Review by the Women’s Book Club, generously hosted by the Vegreville Centennial Library.
Claire, a former combat nurse in WW II, is in Scotland on her second honeymoon in 1945 with her husband of 8 years, Frank. They were separated during the war and are now looking forward to rekindling their marriage in peacetime. And then….
Claire is drawn to the standing stones in the Inverness area, touches one of them and is immediately and inexplicably thrown back in time. Not knowing what just happened, she finds herself in the middle of a skirmish between British Redcoats and Scottish Highlanders, thinking it’s some kind of movie. This is not a movie. It is for real. Gradually it occurs to her that she has somehow travelled back in time. She is in Scotland, but when? And then….we’re off on a rollicking romp of a ride.
This book has everything one would want for sheer fun and escape. It’ a page turner. Anything and everything can happen. To paraphrase the author’s husband’s comment, “it’s one damn thing after another”. This series of books following the characters of the first book have millions of devoted fans around the world. Although the uninitiated may view this book as a historical romance, it is much, much more. We have action, adventure, humour, intrigue, terror, violence, suspense, sex and thanks to the author’s impeccable research, along the way we get to learn what life would have been like in 1743 during a time of turmoil between the British and the clans of Scotland, the political landscape and daily living. You just never know what’s coming for these characters and THAT is the most fun of all. Oh, and it also has epic, epic love.
Our reading group has been unanimous in appreciating the research the author has done to present such detail and we never doubt for a minute the authenticity of her research. Some of us find the idea of time travel tantalizing and exciting and this book delivers. We also appreciate that Claire is not a victim, waiting for someone or something to save her. She has some narrow escapes navigating unfamiliar political, societal and downright dangerous territory while trying to get back to her own time. Although she does get saved at times by Jamie, our hero, she ends up saving him from a particularly gruesome experience. She refuses to accept nothing can be done in that particular scene. Speaking of Jamie, he is one funny guy. The dialogue throughout the book is spot on. One disappointment of so many other works of fiction is stilted or non-believable dialogue. Anyone who has heard a thick Scottish accent will immediately hear these people, as if they are in the same room as you.
Some of us were challenged by the authentic portrayal of interactions between men and women - though we struggle with gender relations now, women's roles in that time were terribly circumscribed. Claire is continually surprised and outraged by how highhanded she believes Jamie to be, and he is flummoxed by her will to be self-defining.
All in all, this is a very well written terrific read and we welcome you to the world of Claire and Jamie and all the other cohorts and, of course, the ensuing books following the characters in more mayhem and adventure.
PS: The story of Diana Gabaldon’s inspiration for writing fiction and how she chose this particular time period is a story in itself.
PPS: Joy of joys! At last, someone has finally brought this story to the screen. It aired on Showcase, late August, Sunday nights. Tune in and see what all the fuss is about.