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Obviously I am in it to win it now. That being said, this was the hardest one to get through.
Somehow Diana Gabaldon decided that the third book was the one where she should start adding in opinions on weight and race. There were more than a few times that I audibly moaned and rolled my eyes. But, Diana was born in 1952 and you cant stop a boomer from boomer-ing.
This third book is the first one where she introduces characters that aren't white and WOOF. That was rough. If it wasn't the minstralfication of Joe Abernathy it was the dehumanizing of Mr. Willoughby. In 1968, Joe has this very weird anti black liberation mindset and mocks his son who is part of the NOI. I wouldn't find this an issue if it was approached with any good will but this critique Joe has of his son trying to create his own African American identity outside of his relationship to white people. Ooph. It's not good. And to know it's written by a white boomer leaves a bad taste since it is her putting on literary black face to try and throw out opinions regarding the African American community. It feels REAL bad man. Also why does Joe, a black man in Boston in the late 60s, have a strong southern drawl??? Does she know that not all black people talk like that???
The new Chinese character of Mr. Willoughby is regularly given dog-like traits and broken stereotypical English. He sleeps under tables and is a drunk and obsessed with women's feet. His traditional manchu clothes are described as pajamas and he is also treated as a pet and a burden. It's a weird characterization which feels approximately 3 degrees off from being given the name Ching Chong.
Beyond the weird racism and liberal use of the N word, Diana has also decided this is the book to fight the fatties. There are AT LEAST 10 instances of Claire noticing someone's weight and thinking 'at least I'm thinner than them.' in the letter she leaves her daughter before going back to Jamie the last line of advice is 'try not to get fat.' Look, I know it was the heroin chic 90s and I know boomer women were raised to be thin and attractive but it's so weird to have this character suddenly become this judgemental cunt because Diana must have been feeling insecure? IDK. I have no idea what would prompt a lot of her choices in this book.
At this point in time I am reading them because I like the love story and can't bring myself to watch the show. But OOPH that was a rough one.
Somehow Diana Gabaldon decided that the third book was the one where she should start adding in opinions on weight and race. There were more than a few times that I audibly moaned and rolled my eyes. But, Diana was born in 1952 and you cant stop a boomer from boomer-ing.
This third book is the first one where she introduces characters that aren't white and WOOF. That was rough. If it wasn't the minstralfication of Joe Abernathy it was the dehumanizing of Mr. Willoughby. In 1968, Joe has this very weird anti black liberation mindset and mocks his son who is part of the NOI. I wouldn't find this an issue if it was approached with any good will but this critique Joe has of his son trying to create his own African American identity outside of his relationship to white people. Ooph. It's not good. And to know it's written by a white boomer leaves a bad taste since it is her putting on literary black face to try and throw out opinions regarding the African American community. It feels REAL bad man. Also why does Joe, a black man in Boston in the late 60s, have a strong southern drawl??? Does she know that not all black people talk like that???
The new Chinese character of Mr. Willoughby is regularly given dog-like traits and broken stereotypical English. He sleeps under tables and is a drunk and obsessed with women's feet. His traditional manchu clothes are described as pajamas and he is also treated as a pet and a burden. It's a weird characterization which feels approximately 3 degrees off from being given the name Ching Chong.
Beyond the weird racism and liberal use of the N word, Diana has also decided this is the book to fight the fatties. There are AT LEAST 10 instances of Claire noticing someone's weight and thinking 'at least I'm thinner than them.' in the letter she leaves her daughter before going back to Jamie the last line of advice is 'try not to get fat.' Look, I know it was the heroin chic 90s and I know boomer women were raised to be thin and attractive but it's so weird to have this character suddenly become this judgemental cunt because Diana must have been feeling insecure? IDK. I have no idea what would prompt a lot of her choices in this book.
At this point in time I am reading them because I like the love story and can't bring myself to watch the show. But OOPH that was a rough one.