Outlander by Diana Gabaldon Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Outlander
Book Review: A True Literary Classic
Summary: 5 Stars
I first found Diana Gabaldon's books 4 years ago when I stumbled across Dragonfly in Amber and picked it up because it had a pretty cover. I started to read it and was completely confused, but curious enough to check the cover more carefully and find out that it was a sequel! After putting that one on hold for a bit, I tried again with Outlander and was completely immersed into the world of Scotland, 1743. This is by far the best book I have ever read. I have always loved historical novels and romance novels, and this was the best of both worlds. Everything that I thought was lacking in the novels I had read before, this one had. The writing is graphic and ugly at times, but it is honest and that's what books are supposed to be like. Claire is the best heroine I have ever read. She's strong and realistic and even though we don't know what she looks like, we know her so well. Jamie is the most memorable hero I have ever read. He's unlike any other man I have ever seen in print. After 4 years and countless hours of reading, I still can't put this book down once I start reading it again! Diana Gabaldon is a fabulous writer, and this book and the ones that follow it are wonderful gifts to the world of literature.Book Review: A True One of A Kind Book
Summary: 5 Stars
I'd put off reading this book for years, thinking that the book jacket sounded silly but after a copy came into my hands via a friend, I am so glad I got past that reticence because Outlander is an amazing book.Rarely in a book do you have a very good historical perspective, a relationship between the characters that is riveting, sensual and truly deep, and a lot of action. All of that is done well and weaved together in a way that has made me a fan of Gabaldon.
Claire Randall falls back in time to pre-Culloden Scotland. A nurse, she gets captured by a band of outlaw highlanders and comes to the aid of a wounded man, Jamie. The chemistry between Claire and Jamie is written so well, comes across as so genuine that I find it hard to do it justice here.
Through a set of circumstances owing to the strained relations between England and Scotland, the proud and independent highland clans and an English army set on dominating and controlling them, Claire and Jamie are forced to marry, all the while Claire is frantically trying to get back to her own time.
Through the book you learn the history of the proud highland clans and the English occupation of Scotland. There are tender moments and moments of heartbreaking cruelty. Jamie and Claire's relationship grows and deepens as the truth of how she ended up in his time comes out.
This book is so wonderful that I've read others in the same vein, or at least say they are in the same vein and I've not read a single one that comes close. It is a romance that is not stilted or cheesy. The woman is a true leader, she isn't some quaking 20 year old virgin who shies away from the bad boy trying to seduce her. Jamie is young but he's not a rogue, he's not trying to run from his feelings for Claire and he is a three dimensional character.
I gave this book 5 stars, I rarely do that, even with books I really love. It deserves each one.
Book Review: A VERY EMOTIONAL BOOK
Summary: 5 Stars
I LAUGHED AND CRIED THROUGH THE WHOLE BOOK. I REALLY ENJOYED THIS BOOK. I ALSO READ THE SEQUALS "DRAGONFLY IN AMBER" AND "VOYAGER". I AM NOW READING "DRUMS OF AUTUMN". IT IS ABOUT TIME TRAVEL AND SCOTLAND IN THE 1700'S.Book Review: A VERY ENJOYABLE JOURNEY ACROSS TIME
Summary: 5 Stars
My favorite historical fiction novel of the last year or two is The Triumph and the Glory, but Diana Gabaldon's time travel epic OUTLANDER is a close second. The appeal of this genre is the transportation of the reader to other times and places with style and compelling realism, and Gabaldon accomplishes this task very well indeed. Great reading, well-developed characters, a good balance of suspense and romance.Book Review: A Wonderful Book
Summary: 5 Stars
I just re-read Outlander, in preparation for reading The Fiery Cross, Diana Gabaldon't fifth book in this series. This will further confuse those who read my reviews and get aggravated that I re-read books when there are so many new books in the world to read, but this is honestly one of my favorite series of books, primarily because of this novel and Dragonfly in Amber, its immediate sequal.This is a fabulous time travel and historical romance novel, with wonderful characters, lots of very accurate historical and cultural detail, and a very convincing, powerful plot. It is a very hard book to describe, since its plot sounds immensely improbable, but it rings true and sound. Claire and Jamie are very real to me, and I have great appreciation for the respect that Gabaldon gives to these characters. I read an interview with her once in which she said that she intended to tell the story of a marriage, and she is extremely successful with that in this book and its sequals.
One of the most interesting things I notices, in my re-reading, is that there are details that I missed the first time around that show that a great deal of forethought has gone into the way the series is constructed. This is quite remarkable, since this book alone is very long, and the overall series is sprawling and complex. There are details that tie the characters to the later books.
If you have not read these, be prepared to be delighted and moved. I am looking forward, with some anxiety, to reading The Fiery Cross overy Christmas,and I really don't want to be disappointed by it because I love these characters and the general premise of the books so much.