Ok guys, lately I have been reading Outlander and the rest of the series. Much like a lot of other people who have read it would agree, it’s an amazing series of books and novellas that keep you captivated. No matter how many times you have read it. Believe me, I can confirm this statement wholeheartedly seeing as I have read it about 1,000 times. Not an exaggeration, if I tried I can just about tell you each line of the books. My first copy of Outlander is literally falling apart at the seams. Yet each time I read it I find something new that I didn’t notice before. So, because I love it so much and often find myself getting asked why exactly I have chosen to keep reading a series I have read so many times I thought I would post a blog about a few of the reasons I love Outlander. This is just a brief look into my reasoning for loving a book and now a show that so many of us love around the world. After you read this don’t be shy about posting your reasons, questions, or comments if you have read Outlander or even if you haven’t. Now to dive in.
First and foremost, Outlander is a well-developed series of novels about a foreign woman, Claire, and a native Scotsman, Jamie, who are thrust together in a world of chaotic misfortunes and confused events that ultimately lead them into a love the likes of which they never thought they would experience. Certainly had Claire remained where she started or had found a way to make it back as she had planned in the beginning her and Jamie would not have experienced anything of the sort. So thank goodness for us fans that neither of those things happened.
Now if that’s too mushy for you and you are ready to tap out and call it a “chick novel” or a romance with nothing more to offer, than I assure you that would be an unjust crime against yourself. There is so much more to this story than what meets the naked eye. Jamie is a warrior and an outlaw in a time of a massive civil war over the Scottish throne. Yeah, Jamie is totally a traitor to the crown, but he would consider himself a loyalist. Which is a crime worthy of beheading, but that my friends is the least of Jamie’s worries. Jamie ends up in prison and things take a shocking turn when Jamie meets an old nemesis, Black Jack Randall. (Guys, I seriously did not see that coming at all!)
At this point I know you are saying, “ok, that is pretty insane, but it sounds like a regular historical romance and I’m sure Claire is a gentle ‘save me’ type of girl”. That’s where I have to stop you, because Diana Gabaldon bats that thought right out of the park. Diana not only makes Claire smart and a nurse, but Claire is a TIME TRAVELING HEROINE. That’s right, you read that right. She travels through time to meet Jamie. Claire is from 1945 and finds herself in 1773 Scotland. Oh yeah, I guess this is the part where I mention that Claire is an English, married, nurse post World War II who is just trying to have a second honeymoon to reconnect to her husband, Frank Randall, in Scotland. Claire decides to go herb picking one magical morning (as you guys can probably guess from my other blog posts I am here for the herb picking and medicinal awareness of herbal remedies as well as the obvious knowledge Claire possesses for the uses of medicinal herbs) when she touches one of the standing stones at Craigh Na Dun and finds herself disoriented and lost in the woods of 1743 Scotland. Plot twist! I did not see that coming!
Now Claire isn’t some pretty face in a short dress that needs a man to “save her”. She proves that when even while disoriented she realized that the uninvited guy that happens to look exactly like her husband, Frank, who is copping a feel is not her Frank. Claire gets that sucker off of her and makes a break for it. Claire ends up with a group of Scots and I’m not going to say she was happy about it, but it was definitely preferable to her previous company they kept their hands to themselves. However, Claire proves she’s not a pretty face when Jamie meets Claire with a musket shot wound and a dislocated shoulder. Claire definitely doesn’t use a “proper lady’s” language when she gives the group a scalding to make them blush. Even patching Jamie up in the dark, with only the moonlight to guide her after Jamie falls off of his horse.
You can say that Claire in her own right is just as much a hero as the Scot she will marry for protection and freedom. Claire saves with her knowledge of herbs and nursing in 1943. Claire saves Jamie from near death, prison, and even from the monsters destroying his soul. Claire starts off making the best of a situation and ends up falling in love and having the adventure of a lifetime. So do yourself a favor, pick up a copy of the first book, Outlander, in the the Outlander series. You won’t regret it! Then grab a HERBAL TEA BLEND from me at The Erbe and snuggle up to read! It will be the best decision you have made in a long time.
Check out some of the other blogs I’ve posted.
Between The Tales 