If you've been following me on Twitter for a while or you saw my earlier post about the Starz television show, Outlander, you will know that over the summer I developed quite a fondness for the show. The first thing I fell in love with was of course the history and richness of the show, and how well it portrayed...everything. I am a huge fan of period dramas and anything from the past, really - in fact, I would probably be better off in the Victorian Era than in the present - so the new television series soon became my favorite. And then of course there is Jamie, but he does not even need explaining. Knowing that the show was based on the book series by Diana Gabaldon, I decided to give the first book a try since I was so in love with the show.
I did begin the book, and while it was not the most interesting thing I have ever read, I enjoyed reading the book and re-imagining the scenes from the show. It felt like watching the show over again, which is something I never do, so it was a unique experience. Of course, it is also always fun comparing the book to the series and trying to come up with the differences and similarities. The Outlander show paused mid-season and will be returning in April. However, I decided to continue with the book, and, well, it sure was something. I could tell you everything I disliked and liked about the book and compare it with the show, but as that may take pages and pages of words, I have instead shortened and sweetened my thoughts, which you can look at below.
Overall, if you could not tell from my venn-diagram up there, while the book was amazing and like nothing I have ever read before, I suppose it was just too old for me to completely enjoy (it was written in 1991, after all). It was very intense, and I suppose part of that made me uncomfortable. There is also the fact that I shied away from the nudity in the show, but that was nothing compared to how graphic the book was, believe it or not. Either way, anyone who watches and enjoys the show should give this book a try some time, because whether or not I enjoyed it, the storyline is a treasure to behold.
