‘This is a rare beast - a page-turner for the thoughtful literary reader.’ - Sydney Morning Herald
‘Adamson’s writing isn’t showy but marvellously sculpted, powerfully imagined prose, and her choice of words is intriguing, fresh yet hypnotic
there’s a sense of great artistry but a total absence of artifice.’ - Sara Dowse, Canberra Times
‘Adamson’s first novel is compelling reading, with gripping action and memorable characters. The writing is superb - tight, evocative and often poetic.’ - Adelaide Advertiser
‘The kind of book Cormac McCarthy might write should he make a woman his main character and Canada his settin at once picaresque adventure and western-style thriller.’ - Weekend Australian
In 1903, a mysterious, desperate young woman flees alone across the icy western wilderness of the Rocky Mountains. Her name is Mary Boulton. Bloodhounds track her through the trees. She is nineteen years old. Half mad. Already a widow - by her own hand. Pursued by two relentless and vengeful brothers, Mary is forced to flee ever deeper into the mountains and away from civilisation, into the darkness of her own memory.
Along the way, she meets an unforgettable collection of rogues, guardian angels and eccentrics, who offer support, only to reveal that they too have their own demons raging inside. As Mary is plunged further away from civilisation, her path from retribution to redemption slowly unfurls.
A startling transformation of the classic western narrative, The Outlander is the haunting tale of one young woman’s deliberate journey deep into the wild.
‘A superb novel. The frayed material of the North American west is rendered in an astoundingly fresh light. The Outlander is also suspenseful to a degree that you are often in a state of physical unrest, a condition only occasioned by first-rate fiction.’ - Jim Harrison
