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nataliya_x 's review for:
Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure Like No Other
by Graham McTavish, Sam Heughan
While I don’t care much for Outlander books, I’ve always been partial to Outlander the TV show (the horror of liking the movie more than the book! Book gods are about to smite me!). To borrow the description that this book provides about it, “The show can be best described as tartan and soft porn”.
Sam Heughan plays Jamie Fraser on the show, and Graham McTavish is his ferocious uncle Dougal MacKenzie. Apparently they have bonded while filming the show, and eventually took a buddy trip in a stick-shift van (poorly driven by Sam) through Scotland while filming their new show “Men in Kilts” (trailer here) with stories of whisky, bromance, Outlander filming anecdotes and general musings on life, universe and everything (but mostly Scotland and whisky).
I’m listening to the audio version because, well, Scottish accents. Sam and Graham narrate this book, and it is absolutely lovely and hilarious. I can listen to this duo talk and bicker and fondly mock each other for days.
It’s part travelogue, part buddy comedy, part Scottish history lesson, part ode to whisky. Sam Heughan gets a bit of good-natured ribbing for being a hunky Adonis who never misses a chance to peddle his whisky brand and whose driving skills may need a bit of refinement, while Graham McTavish gets mercilessly (yet friendly) mocked for his epicurean, latte-loving tastes. Ruminations about whisky are quickly followed by odes to Macbeth, and then punctuated by stories from Scotland’s quite violent and bloody past. We get a few Outlander filming anecdotes, a few asides about the duo’s acting lives and previous acting projects, and then we are back to talking about this trip.
It’s interesting reading the book that in part is the behind-the-scenes of a show that hasn’t been released yet (and I can guarantee I’ll be faithfully watching “Men in Kilts” someday when it hits the screen). I loved it. I loved the back-and-forth teasing, even if at parts things were getting a tad crass, and relentless yet friendly mocking (Sam’s daredevil nature pitted against Graham’s well-justified caution — leading to a near-death incident barely averted), and the outpouring of heartfelt bromance in the end. It’s funny and charming and the silky voice of Graham McTavish is magical to listen to.
Love it. 4.5 stars.
Sam Heughan plays Jamie Fraser on the show, and Graham McTavish is his ferocious uncle Dougal MacKenzie. Apparently they have bonded while filming the show, and eventually took a buddy trip in a stick-shift van (poorly driven by Sam) through Scotland while filming their new show “Men in Kilts” (trailer here) with stories of whisky, bromance, Outlander filming anecdotes and general musings on life, universe and everything (but mostly Scotland and whisky).
I’m listening to the audio version because, well, Scottish accents. Sam and Graham narrate this book, and it is absolutely lovely and hilarious. I can listen to this duo talk and bicker and fondly mock each other for days.
It’s part travelogue, part buddy comedy, part Scottish history lesson, part ode to whisky. Sam Heughan gets a bit of good-natured ribbing for being a hunky Adonis who never misses a chance to peddle his whisky brand and whose driving skills may need a bit of refinement, while Graham McTavish gets mercilessly (yet friendly) mocked for his epicurean, latte-loving tastes. Ruminations about whisky are quickly followed by odes to Macbeth, and then punctuated by stories from Scotland’s quite violent and bloody past. We get a few Outlander filming anecdotes, a few asides about the duo’s acting lives and previous acting projects, and then we are back to talking about this trip.
It’s interesting reading the book that in part is the behind-the-scenes of a show that hasn’t been released yet (and I can guarantee I’ll be faithfully watching “Men in Kilts” someday when it hits the screen). I loved it. I loved the back-and-forth teasing, even if at parts things were getting a tad crass, and relentless yet friendly mocking (Sam’s daredevil nature pitted against Graham’s well-justified caution — leading to a near-death incident barely averted), and the outpouring of heartfelt bromance in the end. It’s funny and charming and the silky voice of Graham McTavish is magical to listen to.
Love it. 4.5 stars.