Pretty much everyone knows about Outlander by now, because of the T.V. show that aired on August of 2014 based on Diana Gabaldon's book. By now, you've most likely heard about the raving and hype about them, too. So now, you're probably wondering: Is this book really any good? Is Outlander another one of those over-hyped books that's actually bad? Is Jamie Fraser really that hot? Well, let's find out! |
Outlander is about a woman named Claire Randall who arrives with her husband, Frank, to Scotland, in 1945, for a second honeymoon after being apart for 5 years due to the World War II. When Claire visits the standing stones at Craigh na Dun, she is thrown back in time to 1743, an era where war between the Jacobites and the British arm is imminent.
Desperate to return to her own time and her husband, Claire becomes determined to do whatever she must to get back to Craigh na Dun. But, to her surprise, she finds herself becoming attached to the people of that time and a handsome young Scot, Jamie Fraser. Torn between these two men in her lives, Claire must make a decision that will change her life forever.
Interesting yet? Trust me, it's totally worth your time! I loved every single minute of Outlander and couldn't put it down.
My thoughts: *I had a great time reading Outlander, especially as it was in Claire's POV through the entire book. To some readers, that fact may seem boring, but I assure you, Claire is such a fantastic character to read from. She's witty, stubborn, and quite modern for the 18th century (especially how women were supposed to act and speak). One of the major attributes that I loved about Claire (and Gabaldon's writing) was the immense detail give to us about Claire's knowledge and experience of being a nurse. Even when Claire went on describing the steps taken in a medical procedure, or even talking about anything having to do with her practice, I was not bored - not for a single moment. Gabaldon explained these situations so professionally and impressively well that I even enjoyed reading about Claire's "dalliance's" in exploring her work. *I previously mentioned about Gabaldon's increasingly detailed descriptions throughout Outlander. I am seriously not joking. This book was 850 pages long - there were an abundance of details, and I think rightly so. You could obviously tell that Gabaldon did extensive research whilst |
Gabaldon goes into the struggle of how many Scotsmen fought for King/Prince Stuart to regain his rightful throne, the sacrifices and trials that many Scotsmen faced for just being Scots, even. She puts so much emotion and turmoil (mental and physical) in this book - yes, I did cry, many times - that you also sympathize with these men who - as history has shown - have no success. This was definitely another good and solid reason to pick up Outlander; Gabaldon just simply goes above and beyond herself in giving us accurate details as possible and the intense emotions you feel (and should feel) during the struggles of this book.
*The next thing I also found interesting was the Dialogue: Gabaldon has no match when it comes to dialogue. She rips your heart to pieces, makes you laugh, brings you to frustration, with the realistic conversations she makes with the characters when they speak to one another. Truly, it is a complete form of art - as is all writing around the world, with different authors, but Gabaldon endears you to her books even more with her realistic and deep dialogue, especially between Jamie and Claire.
"You're no verra sensible, Sassenach, but I like ye fine. Let's go.” - Jamie Fraser, Outlander
“If ye loved him, he must ha' been a good man."
"Yes, he...was."
- Outlander "Then I shall do my best to honor his spirit by serving his wife.”
- I know this is very cliché, but I loved her relationship with Jamie. Don't get me wrong, this was not an insta-love story, but you could definitely feel the tension of something more between them. Even when their circumstances advanced to something more (trying not to give spoilers), their relationship surprised me even more when they spent most of their time learning about one another; building that trust between them.
- One other strong relationship that Claire had throughout Outlander was with her husband - Frank Randall. Even though a few months had passed since she'd last seen him, she never gave up on returning to him. She remained faithful to the very end. Claire was so devoted that she constantly worried for him, guessing at the agony he might be in over her disappearance. She didn't immediately fall for another man, even though returning home seemed pretty bleak in many of the situations, and, in this aspect, I felt that that made the book more realistic and endearing.
- Another major character was Jack ("Black Jack") Randall, a Captain in the British army. He was, literally, the villain, I mean, there was no way around it. He was a very dark and brooding character (not in the bad guy sexy way, but more in the psychotic mental way) in Outlander. Of course, he was also influenced by the differences between Scotland and Britain, so that didn't help his brutalization of Scotland's people, and it doesn't excuse it either, but his character gives insight to what we might mistake as a hero (because that is what he was thought to be to Frank (Jack Randall's descendant). There isn't enough I can tell you about him without giving away spoilers, so I'll leave it up to you to define him once you've read Outlander.
- There were many other characters that formed quite a bond with Claire, such as Jenny, Jamie's sister, who became quite close to Claire as a best friend and family member. Jenny was very practical. I loved her attitude and the strength of her personality. She was quite the force to be reckoned with.
- One last character that really impacted this book was Dougal MacKenzie, War Chief of the Clan MacKenzie and brother of the Laird, Colum MacKenzie, he was definitely a mastermind character. He was studiously diligent in aiding Prince Stuart in the war and even going against his own Laird and brother's wishes in the matter. He was also strategically manipulative, he always made decisions with a reason. He was quite the calculative character, but I enjoyed his personality nonetheless (even though I wanted to kill him some other times too).
I give Outlander 5 out of 5 stars
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Have you read Outlander? What did you think about it? Which character did you like most? Let me know down below in the comments! No spoilers please! Thank you.