A woman fighting for survival out on the prairies in 1902. Woman vs. rugged Canadian landscape. Uh-oh, you might say, and all the ghosts of “good for you” CanLit past return and shake their chains at you. Except before you pass it over and reach for Breaking Dawn, there’s one more thing you should know – she just murdered her husband, and she’s fleeing for her life.
And so begins this Canadian historical page turner (thought it was an urban myth? I know, but fellow Canada Reads nominee The Book of Negroes qualifies as well). You don’t really need to know much more about the plot – although the constant escape thread winds through other interesting sections – surviving in the mountains, pioneer life, and a touching, sensual love story, which is a wonder of narrative pacing and restraint by a first-time novelist.
Although The Outlander has many things to recommend it, what turned out to be my favourite element was this remarkably strong protagonist. She has no particular gifts, no special training, and she survives by her own determination and guile. There are a couple situations where it would have been easy for Adamson to have the hero rescue our heroine [...]
