so many people about them! "Pssst! *LOOKS LEFT.... LOOKS RIGHT* ....Wanna read a book?!"
I wholeheartedly reccommend these books and if you're curious about the unabridged audio version , get it! Davina Porter does a wonderful job of narrating.
Book Review: Excellent Story -Violent Scenes Unsettling,Thought Provoking
Summary: 4 Stars
A co-worker at the bookstore I work at recommended Outlander to me. I read it and throughly enjoyed it. The prose is lush, the characters are excellent and I love Claire's sense of self and strength. It's a good solid read. It is however very violent in spots. BE WARNED: there is a very contriversal scene in which Jamie, angered at the fact that Claire has disobeyed him and in doing so threatened the llives of his clan, beats her violently. She fights him back and it escelates into an all out brawl between the two. Several interviews with Diana Gabaldon find her explaining that scene, saying that it served to illustrate the character and time differences between the two. I can see her point (the idea that women were not property in 18th century Scotland was radical at best) and can see where Jamie and Claire would find themselves at an impasse. However, I wondered if it wouldn't send a subtle message to women that abuse is "romantic" when seen in this lavish contest. Beating is still beating if it happens in 18th century or in the 20th. Claire does tell him that it's not like that in the 20th century and if he ever beats her again she's "disembowel him with his sword". THAT I liked. True to their understanding, he never does again. After reading that scene I was amazed at the fact that I repected Gabaldon as a writer because she deals with an abusive situation, works through it and expells it. How many other "romance" novels are there where the woman is abducted, raped and abused by the man and then "surrenders her heart" or some other nonsense? In those books, a romanticized abuse IS the plotline. In this scene, Gabaldon bravely and disturbingly presents a conceivable situation between a man raised in the 18th century and a modern, liberated woman. If you can swallow that scene, it IS an excellent story with some wonderfully realistic and romantic scenes. Love it or hate it, you won't remain untouched by Outlander.Book Review: If you love Harlequin romances, you will hate this!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is categorized as a romance novel. However, it lacks flashy, shallow characters, overwhelming and irrational love/hate clashes between people who are completely incompatible and wont last a minute outside the sheets, and a weak plot that doesn't get beyond "melting" and "exploding". What this book is (and the rest of the series) is a richly detailed historical fiction novel that revolves around two central characters, Claire and Jamie, and their enduring delight in each other that survives both day-to-day drudgery and the trauma that occurs in life. There are romantic interludes, sexual encounters, sword fights, family disputes, great characters, laugh-out-loud exchanges, loves, hates,fears, loyalties, exhibitions of integrity, and realistic, real people issues given to us by an educated author with an extremely perceptive eye for human nature and a devotion to detail. All the books in this series are fabulous. From the darkest of psychological trauma (post-rape, post-torture traumatic stress [Outlander])to the light-heartedness of the humor following a life-threatening experience (the Indians making fun of Claire for accidentally smacking Jamie in the head with a fish while trying to help him fight the bear {Drums of Autumn]) to the tenderness between Claire and Jamie both before and after their separation, Gabaldon's books take a sometimes very raw look at human nature while entertaining the reader with an intriguing story line and lots of action. And it's been a long time since I laughed so hard while reading a book. I hate time travel books, but I make a notable exception for this series. Try it, you'll like it. Even my husband is reading this series.
(For Gabaldon's nod to typical fluffy sappy romance books, see the third installment in the series (Voyager) where Claire recalls an incident reading a romance novel in the hospital while relaxing from the stresses from work. It will make you fall out of your seat laughing.)
Book Review: Time Well Spent......
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is a time commitment....this series is a HUGE time commitment, but I feel after reading it that it was so worth the time spent reading it.
This is an epic tale of an unlikely romance between a married ex- army nurse transported back in time and a Scottish Warrior. I am usually not a huge time travel reader, but this time travel story "makes sense" in a strange way and you are so "swept away" by the adventure, romance, and characters that you are gobbling up every chapter, taking deep breaths between each story line, and are emotionally drained and then reinvigorated over and over.
Although this is certainly a romance novel...it is really so much more. This one is very difficult to put into any genre because it's story line spans across many genres. A great many men have read this and recommend it....romance lover's recommend it, fiction lover's recommend it, adventure lover's recommend it, science fiction lover's recommend it....check out the reviews...there really should be no doubt when it comes to the appeal this book has.
Jamie is one of the most highly developed characters that I've ever read. He is what made this novel excellent for me. It is difficult to describe, but the way that Gabaldon gradually and yet so completely reveals Jamie to the reader is absolutely spellbinding.
Claire is "spunky" to say it lightly. I enjoyed her character immensely. The way she adapts to her new life and time period was very interesting to watch and the love between her and Jaime is absolutely all consuming and oh so real. I thought as I was reading "So this is what real love is!", and I meant it. Very few couples display that concept in such pure ways. It is moving and beautiful.
I am hooked. Outlander ends so nicely and completely that you wouldn't necessarily have to continue on with the series, but after reading this I guarantee that you'll want to.
Book Review: The first book in the Outlander saga
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm always intimidated by books that are more than 600 pages. At that point, I start to think to myself that I could read TWO books in the time it would take me to finish this one. But Outlander is one of those books that you really can't call yourself a romance lover unless you've tackled, so I decided to go there over the holiday weekend. And it was a pleasant endeavor. The thing I liked most about Outlander is that I didn't feel that a word in the 850 pages was wasted. It's one thing to read a book that's 600 pages, that would have been better if it had been 400, but Gabaldon seemed to realize the importance of making things count. The relationship between Claire and Jamie is meticulously detailed, the settings are outlined so richly that you can see in your head what's happening, and the emotion is captivated with a voice that I won't forget. This book is a romance staple for a reason--it makes you love the hero and heroine. I fell in love with Jamie a thousand times over the course of this novel, and while Claire made me angry at times, I liked her for loving him, accepting him, and taking care of him. There were so many sigh-worthy moments and times when I had to stop reading just to let a particular piece of the story sink in that reading this book was like drinking a fine wine--I savored it, taking my time, and only continuing when I was ready. That being said, I probably won't read the next books in the series. Outlander was, at times, heart-wrenching, and that's usually not my thing. Seeing a strong man broken is not something that I enjoy, even if he's put back together again, and I don't know that I can do it again. I'd recommend Outlander to anyone who enjoys richly told stories with intricate characters and lots of emotion. However, if you like traditional happy endings, and things that work out perfectly, I don't know that you should risk it.