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The Outsider: A Novel |  | Author: Ann H. Gabhart
Publisher: Revell
Category: eBooks
This item is no longer available
Rating:  30 reviews
Sales Rank: 2764
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Pages: 352
Number Of Items: 1
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
ASIN: B001TK3D5Y
Publication Date: August 1, 2008
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Product Description
For as long as she can remember, Gabrielle Hope has had the gift of knowing--visions that warn of things to come. When she and her mother joined the Pleasant Hill Shaker community in 1807, the community embraced her gift. But Gabrielle fears this gift, for the visions are often ones of sorrow and tragedy. When one of these visions comes to pass, a local doctor must be brought in to save the life of a young man, setting into motion a chain of events that will challenge Gabrielle's loyalty to the Shakers. As she falls deeper into a forbidden love for this man of the world, Gabrielle must make a choice. Can she experience true happiness in this simple and chaste community? Or will she abandon her brothers and sisters for a life of the unknown? Soulful and filled with romance, The Outsider lets readers live within a bygone time among a unique and peculiar people. This tender and thought-provoking story will leave readers wanting more from this writer.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 30
 A generous helping of Kentucky history September 5, 2008
Laura Frantz (Port Angeles, WA)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
This is a seamless story meticulously told by an author noted for her careful research. Without giving any of the plot away, I found this glimpse of Shaker life fascinating. The author does an admirable job of balancing the good (the Shaker's work ethic and their faithful adherence to their beliefs)with the strange, fanatical aspects (think Mother Ann and balls of love). I particularly enjoyed the character of Dr. Scott - he added just the right amount of spice to Gabrielle's more sedate personality. The descriptions of frontier army life were excellent and all the other minor characters added authenticity. Gabrielle's own innocence and her feelings for the doctor are refreshingly related. I look forward to her next Shaker novel!
Fantastic! September 6, 2009
Marie Bast (Silvis, Illinois United States)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I thought The Outsider by Ann H. Gabhart was fantastic. It was a page turner. You never knew from one chapter to the next what was coming, and the ending was a real surprise! The book delved into the history of the Shaker society which made the book very interesting because each page, almost, had something to share about a society that has long since past away but it is still a part of our country's early history. Gabhart did a fantastic job of portraying the society as they really were complete with the good and bad about the society. The story is about a forbidden love because the Shakers, as other societies of its sort, did not believe in marriage so you never really knew all the way through the book how it would end. Each page, of course, you wanted her to choose romance with the handsome doctor, but she was a devote Shaker and one that was greatly respected in that society as one of their visionaries. The book takes you into the inside of the Shaker community and shows you how it really was to live, belong and devote your life to the community instead of to self. I have read lots of Amish books, for the same reason because I want to see into a community that existed a long time ago, and was different from normal society. There are many Amish books, so this book was really refreshing in that you can learn about the Shaker society. Enjoy!
A Beautiful Story August 9, 2008
Virginia Smith (Kentucky USA)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
This is a beautiful historical novel set in the 1800's in a Shaker community located near Harrodsburg, Kentucky. The main character is a young Shaker woman who is completely happy living with her Shaker sisters and brethren, until an outsider intrudes on their lives and her thoughts. The Shaker culture and society are so realistic I felt like I was there, like I knew these people. There are a gazillion Amish novels out there, but this is the first Shaker book I've read and I really enjoyed it. The whole story doesn't unfold on the grounds of the Shaker farm, either. Readers are given a realistic glimpse of war during that era, and medical practices as well. I read this book in one sitting, and gladly gave up several hours' sleep to finish!
The writing is exactly what I've come to expect from Ann Gabhart, smooth and beautiful. My eye just glides across the page while my mind builds pictures. If you like realistic, thoughtful characters, intelligent romance, and feeling like you've stepped a hundred years into the past, you're going to love this book.
It really reached down into my soul January 9, 2009
Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Life in the Shaker community of Harmony Hill had seemed so settled for Gabrielle Hope - she had embraced the community's love and their beliefs, making them part of the very fabric of her life. However, when a fire burns her good friend Nathan Bates, she meets Doctor Brice Scott, and begins to feel things forbidden to the Shakers...feelings that she can neither embrace nor deny.
Well, I have always been interested in American religious communistic societies, and so I jumped when I saw this book. I think that the author, Ann H. Gabhart, did a great job of capturing the feel of the Shakers. She paints them as human - many of them are ardent believers, compassionate and loving, and yet firm in their faith. And, I think she did a great job of shedding light on the experience of those who joined the Shakers, and yet could never really embrace the community.
But don't think that this is in anyway an anti-religious book. In fact, the author weaves faith throughout the book, making it a part of the entire story.
And, the romance? I found it to be very well done, very moving, very compelling. I really enjoyed this book, it really reached down into my soul. I don't hesitate to give this book my highest recommendations!
Interesting and Enlightening August 10, 2009
Miranda
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Ann Gabhart's tale of a young woman in an early Shaker community provides a startling peek into the beautifully crafted buildings of the Shaker settlements of the early nineteenth century.
While many Shaker teachings seem similiar to mainstream, biblical Christianity, I had no idea of the dark underside of this religion/cult that has all but died out completely in recent years. The tension of Shaker's firm beliefs against marriage and family provide an immediate sympathy with the choices that are laid before Gabrielle, to shut herself off to the love and relationship of others in favor of a sought-after but always illusive "peace," or to surrender to the pull of love, both of God and of a man.
Her inner struggle to find the answers and make the hard decisions will keep you reading from the first page to the last word.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 30
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