(‘scuse the pun. It’s an involuntary reflex.)
I finished Outlander last night, with (surprisingly) minimal neglect of my normal life. I made a deal with myself, that if I was going to read it, I had to at least continue feeding my children. They’re good kids, they deserve it. This book has a bad reputation for causing everything else to become totally irrelevent. However, everybody ate. (I’m not saying WHAT they ate, or whether dishes got washed.)
It was really, really good.
It was one of those books that you keep thinking about after you’re done, remembering passages, wishing you hadn’t read it so you could read it all over again. It was well written, the plot was engaging, and the characters genuine and believable. It’s very similar to a story I thought about writing (and actually finished a few chapters on), but I’m embarrassed I even thought to do it after reading her skillful execution of it. She is a master storyteller.
I mentioned there was a fair bit of *ahem, but I’d like to clarify that it was tastefully done, and within the confines of marriage. I’m going to expound on that a bit, kids, so, 18+ from here on out.
It didn’t read like a romance novel, and yet, it was a very romantic story. I know that it is mistakenly shelved in the romance section occasionally, but it really doesn’t belong there. I have been thinking about how it is different, because it DOES deal rather vividly with human sexuality. She doesn’t skim over moments. You have a very good idea what was going on, but the language is entirely different. It wasn’t written to titillate, although it was graphic at times. It was just written plainly as it is between a man and a woman. And that’s obviously a subject matter that’s not for all readers. So, there has to be some discretion inlvolved here. But…
-and I’m thinking about how to say this, knowing that it probably won’t come out right-
It seems appropriate.
First, let me say, there is plenty more to this book than just this. So don’t get the wrong idea about it. I am focusing on it for the sake of this post. Okay, onward.
This book, whether intentionally or not, paints a vibrant, exciting sexual relationship within marriage. In a romance novel, matrimony is an afterthought. A tidy ending. Or, at the very least, it comes well after the physical relationship has begun. In a romance novel, it’s not so much a product of a loving union, it’s the result of physical attraction and drama. Oh, they’ll end up loving each other eventually, but it’s a completely separate journey than the accelerated path to sex.
But in this book, she wrote it right. They are one and the same, this journey of the two. She didn’t hide it in the dark, but she didn’t turn the scene inside out so you could see every little thing. It wasn’t even that she was walking a fine line, either. She just wrote it as it was, expecting the reader to understand. She didn’t have to create circumstances for good sex. No stormy night on a pirate ship. No intriguing masquerade balls in Charleston. None of that. MARRIAGE was the circumstance. Nothing more was required. That, to me, was a powerful message in this day and age.
Subtle is not really the right term to apply to this book though, nor is subdued. It was just honest. It was steamy sometimes, but not false. Does that make sense? It didn’t fabricate the true nature of sex the way a romance novel does. There were no heaving bosoms or throbbing you-know-whats. The reality is what makes it so compelling. And this trueness of writing carries through in the very themes she presents. The spiritual conflicts, the belief systems of the characters. She even has a central figure saying at one point that sex within marriage is consecrated, that God gave us to each other in marriage for this holy and spiritual experience. Wow! That’s not exactly mainstream thinking there. No mincing words, either. How much clearer can she be than that? I can think of a very good example of this by the way she emphasizes the man’s virginity. It didn’t contrast in the least with his virility or manliness, and he basically laughs at the goodnatured teasing of his peers. He knows it is not what defines him as a man. What an unexpected, biblical concept to find right in the middle of the book! It wasn’t a freak accident of fate either, the character chose chasteness. This puts it leagues away from a harlequin romance. It says, THIS is what’s hot. Holy is hot. Now, that just seems wrong to even type, but I can’t describe it any other way.
There were so many little themes like that throughout the book, so many evidences of a Christian worldview, that I can’t even mention them all. It was just nice to read a really lovely book in that context, not having to sift through the good and bad to enjoy it.
With almost every turn of the page, I found this book to be a pleasant oddity. I was glad somebody was willing to write the truth- that sex within marriage is joyful and satisfying. That sex anywhere else can’t even hold a candle to it. There is a wide misconception about that in today’s society, and it was a relief to see that exposed in this book as the lie it truly is. I don’t know if anybody else picked this up as they read, but I couldn’t get away from it.
I know you could argue that some things are better left behind closed doors, that we don’t have to advertise the joys and benefits of marital sex, but well, why not? Shouldn’t people know it? They are definitely exposed to the lies, shouldn’t they hear the truth, too? It’s nothing to be ashamed of, right? I realize there’s a line here, and I’m not saying we should cross it to compete with the world’s view of intimacy. I’m just saying, we can acknowledge and celebrate the reality of this blessing, without being crass OR prudish. I think this author did a really good job of that.
I finished this book, put it down, and thanked God for the institution of marriage and the joy it brings His children. In MY book, that’s a good review.
Anyway, so those are my thoughts. Hope they weren’t too blunt for ya! I’ll be back to my regular PG posting from here on out.
Now, to those dishes. Erg.
aunt vickie
You sold me… that will be my next book…
jill
is the author diana gabaldon? sounds good!
WG
Yes, that’s her. I’ll stick a hyperlink in the post. I think there are quite a few books after Outlander, which I can’t wait to get to!
jill
by the way, i joined the grocery game because of your blog. if it’s not too late and you’re interested, you can use me as a referral.
Cousin
It sounds like Chick Lit to me.
WG
Well, I am a chick, Cuz. This might not be your cup o’ tea. But, I will reserve a copy for Future Mrs. Cousin, and you can read it secretly with none the wiser.
Jill- I’d love the referrel! You have to put my email address in from your end though, I can’t claim you myself. I’ll email you my addy. Thanks!
aunt charlotte
Just a note to let you know the coupon train has left my home and is now headed to its next destination. It was fun looking through the coupons and finding a few that I will actually use. Hope it moves fast and helps all those involved.
aunt vickie
I think I want to play the grocery game, too…
Dolly
I always have mixed emotions when I get lost in a great book. I just love it when a book transports me so wholly to a different world, but I also feel a little guilty about neglecting the ones left behind. SO hard for me to put a book down once I’m into it. Almost impossible for me to read after bed and durning nap times alone. So I have to limit my ‘can’t put this book down for the life of me’ books to one every other month or so. 🙂
Thanks for the review. Now would be a great time to read since I’m on vacay, but I’m too cheap to go out an buy it! I’ll just wait for my library at home.
Denise
Oh! I am missin’ the ole book club…hmmm. Met some new moms in the area, wonder how’d they take to this? LOL