Week Six: A Rich Fantasy Life

For this week, I wanted to talk about another kind of classical Fantasy, romantic fantasy. In particular, I wanted to talk about some of my favorite guilty pleasure stories, the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. Specifically, I took a look again at the first book, Outlander (I got this entire series for Christmas this year, so I have been very eager to read it again).

I was first introduced to this book in the back of my mother's car three years ago when she had to read it for her book club. I felt the plot looked interesting, so I decided to read it. It became a real way for me to bond with my mother through literature and fantasy. It is about a woman from the WWII era travels back in time through a circle of magic stones into the 17th century.

First of all, there's a lot to love about this book. Not only is it a fairly accurate historical fiction, it's also a magic fantasy with witch hunting, sword fights, and even the loch ness monster (though that part is completely random). The author went through great lengths to understand what life was like in 18th century Ireland, and it shines in the work. It even covers things like camber pots and clothes making.

Another amazing part of this novel is the protagonist. She is incredibly independent and intelligent. She is a retired WWII nurse with a passion for herbalism, so she spends most of the book running around saving everyone. It's really fun to read such a powerful character, and as a woman, I completely relate to her.

Now I do not recommend this story for everyone. After all, it is a love story, and many people find that genre to be off-putting. The men in this story are also completely just female wish fulfillment. Jamie, the hero, is just so perfect and respectful of the protagonist's feelings and wishes. I see it so much more clearly three years later how unrealistic the mens actions are. In a way, I feel like its almost a bit of payback to the years of badly unrealistically written women I've had to put up with over the years.

Another strange thing about this romance is that instead of multiple suitors for the protagonist, like most romance novel plot devices, so many people in this book instead go after Jamie. There are at least five people, three of them men, that go after Jamie as a romantic partner. Jamie also must be the most beat up character I have ever read, because he's an inch from his life too many times to count. It helps that the protagonist is always there with her doctor skills to save him.

Overall, this book is a great different kind of fantasy and wish fulfillment. Although not realistic, it is surprising historically accurate and I greatly enjoyed it.