I just finished reading Diana Gabaldon’s Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone, the ninth book in the Outlander Series. After waiting what seemed like a hundred years for this novel, I worried that I wouldn’t be able to remember all that had taken place in the previous eight novels. And guess what—I couldn’t recall a great deal of it. But it didn’t matter. I loved it anyway.
Ms. Gabaldon’s characters and locations are so vividly drawn, and her writing so engaging, that I didn’t care that some characters weren’t familiar to me or that I’d forgotten Jamie’s nephew had married a Quaker or that William was Jamie’s son or half a dozen other things integral to the story.
Plenty of backstory is woven into the narrative, but even so I often had to shrug and read on when I couldn’t place a character. Again, I didn’t care. I love these characters. The major ones are as real to me as people in my own family.
My only worry is that I might not live to read book ten. With times being what they are, and my age being what it is, nothing is guaranteed.
If you like your books with a little meat on their bones, you’ll enjoy the Outlander series. It’s a feast, not fast food.
Peace, people.
Praying for Eyebrowz 
Also just finished Go Tell the Bees. It is an immersive experience – like you are stopping in on Fraser’s Ridge to have a johnnycake (right, isn’t that what they call them?) The whole series has been my pandemic drug. Discovered Outlander at just the right time.
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Immersive is the right word. I’ve been reading some of the negative reviews and I’m thinking, “don’t you get it? This is an EXPERIENCE!”
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I actually agree with the reviews – the story goes nowhere, meanders all over the place, and sometimes makes fun of itself. Still, I didn’t care. How weird is that?
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I didn’t care either. She is just so good at weaving a story.
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My husband and I have been watching the series on TV for a while and I’m afraid the slow pace is driving him batty. Maybe the books are better?
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The books are ginormous. Filled with description and character development. I absolutely love them, but not everyone does. Gabaldon has a huge following, though. People like me who can’t get enough.
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