The Outlander in Reading with Style

Jan 27, 2017 Elizabeth (Alaska) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: twenty-first-century, women, canada, xx-2017-women, xx-2017-can

Second page: Nineteen years old and already a widow. Mary Boulton. Widowed by her own hand. By this we know her name and her status as a widow. Nearly all of the book is written from her point of view and yet in nearly all of that she is called "the widow." Why isn't she called Mary? Aren't we supposed to sympathize with her, even though we know from the above that she murdered her husband? I felt this constant continual reference to her status, rather than calling her by name, kept us distant f Second page: Nineteen years old and already a widow. Mary Boulton. Widowed by her own hand. By this we know her name and her status as a widow. Nearly all of the book is written from her point of view and yet in nearly all of that she is called "the widow." Why isn't she called Mary? Aren't we supposed to sympathize with her, even though we know from the above that she murdered her husband? I felt this constant continual reference to her status, rather than calling her by name, kept us distant from her. Characterization is important to me. The reader is never able to get close enough to her to be sympathetic.

Sometimes discontent is unknown to the sufferer, a shadowed thing that creeps up from behind. It had been that way for Mary. Of course, she knew there were reasons for her unhappiness, there are always reasons. One thinks, I am unhappy, I am discontent, because of this or that. But such thoughts are like a painting of sorrow, not sorrow itself. Then one day it comes, hushed and ferocious, and reasons don't matter any more.

This paragraph where she is called Mary is one of the few contradictions to my complaint. I chose this quote about halfway in, and hoped the story would now tell us of the time leading up to this discontent. I wanted justification for the murder. I did get it, but it was thin, and I felt a bit cheated. I have complained in other places about a reader wanting the book the author didn't write. I guess this would be true for me with this.

So that's the negative. While the activities of the widow take up most of the novel, there are other characters as well, for she is pursued. Tracked might be a better word, for much of the action takes place in the wilderness of the Canadian Rockies and in the real town of Frank, Alberta. The plot is good and this is primarily a plot-driven novel. Perhaps what the author does best is to build tension, relieve tension, and only to build tension yet again. The ending - the very last 4 pages in fact - are superb. It is not so much a twist - a surprise - as it is fitting, though I certainly did not see it coming. It left me with a wry smile. Wry, not in a negative way, but in a fitting, even ironic, way.

Due to my earlier complaints I was prepared to give this a high 3 stars, but these last 4 pages redeemed it to 4 stars. This is a debut novel. I suspect she will get better and I'll be happy to read the next one. ...more

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Sep 18, 2009 Juniper rated it really liked it

Shelves: canadian, owned

I rate this book 4 Stars.

From Adamson's web site:

"Set in 1903, Adamson's compelling debut tells the wintry tale of 19-year-old Mary Boulton (“widowed by her own hand”) and her frantic odyssey across Idaho and Montana. The details of Boulton’s sad past—an unhappy marriage, a dead child, crippling depression—slowly emerge as she reluctantly ventures into the mountains, struggling to put distance between herself and her two vicious brothers-in-law, who track her like prey in retaliation for her ki ...more

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Nov 11, 2015 Penny (Literary Hoarders) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own-it, cbc-goodreads-book-club

This was read for the Goodreads CBC Books monthly group read. It was marvelous for discussion. Adamson can write her way out of a paper bag for certain! Beautiful prose! There were some parts that frustrated me a wee bit that might see me actually mark this as a 3.5: a very good book. But, the writing, the readability and the discussion within the group overshadow those complaints (sometimes too circus-y secondary characters) to make it an excellent read overall. I do recommend!

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Jan 01, 2016 Juniper rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: canadian, 2016-books, owned

adamson truly knows how to set a mood with her prose (and her writing is gorgeous - can definitely tell adamson is a poet)! this story has a lot of momentum with its action, moments of desperation, and need to escape - but it's also quite introspective. this was a re-read for me. i read this novel when it first came out, in 2007. i recalled the overall premise, but much of the nuance was lost to my memory. so i enjoyed revisiting this book. and i enjoyed this perspective on a 'western' or 'front ...more

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