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glamourfaust's review against another edition
5.0
I read this book because it is on CBC's Canada Reads short list. It was excellent. I love the writing style, the storyline, and the characters.
shellybelly's review against another edition
5.0
An abused wife kills her husband and escapes, living in the mountains, taking a lover, and making a life for herself. So good!
amysbrittain's review against another edition
3.0
This is a 3.5...woman on the run in the wilderness at the turn of the 20th century, check. Angst, adventure, mysterious past, odd characters, check. But I was looking for more to grab me. I enjoyed it, but I was hoping for just a little more *there* there.
brijeanson's review against another edition
3.0
*3.5* I loved how visceral it was and how unapologetically brutal.
beaver_claw's review against another edition
4.0
Loved this book. So many great passages to set the scene. Very plot and location driven, light on character development. I still felt really attached to several characters in the book but there wasn’t much depth.
A lot of the 1 star reviews seem to have wild expectations for every novel they read. Also seem to miss that this is not about The widow entirely, I suggest planning to read the sequel if you start this one.
A lot of the 1 star reviews seem to have wild expectations for every novel they read. Also seem to miss that this is not about The widow entirely, I suggest planning to read the sequel if you start this one.
thepoptimist's review against another edition
3.0
Slow going at the start. It's a 19th century pastoral, set in Canada circa 1903, with a plodding focus on detail. Told in the third person, our protagonist is an essentially nameless woman escaping from the brothers of the husband she's just killed. Despite this, I begin to wonder why I should care. She doesn't seem capable of carrying the plot on her own.
It's not until she comes into focus in relation to those she meets does the story start to pick up. The second half almost warrants a fourth star. I enjoyed the growing cast of characters including the mountain hermit, the pugilist preacher, the monstrous Italian moonshiner and the dwarf shopkeeper. The nameless "widow" slowly comes into focus as Mary Boulton - present during the worst landslide of North American history when 90 millions tons of limestone slid down Turtle Mountain in 100 seconds killing nearly 100 people. I wish I could give it a 3 and a half.
It's not until she comes into focus in relation to those she meets does the story start to pick up. The second half almost warrants a fourth star. I enjoyed the growing cast of characters including the mountain hermit, the pugilist preacher, the monstrous Italian moonshiner and the dwarf shopkeeper. The nameless "widow" slowly comes into focus as Mary Boulton - present during the worst landslide of North American history when 90 millions tons of limestone slid down Turtle Mountain in 100 seconds killing nearly 100 people. I wish I could give it a 3 and a half.
jdanz37's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
emmkayt's review against another edition
4.0
An unexpectedly terrific read. A literary Western set in 1903, as a young woman flees through the Alberta frontier after having killed her husband. The lyrical language - which in the wrong CanLit hands can leave me bored and grouchy (I'm looking at you, [b:The Night Stages|23209962|The Night Stages|Jane Urquhart|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1413131311s/23209962.jpg|42753066]) - in this case was fresh and deftly handled, and the plot had momentum that propelled me forward happily. A couple of threads/themes were not developed as much as they might have been, such as the main character's mental illness, and the ending was rather quick and tidy, but that's the flip side of momentum, and not much of a downside really. 4.5 stars.
monnibo's review against another edition
5.0
The prose is almost poetic, which makes sense considering the novel was inspired by a poem that Gil Adamson wrote years prior. I liked how we mainly stayed with Mary as she traversed the Canadian wilderness. It was interesting to see how she grew and developed as a person.
At times I felt the story dragged a little (running through the forest, passing out, running more), and at one point (what I thought was going to be gripping) it was a little too drawn out for my preferences. However, I like the choices the author made and I like how, although it was a bit open-ended, it didn�'t leave me feeling unfulfilled. I put the novel down with satisfaction and will be passing it on to my mom to read.
Read my complete thoughts on my blog post: http://www.monniblog.com/2010/07/the-outlander-by-gil-adamson/
At times I felt the story dragged a little (running through the forest, passing out, running more), and at one point (what I thought was going to be gripping) it was a little too drawn out for my preferences. However, I like the choices the author made and I like how, although it was a bit open-ended, it didn�'t leave me feeling unfulfilled. I put the novel down with satisfaction and will be passing it on to my mom to read.
Read my complete thoughts on my blog post: http://www.monniblog.com/2010/07/the-outlander-by-gil-adamson/