Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (1991)
Series: Outlander #1
Summary: The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon–when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach–an “outlander”–in a Scotland torn by war and raiding Highland clans in the year of Our Lord…1743.
Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into intrigues and dangers that may threaten her life…and shatter her heart. For here she meets James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, and becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire…and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.
It seems like this book has been around for ages because I first heard of it quite a while ago. I never really knew what it was about plot wise, only that it was a much loved romance. So I assumed that it was your typical romance novel with maybe a little extra thrown in to accommodate for its massive length and widespread popularity.
Still, I wasn’t that eager to read it until I came across a readalong and figured I’d finally give it a go. I am glad that I gave it a chance because it wasn’t at all what I was expecting. Here are some of the misconceptions I had about the book which I was happily surprised to find weren’t true:
- Claire didn’t objectify Jamie. I was expecting her to immediately begin drooling over him or at least commenting on how handsome he was. She didn’t do this, even though later she seems obsessed with his red hair, constantly remarking on it and the various ways it becomes disarrayed. There are also some later references to how big he is, commenting on his long legs, his tall height, his broad shoulders, etc.
- Jamie didn’t objectify Claire. Although the story is told entirely from Claire’s perspective, she never mentions Jamie leering at her or commenting on her body in a crude or offensive way.
- Claire didn’t throw herself at Jamie. In many romance novels, the woman finds herself longing for the man, often going against the desires society has told her to withhold. This never happened with Claire and they (eventually) came together in a somewhat subdued manner.
- The love scenes didn’t border on erotica. In fact, I found the love scenes to be quite tame compared with some books that I’ve read. I was expecting them to be quite graphic and drawn out of multiple pages.
- Claire and Jamie didn’t fall in love instantly. Their romance took time to develop and they weren’t getting naked within a few chapters (or pages) of meeting one another. In fact, they didn’t seem all that attracted to one another in the beginning.
- Jamie didn’t mistreat Claire. This point could be contested based on a few things that happen, but overall Jamie didn’t bully her, make her feel inferior because she was a woman, or disrespect her.
- Claire’s adultery was well-handled. I read some previous reviews that said the time travel aspect of the story was just an excuse to justify cheating. But I didn’t find Claire to be looking for an out in her marriage and she handled everything in a way that didn’t make me dislike her character.
- A lot of research went into this book. I expected some fluffy romance with a bit of Scottish culture thrown in just to set the scene. But there was a lot of history and other details about life in another century that made the book quite informative.
So yes, I was expecting something more like this (or what I assume these books are like as I haven’t read any–which doesn’t mean they are bad or inferior, just not my cup of tea/usual reading fare):
But I was surprised to find something more that held my interest. And I was proven wrong in my assumptions about the book. Still, I can’t say that I thoroughly loved this book or, now that I’ve read it, that I understand why so many people like it. Yes, it was an enjoyable read but if it hadn’t been for the push I got from participating in the readalong, it might have ended up as a DNF.
And, as I already wrote in one of my readalong posts, I won’t be continuing with the series. I am glad I read this book and it is reading experiences like this one which remind me to keep an open-mind and not judge a book by its reputation or its label as a romance.
So, have you read Outlander? If so, what were your thoughts? If not, why not? Did/do you have the same assumptions as me as to what Outlander is about? Have you ever misjudged a book and been happily surprised to find out you were wrong about it?