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adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I had a lot of fun reading this book. The narrator of the audiobook did a great job with all the voices and accents, and the mood. I listened to it every single evening, and will almost certainly listen to the sequel provided that the narrator does an equal or better job to this one. Also, I say that the story’s diversity is “complicated” because at the end of the day, what does diversity really mean in 18th century Scotland in the precursor to the Jacobite rebellion? Certainly not racial diversity in this context. However, sexual diversity and the jarring homophobia inherent in how all and only the gay men are the ones who engage in deep, deep sexual depravity and abuse was horrendous. Really poorly done. But thinking about this story though the lens of a narrative about indigenous Scottish people grappling with the complexities of their clan system while also struggling against a colonial imposition makes me think there are potentially political readings of the sexually depraved British solider. That said, there are certainly more interesting and challenging ways to render a colonial villain than to make them a gay rapist.
For all the merits of a sweet story with a unique set up for a well earned romance, the ending, was trash because it cut the story off so abruptly after an almost insultingly rapid physical recovery of Jamie from the brink of near death with fever and a staph infection, to being a strapping young sex god in only a few pages. Jamie and Claire’s romance felt well earned partly because they actually had lives and interests in the world around them, and had emotional investments in relationships other than one another. So to give them such a saccharine ending felt like a cop out. I kept going back and forth on whether or not I thought Claire’s decision to remain in the past made sense given how much she really loved Frank, and how little time they seem to have gotten to really try to build a life together. But honestly, if I fell into the past through a giant sacred stone, I’d want to stick it out to see what would happen too. Mere curiosity would be enough to keep me going, whether or not I was falling in love with a red headed sex god. So I think their relationship works on so many levels, that the ending could’ve been so much richer.
The sex scenes were pretty hot, but I hate the trope of the young man who is a virgin in one chapter, and a miraculous sex god with a much older and more experienced woman in the next chapter. Kvothe in The Name of the Wind is a similar kind of relationship to sexuality, and I find it a rather dull understanding of the complexity of sexual pleasure. Also, the only sex they ever seemed to have was instant-orgasm PIV missionary, which...I guess some people enjoy that.
More thoughts on the weaknesses of the story after the spoiler break