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The Outlander
by Gil Adamson

Release Date: 19th Jan 2009
Publisher: Bloomsbury
ISBN: 978 0 7475 9592 2
RRP: £12.99

Average Customer Rating: 
(0.0 based on 0 ratings)

This is a debut of the highest quality - jawdropping in its potency...

A desperately poignant, yet ruthlessly masculine tale of a young woman on the run, The Outlander envelopes us in Mary Boulton's demise from a well-bred daughter of a former Minister to the deranged murderess of an adulterous husband. Immediately caught up in the hunt, we are thrown into the disorientation and dismay as Mary struggles to flee from her brother-in-laws - a pair of well built twins intent on revenge for their brother's death.

At first, it is not clear whether Mary is simply suffering shock, severe hunger and sleep deprivation or whether her mind really is unhinged. The constant complaint on voices in her head, the sight of mysterious, unwanted but usually benign visions and the scatty and birdlike thoughts she possesses are at once strange and compelling. In this, Adamson succeeds almost in a magical way to make Mary's character altogether emotionally unbalanced and yet ethereally bewitching. We are drawn into her predicament and plight on a compassionate level and we are brought swiftly around to her defence despite the unravelling of her brazen and coldly handled murder of her husband.

The understanding that the tale is one of a young women running for her life is, in my view, only a partial comprehension of Mary's story. For there is far more to her struggles than merely that of outrunning her persistent pursuers; for Mary, there is coming to understand her own mind and its illusions, a need to overcome her fear of the human condition and to escape a life-long sensation that her life should somehow always be mired in giving and never receiving affection or love. It is a road of self discovery of the most distressing and purist manner - a tearing asunder of all possessions, inhibitions and preconceptions and learning to rebuild her character, her essence and personality from within.

It is no surprise then that this book has gained such critical acclaim - it is an astonishing piece of fiction that reads with the acuity of having the essence of truth curled up inside it. Majestic, coarse, unpredictable and smooth - it is a contradiction, a clashing of something powerfully male and female - but mostly of life.

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09 January 2009: Anonymous wrote:
Deep and a bit wierd at times - is Mary mad or not? I liked the way it was written and I found it amazing that a story with what some might say is little content, could keep me coming back for more. I spent hours at a time reading this book - I'd recommend it to anyone.

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