Book Review :: Outlander

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

My Rating: 5/5 stars (for both the original and the reread)

There are things that I canna tell you, at least not yet. And I'll ask nothing of ye that ye canna give me. But what I would ask of ye---when you do tell me something, let it be the truth. And I'll promise ye the same. We have nothing now between us, save---respect, perhaps. And I think that respect has maybe room for secrets, but not for lies. Do ye agree?

Claire Beauchamp is on her second honeymoon in Scotland with her husband when she falls through a pair of standing stones back through time to 1743.  Arriving in what she thinks is a movie set, Claire is quickly acquainted with Black Jack Randall, a distant ancestor of her husband, Frank, a marauding band of Scots and Jamie Fraser.  Part of a series, the book follows the increasingly intertwined lives of these characters from one end of Scotland to the other, and still farther afield as they strive to save their lives, their families, and Scotland as a whole.

I love everything about these books, Outlander in particular, the things I hate, I love because of it.  Gabaldon doesn't write fluffy fiction.  It's beautifully rendered and above all else real.  It is at times dark (read: sadistic and violent) and gritty, with humor and heartfelt emotion interspersed.  She doesn't shy away from violence or hardship, yet neither is it gratuitous or convenient.  Her characters are multifaceted, changeable and prone to fits of strong emotion.  Even those, charming and sadistic by turns, can be redeemed and reviled in equal parts.

There is no real through plot within Outlander, the plot wanders with the characters, yet at no time does it feel aimless or directionless, rather the plot folds into itself, tying up subplots and slowly revealing other avenues to explore.  The character development is much the same, unfurling along with the narrative, opinions and voices changing as the story continues.

The relationship between Jamie and Claire is particularly interesting to me.  Watching them grow, together and apart, watching the way their interaction and their inner-motivation changes, particularly as it's revealed to the other, is what I find most compelling.  Particularly when comparing Outlander to Voyager, a later book in the series, the differences in the two of them are compelling.

My only real complaint in regard to Outlander is that Gabaldon does too good of a job turning my stomach at a couple of points in the latter part of the book.  During my reread I almost jumped out of my skin when I was interrupted.

Hands down, the writing itself is superb, so, if you're looking for a well-written historical fiction book, particularly one that's not heavy on the formulaic romance or a book with strong, realistic characters, consider picking up Outlander.  If you're squeamish, unwilling to give a book some latitude on the first read through, or prefer books with a strong centrally driven plot you may want to pass.