Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, a book beloved by fans around the globe will make its TV debut tonight on STARZ. Do you think it will do the books justice and include all the important details? Or, will it be even better than the book because they can take creative license to improve it and go beyond the written page. Knowing that Diana Gabaldon is a consultant for the series and on set as they film assures readers that it should maintain the integrity of the book and hopefully please them.
While many fans have been reading her books since the first one was published in 1991 I read it for the first time just a few weeks ago. I’m not sure what took me so long to visit Castle Leoch and the MacKenzie Clan. I enjoyed the pace of the story and the intense and tender relationship between Claire Randall and Jamie McTavish especially watching how her assimilation unfolds as she adapts in order to survive in the Highlands. The notion of time travel is so appealing with the opportunity to take a momentary absence from our current life and be deposited into another time period to explore. If I were to do that would I change history? Would the world be everything that I’d dreamt about and read? Most importantly if I could get back to the present, would it be the same as it was before I departed?
For Claire she embraces those thoughts and then some as she struggles to stay alive in the first half of the book. I have hope from the beginning that she will find her way back to her loving husband Frank in current day Scotland (1945) without becoming too invested in the world she’s now in. The cast of characters spreads the gamut from healers to the suspected witches and of course sexy Scotsman. Halfway through the book I’ve embraced the notion that she might actually stay in 1743 as I find myself as well as Claire becoming more attached to Jamie. While Claire is conflicted we are left in constant wonder because the one thing that’s kept her going forward is her drive to return to Craigh na Dun, the free standing stones. If she can actually make it amidst the obstacles along the way will she leave the past? Perhaps she will see how much she has to gain by staying here and everything to lose by going back to the future.
Once we are transported to 1743 we are thrust into the strife and struggles between the Clansman of Scotland as we are shown how rustic and at times barbaric their world is. One where verbal contracts and handshakes are binding law and women’s lib does not exist yet. For a confident and spirited woman Claire discovers her place in society and how her ability to be quick tongued may not be an asset in 1743. However, her knowledge of modern Nursing provides safety for her in helping the wounded as it makes her invaluable and helps her assimilate and survive. I look forward to traveling to Scotland every Saturday for an hour to see how it unfolds through Claire’s journey.
Regardless of the story the networks present to us the casting is perfection and the backdrop of Scotland is breathtaking. I have a feeling time travel will be in vogue and kilts will soon appear in many men’s closets! What color is your family Tartan? Mine’s reddish brown and green with white and yellow stripes.
