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The Outlander
by Gil Adamson
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About This Book
ISBN13: 9780061491252 
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Powells.com Staff Pick
Outlander by Gil Adamson is a wondrous vacation for your mind. With its eccentric characters and luminous prose, this novel is a romping escapade of big fun.
Recommended by Adrienne, Powells.com
Review-a-Day (What is Review-a-Day?)
"Welcome to The Outlander, an absorbing adventure from a Canadian poet and short story writer who knows how to keep us enthralled. Of course, the Girl Being Chased is one of the most enduring figures of chivalric and chauvinistic literature, a staple of television dramas and horror films (the dark street, those panicked backward glances, that plaintive cry: 'Oh, why did I wear these heels?!'). But Gil is short for Gillian, and her strange and complicated heroine has nothing in common with Hollywood's worn-out damsels in distress." Ron Charles, Washington Post Book World (read the entire Washington Post Book World review)
Synopses & Reviews
Publisher Comments:
In 1903 a mysterious young woman flees alone across the West, one heart-pounding step ahead of the law. At nineteen, Mary Boulton has just become a widow — and her husband's killer. As bloodhounds track her frantic race toward the mountains, she is tormented by mad visions and by the knowledge that her two ruthless brothers-in-law are in pursuit, determined to avenge their younger brother's death. Responding to little more than the primitive fight for life, the widow retreats ever deeper into the wilderness—and into the wilds of her own mind—encountering an unforgettable cast of eccentrics along the way.
With the stunning prose and captivating mood of great works like Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain or early Cormac McCarthy, Gil Adamson's intoxicating debut novel weds a brilliant literary style to the gripping tale of one woman's desperate escape.
Review:
"Set in 1903, Adamson's compelling debut tells the wintry tale of 19-year-old Mary Boulton ('[w]idowed by her own hand') and her frantic odyssey across Idaho and Montana. The details of Boulton's sad past — an unhappy marriage, a dead child, crippling depression — slowly emerge as she reluctantly ventures into the mountains, struggling to put distance between herself and her two vicious brothers-in-law, who track her like prey in retaliation for her killing of their kin. Boulton's journey and ultimate liberation — made all the more captivating by the delirium that runs in the recesses of her mind — speaks to the resilience of the female spirit in the early part of the last century. Lean prose, full-bodied characterization, memorable settings and scenes of hardship all lift this book above the pack. Already established as a writer of poetry (Ashland) and short stories (Help Me, Jacques Cousteau), Adamson also shines as novelist." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
Review:
"Adamson's debut work is simply enough, a superb novel....The frayed material of the North American west is rendered in an astoundingly fresh light....[A] condition only occasioned by first rate fiction" Jim Harrison
Review:
"Enriched by vivid language that reflects Adamson's background as a poet, Outlander is a riveting tale of a woman's thirst for freedom. (Grade: A-)" Entertainment Weekly
Review:
"A lovingly crafted novel." Kirkus Reviews
Review:
"The slow unfolding of story and character coupled with lyrical descriptions of the terrain, an occasional touch of bizarre humor, and a multitude of well-chosen historical details will appeal to readers of literary writing as well as historical-fiction fans." Booklist
Review:
"Authentic historical details, a strong female character running for her life, and a murder-driven plot will appeal to fiction readers....Highly recommended." Library Journal
Review:
"A remarkable first novel, full of verve, beautifully written, and with all the panache of a great adventure." Michael Ondaatje
Review:
"The Outlander deserves to be read twice, first for the plot and the complex characters, which make this a page-turner of the highest order, and then a second time, slowly, to savor the marvel of Gil Adamson's writing. This novel is a true wonder." Ann Patchett
About the Author
Gil Adamson's acclaimed short fiction and poetry have been widely published in magazines and literary journals. Her two poetry books (Primitive, 1991; and Ashland, 2003) and her collection of stories, Help Me, Jacques Cousteau (1995), received rave reviews. The Outlander is Adamson's first novel.
What Our Readers Are Saying
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Average customer rating based on 2 comments:
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mreader, July 17, 2008 (view all comments by mreader)
This is a terrific read with regards to beauty of language and a compelling story. Adamson was first published as a poet and it shows. Fortunately, her word choices and descriptive passages do not detract from the forward movement of the story. It's wonderful that she's drawing on the west as a frame for her work in this piece, the beautiful country around Pincher Creek, Alberta deserves a fine writer's sensibility.
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Mentalfloss1, July 3, 2008 (view all comments by Mentalfloss1)
Remarkable as a first novel. If Adamson writes something better it'll receive 5 stars from me.
The writing is atmospheric and beautiful and the story is compelling. Set in the vastness of central Canada at the turn of the 1900's the geography takes a central role in this tale of the adventure of young Mary Boulton evading two men who are tracking her across this wilderness.
The situations are brutal, tender, harsh and serene by turns. It's the sort of book that causes me to want to read it quickly to learn what happens next while the writing has me savoring the phrases and descriptions, envisioning what Mary Boulton saw and felt on her odyssey.
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Product Details
- ISBN:
- 9780061491252
- Author:
- Publisher:
- Ecco
- Author:
- Author:
- Subject:
- Frontier and pioneer life
- Subject:
- History
- Subject:
- General
- Subject:
- General Fiction
- Subject:
- Historical - General
- Subject:
- Literary
- Edition Description:
- Ecco
- Publication Date:
- May 2008
- Binding:
- Hardcover
- Grade Level:
- General/trade
- Language:
- English
- Pages:
- 389
- Dimensions:
- 914x642x143 145
