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Outlander (Outlander, #1)

Diana Gabaldon

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Jan 22, 2017 Liz rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, time-travel-and-timeslip, adult-fiction

If you're thinking of reading Outlander, let me just put out a quick trigger warning for physical and sexual assault. Also, full disclosure that there's some problematic content in this book, most notably that sometimes the interactions between Jamie and Claire don't feel totally consensual.

Congratulations to this book, I made it about 90% of the way through because I was forced to ask myself, "Really?! What the fuck am I reading?!"

There are times when this book is really freaking slow, and time ...more

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Jul 17, 2017 Marigold rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction-1990s, historical-fiction, scotland, kilts-sexy-18th-century-violence, romance-sexy, time-travel

Yes, I know, I am giving this piece of time travel histori-porn, four stars! I stand prepared to turn in both my Feminist Card and my Discerning Reader card. Though I feel dirty for having read and enjoyed this - I DID enjoy it!
SPOILERS AHEAD.
I can pick holes in this book all day long. Claire, traveling in the Scottish Highlands, is suddenly transported from 1945 to 1743 (or thereabouts), has very little culture shock. Once they give her some proper clothes, she fits right into 1743 Scotland. Yes, I know, I am giving this piece of time travel histori-porn, four stars! I stand prepared to turn in both my Feminist Card and my Discerning Reader card. Though I feel dirty for having read and enjoyed this - I DID enjoy it!
SPOILERS AHEAD.
I can pick holes in this book all day long. Claire, traveling in the Scottish Highlands, is suddenly transported from 1945 to 1743 (or thereabouts), has very little culture shock. Once they give her some proper clothes, she fits right into 1743 Scotland. She mentions missing hot water & toothbrushes, but that's about it. She has no problem sleeping on floors, or on rocks or haystacks outdoors. She drinks ale & wine all day long & apparently reads 18th century literature with no difficulty. Having been a Home Front nurse in World War II, she's accepted in 1743 Scotland as a healer - and she's magically familiar with plants and herbs too. Sure!
Claire has lots of hot sex with Jamie, a minor Scottish landowner who is also a 23-year-old virgin! The book does cover that Claire gives him some "training" - but still....Sure! It is also extremely unlikely that he would have cared whether he gave her pleasure or not.

What bothered me more than any of that was, well yes, the spanking scene first of all. I have no problem if people are into spanking as sex play. If everyone consents, great. This was spanking as punishment & it really did make me cringe; I think it was unnecessary, unless they were trying to show us that Jamie was by no means a perfect man. YES, it was probably a true "period detail." But was it necessary for Claire to be so...accommodating about it? (Her general response is along the lines of, Yes, I deserved it! And I looovvvve him!)
Second, there is certainly much violence and suffering inflicted on poor Jamie in this book. Other than the spanking scene, this novel depicts Claire as the hero and jamie as the victim of various kinds of beatings, war crimes, Scottish "gang violence" and torture. I like a strong female lead character -and overall I really do like Claire - but does Jamie have to be quite so much the victim? I can't tell you how many times he describes to Claire the various beatings he got from his father and then various authority figures after leaving the farm to get an education in his youth. In fact, Claire meets him after he's dislocated his shoulder and been shot. Then there's the sexual violence inflicted on him toward the end of the book, by the story's major villain. It's all a little disturbing, and again, is it needed? Is it a fetish thing? Do people find it sexy that this big, charming lover boy keeps getting the stuffing knocked out of him, only to recover under Claire's tender ministrations? By the end of the book, I was definitely feeling that it was kind of WEIRD.
Some of the things Jamie says to Claire during sex and love play are a little cringe-worthy as well, but some are quite sweet & some are...kind of hot. I'm embarrassed to say it, but it's true!
And now that I've said all that, I have to explain the four stars, right?! I'm not sure I can. The writing is good; it's fast paced and well structured. It's really an adventure story with lots of blood (jamie's) and sex! The period detail is interesting and seems to be fairly historically accurate. There's a good sense of "time and place" - you feel like you could be there. Claire and Jamie go from one set of obstacles to another, so there's a constant sense of urgency as you keep reading, wanting to know what will happen to them next. (Exception - the scenes in the monastery toward the end, when Jamie is sick and then recovering. This part goes on a bit long in my opinion.) In general, Claire and jamie are believable, sympathetic characters and you want to root for them. They're smart (in different ways) and funny and have good "fictional chemistry." The secondary characters are well portrayed also.
The sexy stuff - while not always believable, is actually pretty well written and fun. Long descriptions of sex in books, as far as I'm concerned, are usually laughable, or sad, or nauseating, depending on what's going on. Gabaldon succeeds in treading a fine line here & other than the spanking, it didn't make me want to fling the book across the room.
She also succeeds in making us care about some of the questions left unanswered at the end of the book. Will Claire really stay in 1745? Will she deliver jamie's baby safely? Will they be able to return to Lallybroch? What will happen to Jamie's sister and brother-in-law? Is Randall really dead? I actually, really want to know the answers to all these, which is what makes me think, I might have to read the next book! Also, I am curious to see whether Jamie continues to be a large, kilt-clad punching bag, or if Gabaldon will let him be unscathed for more than a few pages! ...more

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Jan 13, 2015 Lisa rated it did not like it

I couldn't get through this book. I'm not a historical fiction fan, nor do I enjoy reading books that are over 800 pages long. ...more

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Nov 28, 2020 Isabel rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

Part of me liked it, part of me is wondering wtf I just read. For all that I liked the main character, and many of the characters actually, the plot got pretty repetitive, and the romance novel elements are not really my thing. The detailed descriptions of torture and rape at the end were...yeah, too much. Overall I enjoyed parts of it, other parts dragged, and ultimately I just rushed through the ending for the sake of finishing it. Won’t be continuing the series.

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