Review: Outlander

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Summary

Most people dream of a love that transcends time and space; Claire Randall and Jamie Fraser have found it. But with every force of man and nature fighting it, can this love survive?

On a second honeymoon in 1945, British nurse, Claire Randall, unwittingly walks through an ancient stone circle and travels back in time, to 1743. She leaves behind a loving husband, a job she enjoys, and a comfortable 20th-century existence, and finds herself in the midst of skirmishing Scottish clans, brutal British captains, and the hardships of a life in the 18th century. But she also finds a love that surpasses any she's ever known, in the arms of Jamie Fraser. This youthful laird and soldier has experienced more grief and hardship by the age of twenty than most people encounter in a lifetime, but his capacity for love has only strengthened with each loss or difficulty. With ageless wisdom and compassion borne of suffering, Jamie leads his clan through turbulent times, even as he battles his own inner demons. When these two strongwilled personalities collide, first fury, then passion ensues, but it seems as if every force in the universe is determined to tear them apart. The plot takes you on a roller coaster of emotions, and you won't want to put the book down until you have learned what happens to Claire and Jamie.



My Impressions

"Outlander" was recommended to me by a friend. After the first two chapters, I was ready to put the book down for good. It put me to sleep! I couldn't see where it was going, and the setup details just seemed tedious. But I am so glad I kept reading, because once the action kicks in, it never stops! This is Harry Potter for adults, a series hat captures your imagination and draws you into its world. A sweeping historical romance set in the Scottish highlands, "Outlander" boasts heartstopping action, plot twists that could cause whiplash, lovable multidimensional characters, gorgeous scenery, danger, romance, intrigue, suspense, even a bit of magic. It's a lengthy novel, the first in a series of seven, but you'll be glad of the length, once you come to know Claire and Jamie.



My caution to any potential reader is that the book gets extremely violent in a few places. The violence is necessary to the plot though; it brings a depth to the characters that couldn't be accomplished any other way. If it is possible for brutality to be described as tasteful, Diana Gabaldon has succeeded with "Outlander." The violence is disturbing, it is gut-wrenchin, but it is a part of life lived, not sensational and unnecessary scenes thrown into the book for shock value.



If possible, I'd recommend listening to "Outlander" as an audio book, because the narrator has a wonderful Scottish accent that brings the characters to life. I prefer to read rather than be read to, but this is one series where I believe that hearing the novel read aloud doubles the impact of the experience.



Rating

"Outlander" gets five stars for many reasons, but the top one on my list is compelling characters. Claire and Jamie become real people--beautiful, courageous, sometimes selfish, and frustrating. There are no one-dimensional characters here, not even those who play a minor role in the novel. My second reason for the five-star rating is the craftsmanship of the "Outlander" story! It is literally unforgettable! After I finish a book in the series, I will walk around for the next week, thinking in a Scottish accent. Diana Gabaldon weaves elements of romance, science fiction, magic, time travel, and history together in an incredible tapestry of storytelling, so that you think about the book and its characters long after the last page. She works some extremely far-fetched elements into a fabric of reality so vivid that it ceases to feel like fiction, and instead reads more like a biography. Finally, this book allows for so many levels of enjoyment. You can simply escape into the story, you can study the well-researched history of eighteenth-century Scotland, or you can ponder such philosophical realms as love, religion, bravery, and betrayal.



Recommendation

This is not a book for children, and because of some of the graphic violence and descriptions of sex, it is not even a book for teens. But any adult who loves an exquisitely told love story, history, sci-fi/fantasy, or all of the above, will call this a classic. Skim the first two chapters if you have to; just be sure you read this book!



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