I’ve been meaning to read Outlander for years. Part time travel, part historical fiction, big best seller… it’s also fundamentally a Romance (cough). This last gave me pause, but finally, after checking out the show (to be reviewed later) I bit the bullet.
It’s funny how bestselling series drive against the current of writing “shoulds.” This book is long. It’s detailed. The protagonist is often adrift without clear “motivation” or “agency.” The prose can be highly redundant. There are countless scenes that don’t serve the spine of the plot.
But these “problems” also help make for a good read, and a good read it is. Fundamentally this is a novel about interesting, and well developed (if sometimes problematic) characters, caught in an unusual and fascinating blend of setting and situation.
Setup: It’s 1945 and Claire Randall is a happily married nurse. On holiday in Scotland with her husband, a circle of ancient stones mysteriously teleports her to 1743. Stuck there, she meets and falls in love with sexy highlander Jaime Fraser against the backdrop of the coming Jacobite rising.
This sounds fairly trite, and it is, but the historical detailing of 18th century Scotland is very well done. The author clearly did her research, and she builds a cast of interesting characters and a rather fascinating world on the edge of war. There is an intrinsic tension between Claire’s two lives. Her modern husband isn’t a bad guy at all, even if he lacks Jaime’s manly-man energy. But she finds herself in this new place and in love — so what does she do? This dilemma provides for most of the conflict during the first two thirds of the novel.
Let’s back up and discuss prose and voice. Gabaldon is a good writer. Her prose is energetic and descriptive, often erudite. The voice is completely first person from Claire’s POV. She has an engaging, if a bit overly clinical viewpoint. I had small problems with repetition. Gabaldon often repeats words a sentence later without reason of parallelism and has a tendency to elaborate on a point more than necessary. This is a book where a great deal of the subtext is in the text. Claire spells it out. Sometimes twice. Sometimes thrice. This, by the way, is another of those writing “shoulds.” You’re not supposed to “tell,” but “show” (imply). That’s “better writing.” But as far as I can tell, bestsellers don’t tend to be subtle.
There is a lot of Scottish accented dialog in this book, and it’s very well handled.
Claire’s POV is generally excellent, but it does result in a few issues. Occasionally (particularly in the later part of the novel) some events occur “off screen” (when she isn’t there). Gabaldon then results to gratuitous retellings where other characters relate the event to her in unlikely detail. Occasionally, a briefer recounting leads to some reader confusion. Claire is also hyper aware and overly clinical. As the author likes to handhold us through her thought process, it sometimes feels like exactly this, author handholding rather than genuine cognition. This leads to one of my bigger “motivational gripes” with this generally excellent novel, that Claire often feels fairly selfish and overly analytic. Particularly in the middle of the novel, Claire is nominally still plotting to head back to the future, but this tell feels incongruous with the emotions the author has her “show” toward Jaime.
As I mentioned, the historical details are good. The attitudes of the 18th century men and women are well handled and relatively free of anachronism. Things are properly grungy, sexist, and occasionally brutish. It is occasionally a little odd that Claire herself is not terribly discomforted by this. She points out plenty of good stuff, particularly having to do with justice, medicine, and punishment, but she doesn’t really seem to miss toilets, showers, medical care, comfortable clothes, or well preserved food. Perhaps her life as a nurse during WWII was grungy enough to prepare her. She occasionally mentions discomforts flipply, but less than I’d imagine. She never really complains (or seems to suffer) with regard to food, sleeping in haystacks, or walking barefoot across the chilly Scottish moors.
The time travel element is very light SciFi/Fantasy in this first novel at least, but is used to good effect. There is no mumbo-jumbo explanation to gum things up.
Being a romance, and a fairly erotic one, this is also a novel full of sex. Jaime and Claire go at it like rabbits — and things are often fairly explicit, at least in a literary way. I have no problem with most of this, as it’s actually pretty hot, and I imagine that for many women it’s insanely hot (see, word repeated deliberately for effect!). But there are aspects to the sexuality in this novel that are weird. Two huge ones (spoiler alert):
1) In the middle, after Claire disobeys him, Jaime “punishes” her by strapping her bare ass (to put it bluntly). To tell the truth, his reasoning is perfectly typical by 18th century standards, but comes off as a bit twisted by ours. And some readers will be bothered by the otherwise very spunky Claire’s fairly rapid absolution of her wife-beating lover. In fact, it’s clear that Gabaldon has a bit of a “thing” for corporal punishment as it’s a constant theme in the book. Jaime goes way overboard to emphasize how much hiding her turned him on.
2) More disturbingly, Gabaldon probably isn’t the biggest fan of Homosexuality. The novel’s villain (Black Jack) is not only gay, but she goes to great lengths to integrate his evil tendencies and his sexual proclivities. Otherwise, he’s actually a rather excellent villain, but she goes big time overboard in Jaime’s recounting of the intensely odd and twisted “final hours” between Jaime and the menacing Black Jack. It’s pretty darn nasty and twisted. This, along with a retelling of an older encounter between Jaime and a gay Duke feels like an overzealous attempt to demonize… to quote the novel: “poofters.”
Overall, this is an excellent novel. None are perfect, and it’s engaging throughout. The place/time is vividly depicted, and the characters are boldly executed. Both stay with you — which is no small feat for any author.
Andy Gavin, author of Untimed and The Darkening Dream
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![Outlander: A Novel (Outlander, Book 1) by [Diana Gabaldon]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51PrW27sXWL._SY346_.jpg)
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| Outlander (20th Anniversary Collector's Edition) | OUTLANDER BOX SET | SEVEN STONES TO STAND OR FALL | OUTLANDER COMPANION | THE OFFICIAL OUTLANDER COLORING BOOK | THE EXILE | |
| The first book in the Outlander saga, and the basis for the Starz original series. This special twentieth-anniversary edition features an original essay, a new map, and more. | Blending rich historical fiction with riveting adventure and a truly epic love story, here are the first four books of the epic Outlander series: OUTLANDER DRAGONFLY IN AMBER VOYAGER DRUMS OF AUTUMN | A magnificent collection of Outlander short fiction—including two never-before-published novellas—featuring Jamie Fraser, Lord John Grey, Master Raymond, and many more, from Diana Gabaldon | Perfect for readers of the bestselling Outlander novels—and don’t miss The Outlandish Companion Volume Two! | This spectacular adult coloring book features forty-five all-new illustrations! | This Outlander graphic novel gives readers a fresh look at the events from Jamie Fraser’s point of view, gorgeously rendered by artist Hoang Nguyen. |
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::::POSSIBLE SPOILERS::::It's 1945 and WWll is over. English born Claire Randall (27) is in Scotland with her husband, Frank on a second honeymoon. They haven't seen each other for almost seven years after being married for 6 months before War broke. Now they're trying to get reacquainted and reestablish their marriage. And then Claire is accidentally transported 200 years back in time when she walks through the standing stones at Craigh na Dun, to the year 1743.... and her adventure begins. She is kidnapped by the Clan MacKenzie of Castle Leoch, meets and becomes linked to Jamie Fraser (23)...first due to circumstance, then by friendship, and finally by a startingly deep bodily passion. When the one precious opportunity arrives for Claire to go back to the Twentieth century and to her first husband, Frank.....she simply cannot leave Jamie, who has become her heart, her love and her life, and decides to stay in eighteenth century Scotland.Claire is a nurse by profession and volunteered her service to the WWll effort, with the Royal Army, England. She's acquainted with, and no stranger to, field work and slaughter. She's level headed, completely dedicated and deeply committed to her nursing profession. She's warm, very intelligent and also stubborn and strong willed. She can curse with the best of 'em...she's feisty and full of spunk, pluck and sass. She's also tender hearted and devoted to helping the ill and infirmed...and of course, Jamie Fraser, her beloved.Jamie Fraser is a gallant Scottish warrior. He's brilliant and well educated for his time...courageous and bold, and as far as he's concerned, CLAIRE IS HIS! He's completely devoted to her.This is the third time I've read this Epic 7 book Outlander Saga through the many years and the first time I've taken time to give a review. Like all the other 5★ rave reviews, I can never put this story down once I begin...housework goes to pot and laundry piles up. It holds me completely captive with crippling intensity with all of its emotional structure and profound dimension. The story is so captivating and consuming that I find that I begin to slow my reading down as I see the end looming in sight, hating to let Jamie and Claire go. It never fails. THESE CHARACTERS ARE REAL.. DANG IT!When I read this story, I'm IN Scotland! I mean...I'M THERE! The descriptive detail and narration are so strong, exact and perfect that one cannot help be emotionally invested in little time. You're transported into another world and time...and you're reluctant to return. Diana Gabaldon is brilliant. The absolute best. If you will allow the time, and give the effort to patiently absorb the detailed narration, you will be blessed with the most emotional Saga ever to hold in your hands.
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