How Late It Was, How Late by James Kelman

This book requires patience: it's written in a Scots dialect and in a stream-of-consciousness style that takes you inside the head of Sammy, an ex-con on a string of terrible luck. He wakes up after a bender to find that he's now blind and has been arrested, and then, after his release faces the disappearance of his girlfriend, the police, who question him about his participation in a crime they won't reveal, and the horrors of the welfare state and its bureaucracy as he tries to register his disability. This is definitely a book you have to adjust your way of thinking to understand--its lyricism is tied to its unfamiliar (and at times coarse) dialect, the action (such as there is) can be obscured by the stream-of-consciousness style, and Sammy is not the most appealing protagonist at first glance. But after getting to know Sammy, his resilience in the face of adversity shines through. Winner of the 1994 Booker Prize.

The Scottish Prisoner by Diana Gabaldon

This book sends Jamie and Lord John on an adventure to Ireland, to deal with the remnants of the Jacobite cause. The pacing in this book was much stronger than several of the recent books that focus on Jamie and Claire. I enjoyed the adventures of the characters, and I liked the ambiguity about loyalties that the book introduced (Jamie has effectually sworn off the Jacobite cause because he knows it can only end in failure). There was a nice twist at the end that wasn't fully resolved to my satisfaction, but all in all, a very enjoyable read.

Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade by Diana Gabaldon

In this book Lord John Grey investigates the death of his father (which happened a long time ago), looking to clear his father of charges that he had been a Jacobite sympathizer and traitor. His mother remarries, and although he gains a stepbrother who at first glance appears to be in perfect sympathy with him, he learns exactly how far he can trust his family. Again, I found the historical detail to be much more compelling than the mystery plot.

Voyager by Diana Gabaldon

This book continues the adventures of Claire, who has returned to Scotland to find Jamie. It took a while for the main plot of the book to start up, and there were a lot of revelations saved to the end that show this story's place in a larger web, but that didn't exactly clarify what's going on--we're left with quite the cliffhanger. Still I enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading the next one.

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

This book continues the story of Claire Randall, who travels to the 1740s at the end of World War II through a stone circle in Scotland, and her husband, Jamie Fraser, who finds himself increasingly implicated in the Jacobite Rebellion despite his intentions. Although the book is quite hefty, and the framing story set in 1968 Scotland could have used a little more time, I enjoyed this book. I'll be continuing to read the other books in the series.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

This book follows Claire, a nurse who is taking a second honeymoon with her milquetoast husband after World War Two, when a stone circle in the Scottish Highlands sends her back to the eighteenth century. Once there she must choose between her past and the past, amid dangers, violence, and a new marriage. I enjoyed reading this book. There's a little bit of everything in it. I'm looking forward to continuing the series.