Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (my favorite book example)

 

 

One of my favorite books is Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander: A Novel, which was published by Dell as a mass-market paperback in 1992. Outlander, the first book of eight in the Outlander series, is a multi-genre novel, qualifying as historical fiction, romance, science fiction, and fantasy, all of which are genres I love to read.  

Outlander is about a mid-20^th-century English nurse named Claire Randall. She is a “modern woman” who is married to a historian named Frank Randall. On their second honeymoon in Inverness, Scotland, Claire accidentally travels back in time to mid-18^th-century Inverness and to a time and region in Scotland that is at war with the English. Throughout the novel, there are many misunderstandings due to Claire being English in Scotland (a possible spy), due to her extensive medical knowledge (a possible witch), and due to her being a modern woman confronted with 18^th-century customs, norms, and constructions of masculinity. And while Claire goes on many adventures in the Scottish Highlands throughout the book, fighting the English – and one English officer named “Black Jack” Randall in particular, the main focus (or theme) of the book is love. Claire, after becoming a healer for a local powerful clan, falls in love with the clan leader’s nephew, Jamie Fraser. Does Claire remain faithful to her husband Frank or does she go with Jamie? You will have to read Outlander to find out.

          Outlander is 850 pages long, but it does not feel like it. Once you start reading, it is difficult to put down. Gabaldon’s love of her subject, which is evident throughout her novel, is infectious, and combined with an engaging narrative, paints a picture of mid-18^th century Scotland for the reader that really takes them back to a particular time and place in a way that is difficult for many writers of historical fiction to achieve successfully. And the history she presents in Outlander is well-researched in my opinion, which makes her plot and characters more believable.

Finally, I should point out that the presence of graphic sex and violence in Outlander, and the occasional use of Scottish and 18^th century dialect, limits this book to late adolescent and adult readers. However, those points aside, I believe it is a book worth reading.

--Ashley Cleeves