The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel ~ Diana Gabaldon, Illustrated by Hoang Nguyen

“After too long an absence, Jamie Fraser is coming home to Scotland—but not without great trepidation. Though his beloved godfather, Murtagh, promised Jamie’s late parents he’d watch over their brash son, making good on that vow will be no easy task. There’s already a fat bounty on the young exile’s head, courtesy of Captain Black Jack Randall, the sadistic British officer who’s crossed paths—and swords—with Jamie in the past. And in the court of the mighty MacKenzie clan, Jamie is a pawn in the power struggle between his uncles: aging chieftain Colum, who demands his nephew’s loyalty—or his life—and Dougal, war chieftain of Clan MacKenzie, who’d sooner see Jamie put to the sword than anointed Colum’s heir.

And then there is Claire Randall—mysterious, beautiful, and strong-willed, who appears in Jamie’s life to stir his  compassion . . . and arouse his desire.

But even as Jamie’s heart draws him to Claire, Murtagh is certain she’s been sent by the Old Ones, and Captain Randall accuses her of being a spy. Claire clearly has something to hide, though Jamie can’t believe she could pose him any danger. Still, he knows she is torn between two choices—a life with him, and whatever it is that draws her thoughts so often elsewhere.” [Publisher's Summary]

Having anticipated the release of The Exile for half a dozen months or more, I have to admit to suffering a bout of mixed feelings after having finally read it.

Briefly, things to note about the graphic novel:

• It covers the first third of the story told in Outlander.
• Despite what the cover of the book states, it cannot accurately be described as “Jamie’s side of the story.”
• Fans of Gabaldon’s original novel will be able to follow the story told in the graphic novel. Readers who’ve yet to pick up Outlander? Perhaps not so much.
• It is a hardcover, full color graphic novel that, according to Amazon, clocks in at 224 pages.

Having followed the books’ development on Gabaldon’s blog, I knew that the events in the graphic novel were going to be presented from Murtagh’s perspective. That perspective shifted during a few key scenes to Jamie, but a few scenes does not ‘Jamie’s side of the story’ make, and there is more going on that Murtagh alone is privy to. The good of this: The plot of the original novel is supplemented with truly interesting developments, especially in regards to Geillis Duncan. The bad: If you went into this book wanting more of Jamie’s thoughts, reactions, or first hand emotions you’re going to get some, but not nearly enough to satisfy.

You might think that 224 pages – a generous number, considering – would allow the story to unfold with leisure. Instead, it felt rushed; scenes shifted quickly and without preamble. There was very little exposition to set the scene and within each scene keeping track of the characters might prove difficult. For fans of the original series, the quick pace may be more of an annoyance than a hindrance. For those with little to no awareness of Outlander‘s storyline? Tricky. And the story The Exile is attempting to tell might not be – probably won’t be – fulfilling.

Additionally, Claire is a flat character in The Exile. She’s almost unlikeable. The quick manner in which Jamie falls in love with her, then, is hard to understand or support. The emotion of the original novel, for me, was not present at all in this adaptation.

Sample page from Amazon - Click on image to enlarge

And now the art: It was lovely. Some of the panels were gorgeous. Going with full color was a good call on the part of the publisher.

However, there were discrepancies in Jamie’s and Claire’s appearance that bothered me as the pages turned. The sample page to the right comes early on in the book and captures my favorite image of Jamie (second strip, on the left.) That representation is close enough to the Jamie in my mind to get behind. But his face changed as the story progressed into the third chapter. It’s personal and subjective, and that out of the way, I don’t mind saying that I didn’t care for the majority of Jamie’s image(s) in the book.

As for Claire, she was too busty (and the author’s note at the end of the book mentions she was even moreso in initial drafts,) and after the second chapter looked too often angry, startled, or just strange.

And I could have easily summed up those last two paragraphs by simply saying that it seemed as though the first two chapters didn’t belong to the same book because the leads – Jamie and Claire – were visually and obviously different in appearance.

In the end, I really have to own whatever disappointment I may feel. I knew the limitations of the format going in – dialogue would be spare, for one, and there’d be little room for character development, for another – and so wanting and hoping for more was never a good idea. Ideally, I would have loved to see the artwork preceded or proceeded by pages of text. Really make it Jamie’s side of the story, complete with a full complement of his thoughts and emotions. That’s me, always wanting the best of both worlds.

Also, some of the scenes – as much as I may have wanted them to be included – just shouldn’t have been. In light of the limited text, taken out of the full context of the novel as they were, stripped of the emotion behind them, those scenes became painfully comic or groan-worthy. (I’m thinking specifically of Claire and Jamie’s first love scene. It made me cringe as it was presented in this book.)

Overall, The Exile was enjoyable enough for pre-established fans of Outlander, and the artwork was quite nice.

Comfort Reads – Part 1

Comfort reads. Is there a reader who doesn’t have one or two, maybe more? Perhaps, but if it’s so, that reader isn’t me. And it isn’t Shannon from Giraffe Days, either. A post on her blog – a lovely blog, I might add, that I eagerly check most every day – not too recently focused on her top ten comfort reads. I thought: I can do that. But as it turns out, I can’t. At least not easily.

Why? Well. These books- the ones that offer comfort – fill me up. I think about them and it’s like something inside of me is expanding, my feelings like air in a balloon, pushing and demanding. Like a string tying off that balloon, I try to wrap my mind around each exhale of emotion. And I can’t. I’ve never been able to blow up a balloon to its fullest. Asthma. And I expect that no matter how many times I try to write it, I’ll never get this post just right.

But what I can do is scale it back. Try to focus on a couple and stretch the theme into several posts. So that’s what this is, the first post and two books that have long since been cemented as comfort reads.

Before I get to them, though, I’m going to borrow Shannon’s definition of what a comfort read is. She nailed it.

“What is a comfort read? That’s an easy one. It’s a book that, no matter your mood, you can snuggle down with. A book that you know, because you’ve read it before, has the power to absorb you, de-stress you, shine a little light on your soul for however long. It’s a book where the characters are like family, a book that has associations and memories for you – good ones. A book that’s like your best friend, like a cuddly old jumper that you will never throw out no matter how tattered it becomes. It might be an ugly edition, it might have water damage and dog ears and wrinkles on the spine, or it might be immaculately preserved (especially if you’re as careful with your books as I am!).

A comfort read is, quite simply, a book you read to comfort yourself with. You know what happens but that’s never a problem. It’s the characters and the story that you love, like a favourite movie or comforting song. And, for me, I think it needs a happy ending. I want to be left with that feeling of wholeness that is happiness.”

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

There is a faded receipt within my paperback copy’s pages. It’s been mostly stripped of its print, but you can just make out the store’s name, the price of the book; I’m sorry to say that the date is gone, worn away after all this time. A couple of weeks ago I opened the book for a re-read; I came to that receipt and smiled. For no particular reason other than it was there and it was a touchstone to the day I bought it, not knowing what awaited me, how deeply I would come to care about Claire and Jamie. How consumed by it, by them, I would become. As I began to read, I realized it was as true now as it had ever been, and that my emotions were as firmly tied to the story as they ever were. Moreso. Because now I do know them. I know what bits of dialogue turn me inside out, or cut me. I know there are scenes that flicker behind my eyes like a film strip, so clear, and that I don’t need to actually read one again to recall it in a blink.

Reading Outlander was a perfect experience for me. And because it was it scared me; as a result, I put off reading the next book. Eventually I did, but it shook me up so bad I didn’t continue from there. Until recently. After that re-read I made a decision: I wasn’t going to put off reading Voyager any longer. And that’s what kept  me occupied all of last week. But that’s not this post, that’s another; hopefully I’ll get it written and posted this week. Suffice to say, I’ve fallen even more in love. And I’m just as scared as I was after that first, brilliant read through of Outlander.

Perhaps its odd that something that riles me up so much can comfort as well, but it does. Does it ever.

Since they are in a few small ways similar, I have to mention Sara Donati’s Into the Wilderness; I read it just this year, but reading it again means falling for it again, each time. It belongs on this list, too.

The Black Jewels Trilogy by Anne Bishop

If you’ve read my blog for any length of time this can’t come as a surprise. But I have to mention it here, again.

The omnibus edition is 1204 pages long. I carried it around in my bag for weeks while I read it and then after. I couldn’t let it go. I didn’t want to part from it. There are times still that I find myself standing in front of the shelf it sits on, running my finger across its spine. Because I need to be close.

The books that make up this trilogy harbor several of my favorite characters of all time: Lucivar, Daemon, and Saetan. I can’t imagine my life without them and their world in it. They both may have their brutal moments, their darkness, but there is so much tenderness and passion in these pages, and when I’m settled among them I always feel safe and happy. Content.

Truth told I could have included all of the companion books because I pick them up again and again as well, and love them nearly as much. More truth? Ms. Bishop could write a single page and so long as it was a scene shared by the three listed above, I would be blissed out.

So there it is. Inadequate. But I’ll be back again with part two sometime in the near future. In the meantime, tell me which books are in your comfort read category?