A review by kamrynkoble
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

adventurous slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Outlander is comfort food in book form. Man, it just works for me. And I'm actually shocked that I don't have a review up for this delicious little disaster.

I first discovered it in 2016, thanks to a recommendation from a good friend. I picked up a short and fat mass-market copy that today, is the most loved and therefore beaten volume I own. It's falling apart. Page 741 and 742 actually fell out and blew into a pool. If you have that mass-market copy, wanna send me a picture of those pages? They're still missing.

I carried this book around Disney World and read it in every line. I even put my phone's flashlight under my chin to read it in Space Mountain. It's so good it's worth looking stupid to keep devouring it.

This book is by no means perfect. Every time I pick it up again (which is too frequently), I slog and skim and skip my way around. It would've been nice if it followed a tight, well-crafted story structure. But somehow, that doesn't change the fact that this book is a warm bowl of homemade mac and cheese.

Funny, it looks like every time I try to reread this I drop out around page 620. Thanks for the statistics, Goodreads! I don't think I need to actually finish this every time I pick it up, though.

So I will shout my love for Outlander from the rooftops, even if I'm not one of the true fans who've read all 72 bloated installments in this series. Claire and Jamie will always have a place in my heart, and I'm happy for them to set up camp and stay there forever.

**2022 reread**
A wonderful reread of a wonderful book. I really want to get through the whole series and chose to start from the beginning. Thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook as well.