Outlander 1. Forastera (Spanish Edition) (1991)

(I took care to give no obvious spoilers about the story)

Title: Cross Stitch (on Librarything, Hebban.nl, Goodreads, Bookmeter (読書メーター))
Original title: Outlander
Author: Diana Gabaldon
Language: English
Series: Outlander #1
Reviews of other books in this series (up till now):
- A trail of fire
- Outlander #8: Written in my own heart's blood
Format of publication: UK pocket paperback
Number of pages: 846
Publisher: Arrow Books (Random House)
Year published: original 1991, my edition 2007
ISBN number: 9780099911708
Topics: time travel, Scotland, love
Reason for reading: I got this book as a birthday present in 2007, which is already 15 years ago. I was chatting with someone who hadn't read the series yet, and as I didn't mind re-reading it, we decided to do a buddy-read at Hebban.nl and then others joined in as well.
Recommended: Yes.
Target age group: 16+
Buy / Borrow / Bypass: Buy.

Short summary:
Claire, an English wartime nurse, accidentally travels from 1946 back to the 18th century (1743). There, she meets Jamie Fraser and gets caught up in the war between the English and the Scots.

Back cover text:
In 1945, Claire Randall is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon in Scotland. Innocently she walks through a stone circle in the Highlands, and finds herself in a violent skirmish taking place in 1743. Suddenly she is a Sassenach, an outlander, in a country torn by war and by clan feuds.

A wartime nurse, Claire can deal with the bloody wounds that face her. But it is harder to deal with the knowledge that she is in Jacobite Scotland and the carnage of Culloden is looming. Marooned amid the passion and violence, the superstition, the shifting allegiances and the fervent loyalties, Claire is in danger from Jacobites and Redcoats - and from the shock of her own desire for Jamie Fraser, a gallant and courageous young Scots warrior. Jamie shows her a passion so fierce and a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire, and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

Comments on the back cover text:
The US version starts the story in 1945, but this was changed in the UK version to 1946. They forgot to change it on the back cover text, though...

First paragraph:
It wasn't a very likely place for disappearances, at least at first glance. Mrs Baird's was like a thousand other Highland bed-and-breakfast establishments in 1946; clean and quiet, with fading floral wallpaper, gleaming floors and a coin-operated water heater in the bathroom. Mrs Baird herself was squat and easygoing, and made no objections to Frank lining her tiny rose-sprigged parlour with the dozens of books and papers with which he always travelled.
I met Mrs Baird in the front hall on my way out. She stopped me with a pudgy hand on my arm and patted at my hair.
'Dear me, Mrs Randall, ye canna go out like that! Here, just let me tuck that bit in for ye. There! That's better. Ye know, my cousin was tellin' me about a new perm she tried, comes out beautiful and holds like a dream; perhaps ye should try that kind next time.'
I hadn't the heart to tell her that the waywardness of my light brown curls was strictly the fault of nature, and not due to any dereliction on the part of the permanent-wave manufacturers. Her own tightly marcelled waves suffered from no such perversity.

Comments on the first paragraph / page:
The reason for the date being 1946 instead of 1945, is explained here:
"Why is there a date discrepancy between Outlander and Cross Stitch with regard to the birth of Geillis Duncan?

The discrepancy in dates is a mistake–it’s a copy-editing error caused by differences between the British edition of the books (which begin in 1946) and the American ones (which begin in 1945). The reason being that the American book was already in galleys when we sold Outlander in the UK.

The difference occurred after Reay Tannahill, a Scot who kindly proofread Cross Stitch before it was published in the UK, said that 1946 would have been a more accurate representation of conditions as I described them in Scotland. So I changed the date- -but the Americans wouldn’t let me change it for Outlander, saying that this would involve re-working all the dates, which would mean re-copy-editing the whole thing, and they didn’t want to do that."

Review:
Story:
The story starts with Frank and Claire in 1946, who got married before the war started, and are trying to get to know eachother again. They do seem to love eachother, but they really grew apart because of their different experiences during the war. They also don't seem to have common interests, except their wish for a child. However, quite soon, Claire accidentally travels two centuries to the past through a stone circle.
The first few weeks in the 18th century, Claire spent a lot of time observing, analyzing, and sometimes comparing her surroundings and the people to the 20th century. Claire worked as a nurse during WW2, so her knowledge of wounds and experience with death actually turned out to be quite useful in the 18th century.

Of the other characters, Geillis/Geilie Duncan (her name was actually changed to "Gaily" in the Dutch translation!) is interesting. If you are re-reading the book, you notice some things early on as a reader, even though Claire doesn't realize the implications of those things yet.
Jenny, Ian and Murtagh are the other interesting and nice characters, and Randall is the most horrible character of the entire book (though Dougall isn't the nicest person either, Randall "wins"). On the topics of rape, abuse, torture and murder, the author seems to have done her research. The scenes of people enjoying their sex together were written a lot better than in some other books (*cough*gameofthrones*cough*), but it's probably good that it's a book so you can skip over some parts if you don't like to read about that (or not imagine what it looks like), especially for the parts about torture and such. Luckily Claire is a healer, so she's able to fix quite a few things.

As this was the second time I read this book (and I have also read the rest of the series), I already knew Claire and Jamie were going to end up together. It actually surprised me on this re-read how much build-up there was to their relationship, as it was certainly not instant-love (at least not for Claire). In this UK version, Claire thought of Frank more often than in the US version (according to a comparison site) and I think she did think of him at just the right moments, otherwise it would have seemed like she had forgotten her life in the 20th century a bit more.

Writing style:
The story is told from Claire's perspective in first-person, so you get to read all Claire's thoughts, but you also don't know what's happening somewhere else. For example, you don't get to know what Frank is doing in the future.

The descriptions of Claire's surroundings are quite vivid, so it's easy to imagine walking around there together with Claire. Even the temperature and smells are described.

The way the Scottish people talk (including their accents) are written down as they'd have spoken it. Apparently in the Dutch translation, most of that (except for some specific words) was converted into "standard Dutch".

Cover:
On the cover of my edition, there's a purple sky with a stone circle beneath it. This stone circle is quite important to the story, as that's the "time travel device".

Conclusion:
Interesting, quite realistic time-travel book (except for the time travel and Loch Ness) and a good start of the series, though it does not end in such a cliff-hanger that you have to continue reading in the next book.

Rereadability:
Yes. This is the second time I've read this book and I would read it again! Though maybe I'll read the US version then, to experience the differences. There are a lot of details in this book (and quite a few characters), so I think it's actually easier to read the second time around.
I have not seen the series and I don't think I am going to watch it, but from the buddy-read I gathered that the series follows the book quite closely.

Related links:
- This review on my weblog.
- Buddy-read article on Hebban (Dutch)
- Comparison between the American edition "Outlander" and the UK/NZ edition "Cross Stitch"
- Explanation about the title:
"Cross Stitch was my original title (it was a play on “a stitch in time”), and the Brits liked it. The Americans said “It sounds too much like embroidery, can you think of something more….adventurous?” so I did—OUTLANDER (I thought of calling it “Sassenach,” but they said, “No. Nobody can pronounce it, and since they can’t pronounce your name either…). Also, when I wrote it, I had in mind that it was one book–and knew only enough about it to be pretty sure that Claire would “cross” not once, but twice– future to past, past to future–which would make an X, which is the basic embroidery cross stitch. It also had to do with Claire’s occupation–that of a healer. Lots of meanings, but overall, not really a good title, I don’t think."

Similar books / recommendations:
- 22-11-1963 (Dutch translation of "11/22/63", English review), also about time travel.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. I had tried to watch the series but I was deeply annoyed by the portrayal of Claire as a woman who was prepared to risk not only her life but those who were keeping her safe for her own ends. I was very pleased to find that she is a much more rounded character in the book and one with whom I developed some sympathy.

The book is engagingly written, and although there is an overuse of certain phrases by the Scots (much to the irritation of anyone from north of Berwick) if you can get over that this is a very enjoyable read. I will certainly be reading the second in the series, but continuing to avoid the dramatisation.

If you have watched the series this book can only add to it. If you didn't get on with the series, give the book a go as it is much much better. ( )

I read it! I trudged through, sticking it out for 2 months! I read a couple of books in between. She is a lovely writer; great descriptions and detail, character development, full story, I had it pictured in my head throughout the book. I think it just isn't my genre, and honestly, I really didn't like Claire that much. I was surprised when I looked at the copyright, 1991?!? This has been out there for a long time. Glad it has staying power, that she has kept writing, that most people love it. I may try the Starz version? Or just go KonMari my house. Should take about the same amount of time...haha. ( )

A binge worthy, historical, time traveling, romance that includes a strong, female, lead and a love that defies time. A well written, researched, and immersive read about family and the fight to survive during 1700's Scotland. ( )

Edifying, exciting, enduring

It seems that everyone else knows about this series, and now I do too. Brilliant with wonderful characters and a breathless pace of adventure and romance. Diana Gabaldon weaves a magical story with a literacy and a conviction I hadn't realised was lacking in other books. Yes, I've bought the rest of the series. ( )