Outlander (Outlander, #1) in Busy as a Bee Books

Mar 06, 2017 Hailee rated it liked it · review of another edition

Full review is finally up!

This book was good entertainment. I know that a lot of people have a problem with one particular theme in this book (sexual violence) and claim that the relationship between Jamie and Claire is not a healthy one. And from a modern perspective that is absolutely true, but since this is completely fictional relationship between a woman from the 1900’s and a man from the 1700’s, neither of whom have the same relationship standards as someone born in the late 20th/early 21s Full review is finally up!

This book was good entertainment. I know that a lot of people have a problem with one particular theme in this book (sexual violence) and claim that the relationship between Jamie and Claire is not a healthy one. And from a modern perspective that is absolutely true, but since this is completely fictional relationship between a woman from the 1900’s and a man from the 1700’s, neither of whom have the same relationship standards as someone born in the late 20th/early 21st century anyway, I decided put that issue to one side while I was reading this novel. I didn’t want to look at their relationship from my own modern perspective, I wanted to try to see it from theirs instead. Claire obviously had a more modern perspective on how a woman should be treated than Jamie did and yet Jamie had a much more modern attitude towards women that the average man from the 1700’s. As such I found their relationship and the problems they had interesting and didn’t really have a problem with it (as long as it stays strictly fictional) and it was one of the things that actually kept me reading to the end of the novel.

The novel itself was well written and descriptive and I was easy it imagine myself in 1700s Scotland. The cast of characters was well filled out and they all had distinctive voices and personalities, so there were characters I liked and characters I hated. I flew through portions of it very quickly and slowed to a snail’s pace at others. This was mainly because although I haven’t seen the TV show, (I was determined to read the book before I watched it), I did know a lot about what was going to happen (view spoiler). This didn’t help me read it faster as I kept putting off picking up the book so I could delay getting to the bits that I didn’t want to read.

One thing really did surprise me about this book was the fact that it didn’t have nearly as many steamy sex scenes as I was led to expect by people I had talked to about the book. There were a few in detail definately but most of the time Gabaldon indicated that they were about to have sex and then cut away from the scene. This was not bad thing in my opinion, this way Gabaldon managed to get across the fact that they were ‘at it like rabbits’ without boring the reader with a load of medieval 50 Shades re-enactments. It just wasn’t what I had been led to expect and so was quite a pleasant surprise.

Overall I would say this was an enjoyable enough read and Diana Gabaldon is an accomplished writer so I will carry on with the series and I think I will enjoy the next instalments more than this one. The only thing I will say is that I would hesitate to say that I recommend this to anyone, it really is up to you as an individual to decide how tolerant you are to descriptions and threats of sexual violence.
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Aug 10, 2011 Loretta rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: bees, books-i-own, favorites, my-5-star-reads, 2014

My review isn't going to add anything to the decades of accolades, but... man, I enjoyed the heck out of this book. First time I'll be continuing a series (other than a closed-end trilogy) since Harry Potter! ...more

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Nov 13, 2018 Abby Morris rated it it was amazing

I think delight is not quite a strong enough word for my feeling about this book. Love, perhaps? That word is much too overused. I think a magnified combination of delight, love, and enraptured is the word I'm looking for. Only then could I begin to describe Outlander. ...more

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Sep 02, 2018 Rachel Stimson rated it liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction

I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. I had tried to watch the series but I was deeply annoyed by the portrayal of Claire as a woman who was prepared to risk not only her life but those who were keeping her safe for her own ends. I was very pleased to find that she is a much more rounded character in the book and one with whom I developed some sympathy.

The book is engagingly written, and although there is an overuse of certain phrases by the Scots (much to the irritation of anyone from n ...more

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May 22, 2009 Ashley FL rated it liked it

Well, it took reading part in paperback, part on Nook and listening to part on audio, but I did it!

I am conflicted on this one. I like the story a lot, and the interactions with the French monk at the end raised a lot of really interesting questions.

But I could really have done without the (view spoiler) and I didn't find (view spoiler), frankly. (haha, an inadvertant pun) I also wonder if ...more

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May 28, 2007 Natalie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: series, 2007

This was recommended to be by a coworker. She told me about the premise and it sounded a little hookey. But she brought her copy of the book in the next day and insisted I read it.

I am so glad she did.

It's got everything! Violence, history, romance, sex, wars. All genres rolled into one and Gabaldon does a great job telling the story. I hardly ever make it through books that are over 400 pages. This one was easy to knock out though!

I will gladly continue to read the series! ...more

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Sep 25, 2014 Erika Hayes rated it liked it

Shelves: back-on-the-shelf-just-not-the-r

Just the timing is off. The book is good just a dry start, the show came out and it is hard to read this book when I know I can just get the story via television...It is a bit of a dry read to start but it is a good book I just have too many books on the to read list that I can't push through this one. ...more

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May 04, 2015 Jen rated it liked it

Solid 3 stars for me. The right book at the right time. A raucous and creative love story but with too much predictability, cornball, and unnecessary words to make me read on any further.

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