Outlander
Ratings535
Average rating3.9
The audiobook and Dutch paperback had been on my TBR for years, but I was intimidated by how big this book was. A readalong from Sarah from Steeped in Books and me finding the entire series in English mass market paperback in a thriftstore finally persuaded me to finally pick it up, I mostly listened to the audiobook, but grabbed the paperback numerous times if I didn't hear a scottish word right, or wanted to see how some nick names Jamie Called Claire were spelled.. (I'm hard of hearing and thick accents are sometimes difficult for me, also as English is not my first language) the narration by Davina Porter was Superb. Her voices and the Scottish accent brought so much to the story! I loved the story, wow what a rich story with all the background and history. Can't wait to listen to the next book.
Dnf at 80%; found it deeply boring, which is a shame as the writing wasn't too bad (the good writing actually kept me going for far longer than I normally would have)
I really expected it to be more scifi/fantasy and not just like a romance novel. Not a fan.
I'm completely torn about how to rate this book - whilst I did enjoy it, it did take me over 2 months to read it!
The story is enjoyable and interesting but some sections just drag and are so over detailed that they seem unnecessary. I love Claire as a main character, she is just excellent to follow as the narrator and her one liners are brilliant.
I have books 2 and 3 in the series but might wait a while before attempting those, maybe when I've got another 2 months to spare!
The story is well put together and very well written, but a bit brutal for my taste. Not what I was expecting.
I read this book almost a year ago now and I loved it! Then I did a project for college on sexual abuse in literature and this book came up. After analyzing this book more closely it's kind of problematic in many ways. Like Jamie honestly has so many abusive flaws, and I get that it kind of has to do with the time period, but I don't know I just can't get behind it as much as I initially had. I also think I loved it so much because I wanted to love it. I heard so many good things and there was so much hype I wanted to love this book so I kind of forced myself to love it if that makes sense. It was still a good book, and was super well written if you can recognize and acknowledge that Jamie Fraser is not Prince Charming dreamboat. But I just really don't see myself reading anymore in this series, and I'm planning on unhauling all of my Diana Gabaldon books.
The first 50% was an uphill battle - some parts were interesting and most slow moving. Without my sister's encouragement that it gets better 1/2 way thru I would have stopped reading. I love the last half of the book and read that very quickly (took me 1 1/2 week to get thru the first 1/2 and 2 days to get thru the second).
So, I did like this... it just got so long that my feelings really began to wane. I think my biggest problem was I don't know the goal that is being worked towards. Once the big one got out of the way, Claire deciding whether to stay or go back home, the rest of the book was full of mini goals.
So, I'm not sure I'll read the next books since I don't know what it is we are working towards. I did like the writing and I thought I was really brought into the story but, after about 70% I didn't feel the need to keep reading.
I love Jamie but, seriously can he get a friggin' break?! How many more scars and beating will he receive?? The poor guy....
Probably not a book I'll read again but, I do think others should give it a try!
Ge-wel-dig boek. Enorm lang maar tot de laatste pagina leuk en spannend. op naar deel 2!
I was a bit spoiled reading this, as I watched the TV series first, so nothing was a surprise, HOWEVER, I did really enjoy getting more inside the head of Claire. I think it is always easier to read about the emotions than to try and read between the lines visually - even though I think the show did an excellent interpretation of the book. Still a fantastic read even though I knew what was coming and a great story. Hoping to read #2 BEFORE the new season and to see where Jamie and Claire's story goes from here.
WHAT
A historical romance about a compassionate nurse out of her place and time and a gallant young Scots warrior. Caught in a war of England and Scotland, not fully trusted by either side, Claire is torn between the love for her husband, and Jamie, for whom amidst the chaos she forms a bond too strong to resist. Religious traditional romance lovers beware, this books contains logic, adultery and some fantasy.
TLDR
+ plot is organically developed, things make sense, scenes have plausible outcomes
+ good understanding of human nature
+ fully fleshed out, relatable, likable characters
+ incredible attention to details without over doing it
+ minor humor bits that made me laugh
- it's still just a romance, no exceptional elements
. many sex scenes, some brutality
. little to no fantasy
ANALYSIS
Time travel. That's as much as you'll get of fantasy in this book, as it is not important to the story overall. You will however experience a time travel effect as you'll be transported to 18th century Scotland and find yourself in the middle of a war with England.
This is not my kind of book, it is a romance, a genre of heavily emotional stories. I'm a fan of fantasy, which is by definition the opposite of ordinary. I don't like ordinary stories, and nothing is more ordinary then emotions. Most romance stories I know, through books or movies, favors love over reason and are full of “roll my eyes” and predictable moments.
The first thing that sets this book apart is the exceptional quality of the writing. Diana Gabaldon is a pretty talented writer, she structures her sentences intelligently, and kept me interested in the book in a way that only Marion Zimmer Bradley could. And that is without the arthurian mythos behind it!
The plot and the individual scenes makes sense, the sequence of events are cohesive and logical. Given the premises of a given situation, a very sensible course of action is taken. For instance, at one point Claire was prevented from going back to her time simply because she was a long way from the place she had to go. It may sound ridiculous, but she was a woman in the 18th century, alone, with no survival skills, no way of transportation. Many other reasons were given as the plot evolved, and they all felt natural and integral to the story.
The love between the protagonists is another example of an unavoidable consequence. The story was built in a way that gave them no other option, from the moment they first met to the point they are forced into being together by forces outside their control. Everything is explained and conceivable.
Sometimes I got worried the plot was going to take a wrong turn, but the author pulled through and kept the quality rising. I was going to give this a 3 star, then after reading over half of the book I decided it deserved a 4 and I had to hold on giving a 5 just because in spite of all, it is not an intellectual challenging premise. The sex scenes are very well exposed, the desire Clarie and Jamie felt for each other was palpable, the tenderness of their relationship came through really well. But its just not interesting for me by itself.
Finally the characters are convincingly brought to life through their virtues and vices. The protagonists are throughly described and side characters are given enough attention to make them matter.
Jamie is the perfect representation of the knight in shinning armor, and also a typical stubborn hot headed Scotsman, an educated barbarian, a naive young man, a natural born leader, a humble and loyal servant to his Laird. His love and devotion for Claire is moving and awe inspiring.
Claire is pragmatic, compassionated, strong willed, sharp tongued, “take not shit from men home”, plucky, and opinionated. The author draws a nice conflict for the reader by making her seem a bit cold when she is trying to escape Jamie to go back to her time, even tough he has wholeheartedly given himself to her, at some personal cost as well.
Randall is cruel, ruthless and duty bound. He doesn't appear much but plays a major role, even when not present. You'll learn of what he is capable of throughout the book and by the end of it, you will really hate him.
On a side note, I thought the plot was going to develop in a different way. Claire learns at the beginning of the book that Randall is some sort of spy, and when she finds out he resembles her husband, I figured he would be a love interest for her, and consequently they would form a love triangle with Jamie. This would work in so many levels! For a long time I believed that Randall was faking being cruel to put himself above suspicion.
Among the things I didn't like too much, the story did focus a lot on common day events, but I would say that was more or less acceptable for the purpose of bringing up immersion. Also, the story felt stretched out towards the end. Although I liked Lollybrook, the book could have ended before it and it still would have been great. The prison arc though was a little less convincing. Here my suspension of disbelief was somewhat shaken, but I took it to add to the adventure feel of the book.
To conclude, this is a deep and moving love story, about two characters that are completely devoted to each other, that found love in an unlikely situation and had to face many trials to be together.
Addressing some of the review's criticisms here at GoodReads:
The story is trash: Nonsense. I hate romances, I love good plots. Never would I consider reading this book, or let alone continue reading it as it is a very long book, if the story wasn't really good. There is a little of everything here, intrigue, heroic deeds with consequences, humor. Maybe it could have more of those, but I didn't feel necessary, the story felt pretty authentic the way it was told.
The story is an excuse for adultery: one of the claims is that the little amount of attention given to the protagonist's husband makes this book a cheap excuse for adultery. For me the conclusion is different: it means the book is not about adultery. It is about a woman out of her time (not in a time travel sense) that given the circumstances makes the best as she can, inadvertently falling in love in the process. The plot clearly describes a gradually growing and unavoidable relationship. Adultery plays little role in comparison to this.
Another complaint is that the time travel also is a bad plot element and a cheap excuse for adultery as well. That holds no grounds, the protagonist husband being in a different timeline is only a detail. Time travel is irrelevant in this book, it could easily have been replaced by “in a distant land, unable to go back home”.
This kind of criticism stems from people who are religiously conservative and/or have zero tolerance for fantasy. What would be a good excuse for adultery? Your standard “my husband does not appreciate me, beats me up and cheats on me?” Time travel is the perfect excuse because it is logical and interesting. The discussion with father Anselm in the end of the book tries to show some arguments in favor of the so called adultery. At the very least it shows that Claire does care about the issue.
The time travel aspect is so insignificant for me that this book does not even registries as a fantasy. You have a woman in an impossible situation. For some, this spells “she wants to cheat”, as there is no such thing as impossible situations, there is only reality, and it is harsh and you're stuck with your dead beat husband for whom you swore your obedience until your dying breath.
Rapey: hmmm... no. The book is very graphical, everything is told in great detail. The author makes you see and feel everything she is writing about. You are actually teleported to this backward Scotland, where things are not like present day America. The book has many mentions of rape. Guess what, people are mean, they actually do this kind of stuff. There is only one scene I think though, and it was very sick, gruesome and integral to the plot.
Abuse-apologist: really not. Morality is not black and white. If you ask a bully why he beats up someone he will not say “because I'm mean”. The author describes the reasons the characters behave the way they do in an incredible realistic style. It shows great depth and understanding of human nature. This is not apologetic, its storytelling. Regarding the wife-beating scene, the woman in no way validated the abuse. She in fact fiercely maintained her disapproval despite all his explanations. She said she would kill him if he ever laid his hands to hurt her again.
And if that sounds weak and apologetic, remember that although this is “not quite the Dark Ages but they were a far cry from modern women's rights” (this is from other reviewer). By the way, did this upset you more then the witch burning? Why? Because that was normal in those days, but beating up women wasn't?
So I read this back in 2015 I hated it. I mean I HATED it. I think what saved this for me the second time is because I listened to it with audible.There were a few things I really liked about this book. One Claire was not your usual damsel in distress, she made her own choices often owned up to them and seemed like a very 3 dimensional character. Often in ‘romance' novels we get very flat characters who are either a damsel or a bad-ass takes no names type. This is not the case in Outlander we quite possibly get one of the most 3 dimensional characters I've read in a romance book. Another awesome thing about this book is it's not just the before the marriage it's after and the many problems a marriage can have. Plus she shows the characters growing together as a couple instead of just leaving the reader to form the happy ever after.
The things I didn't like. Honestly the book was too long for me in some parts. That first 5% in the 1940s dragged. It took me ages to just get through that first chunk and that meant I was constantly putting the book down. The violence towards the end between Jamie and Randall was a bit too intense for me. I also felt like some of the ending portion was a bit too out of character for Jamie and that bothers me to have a character change so drastically in a way I wouldn't see them changing near the end of a book. Finally I hate a book that ends with a literal beginning to the second book and Outlander does that. Now at 600+ pages I feel like a book shouldn't do that and should give you a solid ending that doesn't leave you in a weird part of the unknown for the story.
Finally I'd score the book 3/5 stars and would say that if it sounds like something you'd enjoy reading it'd worth the cash. I was left intrigued enough by the ending to at some point pick up the second book in the series.
Approached this with high hopes and really wanted to like it. The plot's worthy of some wretched erotic novel from the depths of the Kindle Store (Kidnapped and Forced to Marry a Hot Scot?) but is somehow spun out for at least 400 pages too long. It had some moments of genuine interest, but was mostly a tedious and sour experience. Erratic characters with only momentary glimmers of behaving and reacting like real people. Sex scenes worthy of Jean M. Auel. Too much dubious consent. Too many adverbs. Loch Ness monster not “historically accurate”.
I'm not putting this in a fantasy category because the fantasy is only the trope to get the protagonist to the past where she can have a lot of sex with a young musclebound scotsman. Which is not entirely a bad thing, I suppose, but there's nothing I would call fantasy beyond that.
I am surprised at how much I enjoyed this book, really. It fulfilled the need I had for a long audiobook (33 hours!), and despite the reviews mentioning all of the sex (won't somebody think of the children!) it was really a non-event. My main problem was that I would be pottering around doing the housework, Claire would get into some kind of danger, and her Scotsman would ride in (literally) and save the day. Again. At which point I was reminded I was listening to a romance, not just the story of a lady who got magically transported back in time.
Davina Porter narrates the audio version brilliantly, and I will keep going with the series.
I think I have changed my rating of this book about 10 times since I finished reading it. But I have finally settled on 4 stars.
In hindsight, this is a very good story. There is good world building and character building. There is a lot of adventure, a lot of emotional depth. Overall, I wanted a little more from Claire, but this is only the first in a very long series, so I'm sure I will get a lot more.
The one problem I had with this book was the monotony at times. The action scenes where things are actually happening are great, but there was sooo much in between that really slowed me down. I would read several pages sometimes and realize that I wasn't even paying attention... thus it took me about 5 weeks to actually finish this book. I would put it down for a whole week at a time to read another book and refresh myself before continuing. Since this is the first book, I'm chalking it up to still trying to get to know the characters. I understand all the extra was there for character development, so I'm hoping that now that I know them, the second book will be easier to get through.
On a positive note, I absolutely love Jamie - his stubborn manliness, but also his romantic protectiveness. Probably one of my favorite male characters of all time and definitely the reason that I am going to read on in this series.
Put this down for several weeks (months?) and just picked it back up. Not sure if I'll continue the series.
Ik was zeer te spreken over Outlander, de tv-serie: ik ben een totale push-over voor romantische series, en qua romantisch was Outlander bijzonder zéér romantisch te noemen.
Claire Beauchamp, een verpleegster van 28 op het einde van de Tweede Wereldoorlog, trekt met haar man, die ze op zes jaar tijd nauwelijks gezien heeft, naar de Highlands van Schotland voor een soort tweede huwelijksreis. Haar man, Frank Randall, heeft recent een passie voor genealogie opgedaan, en gaat op zoek naar gegevens over zijn verre voorouder, ene Jack Randall.
Op een ochtendlijke uitstap naar een plaatselijke cirkel met menhirs wordt Claire op de één of andere manier 200 jaar terug in de tijd gecatapulteerd. Ze komt er in een Schotland terecht waar de slag bij Culloden nog niet gebeurd is en de clans dus nog bestaan en macht hebben. En zowat de eerste persoon die ze ziet, ‘s nachts in het bos, is Jack Randall, die er precies uitziet zoals Frank Randall. Helaas: die blijkt zijn bijnaam van Black Jack ruimschoots te verdienen, wegens al meteen poging tot verkrachting.
Ze wordt gered door een bende Schotten, die niet goed weten wat te denken: is zij een spion? voor de Engelsen? de Fransen? Maar wat doet ze daar dan in het bos, alleen en gekleed in een soort licht nachthemd?
Claire bewijst snel dat ze nuttig kan zijn, met haar jarenlange ervaring van oorlogsverpleegster, en als ze haar gastheren ook nog eens waarschuwt dat er op een bepaalde plaats mogelijks een Engels garnizoen zou in een hinderlaag kunnen zitten (dat had Frank haar verteld, 200 jaar later), nemen ze ze mee naar het kasteel van hun clan. Alwaar ze al snel de lokale dokter wordt.
De tv-serie volgt het boek redelijk dicht, met soms heelder scènes letterlijk overgenomen, maar ik vind de serie tot nog toe beter dan het boek.
Het boek is, en we gaan daar niet lastig over doen, niet enorm ver van een stationsroman. Verhaal en wereld en personages okay, maar laat dat vooral niet te veel de al dan niet omfloerste seksscènes in de weg staan! Hoofdpijn? Slecht geslapen? Kom hier dat ik op uw tepels zuig! Bijna net vermoord? Tijd voor a roll in ze hay!
Waar het in het boek allemaal enorm vanzelfsprekend lijkt te gaan, toont de tv-serie veel beter hoe verwarrend het voor Claire allemaal is, en hoe onduidelijk – de mensen die Gaelic spreken rond haar, waar ze geen woord van begrijpt, hoe ze zich uitgesloten voelt, hoe ze zoekt naar motivaties voor zaken en niét meteen de juiste uitleg vindt: allemaal veel en veel beter in de serie. Die ook zijn tijd veel meer neemt dan het boek: acht afleveringen van een uur voor ongeveer de helft van het eerste boek.
Het heeft er ook mee te maken, denk ik, dat waar Sam Heughan (Jamie) helemaal precies zoals zijn karakter in het boek is, Catriona Balfe een andere Claire neerzet in de serie dan in het boek: meer geconflicteerd, meer genuanceerd, intelligenter. Ik heb de indruk dat Claire-in-het-boek 85% van haar hersenen kwijtgeraakt is als er een mogelijkheid is dat ze in bed kan duiken met Jamie: bij Claire-op-televisie heb ik die indruk nooit.
Ik denk dat ik even stop met de boeken. Er zijn nog zeker zeven vervolgboeken op Outlander, maar ik wacht even af wat de serie mij brengt.
This was my first audiobook. It took me quite awhile because I only listened to it on my way to work. It was great!! I love paranormal, but not into romance very much, but I still loved this book.
Sci-fi element: good, general flow of plot/twists: good, lovey-dovey stuff: a little overwrought. But I do like a female character who actually gets to do stuff even in a romance book, and after about halfway through the lovey-dovey crap tones down. Oh, and in general quite well written.
I greatly enjoyed Claire and her story. Aspects of it get a little long and repetitive, but I stayed highly engaged in the story for the vast majority of the book.
I have been lost this last week, completely and utterly entranced, captured and enthralled by the joy that is Diana Gabaldon's Outlander the first in her series of historical time travelling novels. I have barely been able to part myself from the book and have foregone even television the past few evenings in order to further immerse myself in this wonderful book.
Having watched the initial 2 episodes of the new television dramatisation of the book I suddenly found myself longing to spend more time with the characters and so delved into the book. It is a story which,when I initially read the outline, sounds an odd premise for a book. A young nurse on honeymoon in Scotland in 1946 touches a magical circle of standing stones and is transported back through the stones by 200 years to 1746 and a time before Culloden where Scotland is a land of Clansmen and fierce overseer's from England's army. A simpler time in many ways but a harsh one where Claire finds superstition and treachery are order of the day.
There she meets Jamie Fraser and through necessity of her safety finds herself drawn to the strong young Scotsman, and facing a situation which will see her forced to marry this brave and noble young man.
Sounding a little odd? Well it may, I thought so too before delving in. Instead though I found it enchanting. I have lots of knowledge of The War of the Roses leading into Tudor history but this is a period I was less familiar with and I also found it educational, as it led me to go away and read more about the period. It was perhaps though less advisable to read it the week before I need to vote whether Scotland should break free from the UK and be an independent nation. Perhaps a book where we learn the brutality many Scots faces at the hands of the English was not the best choice for enforcing the ‘Better Together' campaign!!
There are so few books which have engaged me as fully as Outlander did, few which has hade literally whooping with joy and punching the air when the hero rides in to save his fair maiden with the words “I'll thank ye to take your hands off my wife!” Not in so long have I truly been able to truly feel such exalted pleasure in the trouncing of a villain as Captain Jack Randall.
I have read many people say they found it full of unnecessary sexual scenes and too much soppy erotica. For me it was just wonderfully romantic and passionate. Several reviews have said they couldn't buy how easily Claire left behind her husband Frank for new husband Jamie, personally he comes across as a wimp and next to the brute force and sheer sexuality of Jamie Fraser I'm not sure I'd have been rushing back through the standing stones.
It has translated amazingly onto screen also, the television adaptation is visually stunning and I am so excited to see how the rest of the series continues to bring the story of Claire & Jamie to life, so far it had been outstanding and our hero and heroine haven't so much as kissed yet. If it's half as sizzling as the book it will set the screen on fire.
I cannot wait to spend more time with Jamie and Claire, the only reason I'm not moving immediately on to read Dragonfly in Amber is because I'm sure my children would appreciate a little engaging conversation with me in the next few days instead of my head being lost in my book.