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starsal 's review for:
Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone
by Diana Gabaldon
I adored this book.
Here is the thing about Outlander. My mom read the books in the late 1990s, and got my grandpa and me both hooked on them. Which means I have been reading these books for at least 20 years (more than half of my life). I love them. I don't just love them -- they're a living part of my life.
Now there's the TV show and a lot more people know about them. Which is fantastic! And a lot of people (including the author!) seem to like the show (which is great!) I don't, and here's why.
My favorite things in Outlander are not the things that happen but the characters and the way Gabaldon writes about them. From the show, and the "just like Game of Thrones!" advertising around it, people seem to focus on the sex and the violence. However, those, to me, are the least important parts of the books. I read these books because they are wonderful to live in. Honestly, I occasionally skim the sex and violence. Those aren't the heart of the story.
Gabaldon is an ecologist, and she writes like one. Her books are rich with detail, with nature, and with the small and wonderful stories that happen all around us all the time. (What shall we make for dinner? Are there enough clothes clean? Is the horse's hoof a disaster or just a rock? Why is the floor so dirty? Did someone let the fire go out?) These intimate details, the tiny bits of historical accuracy, the wonderful way she embraces all her characters: That, to me, is what makes the books worth reading.
A lot of people get hung up on reading [b:The Fiery Cross|10967|The Fiery Cross (Outlander, #5)|Diana Gabaldon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1407366842l/10967._SY75_.jpg|1189893] I think because that's where the books start to slow down. It's one of my favorites of the books for that reason. Go Tell the Bees that I Am Gone is in that vein. It's not as breakneck as [b:An Echo in the Bone|2832909|An Echo in the Bone (Outlander, #7)|Diana Gabaldon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1370918297l/2832909._SY75_.jpg|2859015], and I love it more.
I adore these books. I love Gabaldon's work. I love Brianna and Roger and John and Fergus and Marsali and Jenny and William and Ian and Rachel and Claire and Jamie and Lord John and Hal and Clarence the mule, and all the dogs and horses and kids. I love the characters, I love the details, I love the life Gabaldon breathes into the stories.
These are some of my favorite books in which to live.
Here is the thing about Outlander. My mom read the books in the late 1990s, and got my grandpa and me both hooked on them. Which means I have been reading these books for at least 20 years (more than half of my life). I love them. I don't just love them -- they're a living part of my life.
Now there's the TV show and a lot more people know about them. Which is fantastic! And a lot of people (including the author!) seem to like the show (which is great!) I don't, and here's why.
My favorite things in Outlander are not the things that happen but the characters and the way Gabaldon writes about them. From the show, and the "just like Game of Thrones!" advertising around it, people seem to focus on the sex and the violence. However, those, to me, are the least important parts of the books. I read these books because they are wonderful to live in. Honestly, I occasionally skim the sex and violence. Those aren't the heart of the story.
Gabaldon is an ecologist, and she writes like one. Her books are rich with detail, with nature, and with the small and wonderful stories that happen all around us all the time. (What shall we make for dinner? Are there enough clothes clean? Is the horse's hoof a disaster or just a rock? Why is the floor so dirty? Did someone let the fire go out?) These intimate details, the tiny bits of historical accuracy, the wonderful way she embraces all her characters: That, to me, is what makes the books worth reading.
A lot of people get hung up on reading [b:The Fiery Cross|10967|The Fiery Cross (Outlander, #5)|Diana Gabaldon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1407366842l/10967._SY75_.jpg|1189893] I think because that's where the books start to slow down. It's one of my favorites of the books for that reason. Go Tell the Bees that I Am Gone is in that vein. It's not as breakneck as [b:An Echo in the Bone|2832909|An Echo in the Bone (Outlander, #7)|Diana Gabaldon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1370918297l/2832909._SY75_.jpg|2859015], and I love it more.
I adore these books. I love Gabaldon's work. I love Brianna and Roger and John and Fergus and Marsali and Jenny and William and Ian and Rachel and Claire and Jamie and Lord John and Hal and Clarence the mule, and all the dogs and horses and kids. I love the characters, I love the details, I love the life Gabaldon breathes into the stories.
These are some of my favorite books in which to live.