Rating: 
Summary: An unexpected pleasure
Review: If this book hadn't been recommended by a good friend, I'd never heard of it. And if the story didn't involve time-travel it would never have found its way into my hands.What we have here is a story about people. The time travel plays a huge part in the details and setting by the effect it has on everyone involved. But at its core, this is a story about the indomitable spirits of a man and a woman who's past, present and future are intertwined in a very strange, but wonderful way. And for time-travel buffs, the implications of traveling into your own past and future, whether it be 40 years or 40 minutes, are thoughtfully considered. There's no cheesy-ness to be found in that regard. It's not what you'd call "hardcore sci-fi" but it's far from "A Connecticut Rabbit in King Arthur's Court".
What if you were to travel back in time and met your spouse when they were a child, only to learn that they had met you before, but an older you from farther in the future? Or what if, during those pre-teen years of budding sexuality you had the opportunity to meet yourself, only days or weeks younger, in person and in private? The author doesn't flinch from exploring possible outcomes to such situation. Such situations lend a sense of reality to the book, because the characters handles them in realistic ways that you can imagine yourself, or someone like you, handling them. I'll admit that for the first few chapters I was a little confused about how it all worked. We are thrown into the conundrums of time pretty quickly. But if things are murky at first, stick with it, and all becomes clear soon enough. I don't normally read book club recommendations (too Oprah for me), but this one is well worth the adventure. An excellent first novel by an author I will definitely seek out in the future.
Rating: 
Summary: Godawful
Review: I suspect that time will eventually forget Niffenegger's debut, _The Time Traveler's Wife_ in the same way that it has forgotten the stacks of Jackie Collins and Jilly Cooper novels currently weighing down the shelves at my local Village Thrift. To be fair to a first novel, one might overlook the sloppy writing, slapdash editing, undercooked characters and total disregard for setting and place, but the painfully bad grammar and immature rhetoric made this novel a fairly uncomfortable read. Though the storyline is a cracking one and the plot moves fairly quickly, _The Time Traveler's Wife_ is a thoroughly amateur effort, and I am only grateful that it took so little time to read. Perhaps Niffenegger should stick to printmaking and leave the real writing to professionals. Looking forward to seeing this one in the discount bin.
Rating:
Summary: I laughed, I cried, it was better than cats
Review: I normally don't write reviews, but I feel so strongly about this book I had to. "The Time Traveler's Wife" is the best book I've read in a long time. And I work at a library so I read a lot of books. Other than a few choice swear words I love this book. It has an original concept. A man who just disappears and can end up anywhere in time. Naked of course. He cannot choose when he'll disappear or where he'll turn up. Many people, including me, wish that they could time travel. But time travel isn't as great as it seems. You cannot change the past. Also the love story between Henry and Clare is so sweet. She meets him for the first time when she is six, he is 36. But he meets her for the first time when he's 28. Confusing? Yes, at first. But read on and all will come together. Even though there are many light hearted moments in the book, moments that will make you smile...or even laugh out loud, Henry and Clare suffer much grief and misfortune. And if you, dear reader are anything like me you will be sobbing by the end of the book. After I finished it I was so wound-up I decided to read a humor book next. Namely Ellen Degeneris' new book. Enjoy! April
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful love story, but some language is a little strong.
Review: I've read a lot of romance novels and this one is a new, imaginative story like no other. It is wonderful how Audrey Niffenegger jumps around in time with Henry (the time traveler). It made it kind of fun, like I was putting together the puzzle at the same time Clare was. I was captivated by the love Clare and Henry had for each other and thought some of the language the author used was a little strong and perhaps just used for "shock value." She mentions the "f" word quite a bit when talking about Clare and Henry sleeping together. It seems a little strong to describe it that way when they are terribly in love and deeply committed to each other. Also, she uses the "c" word(s) to describe both male and female parts, which I thought was a little offensive. Don't get me wrong, this is a beautiful love story . . . I'm just a little embarrassed that I gave this novel to my grandmother for Christmas. I hope that the author will choose to leave that sort of language out of her next novel.
Rating:
Summary: Well done!
Review: I loved this book! I thought the concept was interesting but I was afraid it might be a little too sci-fi or hard to follow... not at all! The story was exceptional and the writing was wonderful. I was impressed that this was the author's first book and that she chose to tackle such a difficult subject in such an unusual way. Don't let the large size of this book deter you from reading it! I flew through it and kept turning the pages, wanting to know how the story she was weaving was going to be wrapped up... and I wasn't disappointed! I don't want to spoil the story and I'm sure you can get an idea of what it's about by reading the synopsis so I just want to leave my opinion that I thought this book was great! I will definitely be re-reading this book again and again.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Read
Review: This book kept me captivated from start to finish. Despite the potentially confusing plot (with the main character traveling though time, meeting himself, etc.) the story flowed excellently and was not at all difficult to follow. It is a wonderful romance with comic and vastly entertaining characters. Some crude language, but that was the only down side to this enjoyable novel.
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly well done for a first novel
Review: I'm always intrigued by the way authors use time travel to tell a story. This is not a story about a man from present-day America traveling to 1800's London, like so many other time travel novels. This book is about a man (son, young adult, husband, and father) traveling to different points in his own life and those of the people around him, which make it a much more enjoyable and touching read. Ms. Niffenegger did an excellent job of sequencing the story in a way that flows easily and peaks your curiosity from one page to the next. By the end, you've experienced a full lifetime with the characters that still leaves you wanting more. The main characters were well thought-out and the secondary characters were sufficiently developed for their roles. The author's thoughtful and appreciative descriptions of common, every-day moments in Henry and Clare's life made even the slower points worth savoring. There are a few loose ends that are left unanswered, but certainly nothing critical to the story. I didn't understand the importance of many of the musical references, and despite speaking some French, I found myself skipping through the odd paragraph. The ending, well, other reviewers give it away, but I agree that it would have complimented the rest of the story better had it ended in a less tragic, more common way. I really enjoyed this book and finished it in one long weekend. It was more of a 4.5 star book... exceptional for a first novel, but probably not a style that would appeal to the more casual reader.
Rating: 
Summary: Fine- but first time novelist shows
Review: I don't think this was a great book but it certainly was one that pulls you along. The characters are well written and realistic. The time travel elements at times made it slightly confusing but not badly so. It just makes you stop and think for a few seconds as you get your chronological bearings. She tends to make the concept of time travel a bit neater than I think it would be, but it would have been necessary to do so for the plot to flow as it did. The prose is adequate, at times inconsistent in quality. It is slightly too long and I got the sense while reading that the author was throwing things in as if to say 'hey - look what I know.' It had that quality of someone who has been thinking about the various things that have always wanted to put in a book and when they get the chance they throw the lot in, despite whether it all fits into the story or not. Bottom line - despite the flaws as a first time novel -is that the love story between the two is written well enough to pull you into the story for the duration. The book has heart.
Rating:
Summary: Oddly charming
Review: The Time Traveler's Wife could have easily been a serious flop: it moves constantly between dates, each segment told from either Clare's or Henry's point of view- conveying information from two narrators at different stages of life. It could have easily been a failed attempt at technique, or gimmick- but in some strange way- Audrey Niffenegger makes it work- and beautifully so.
Niffenegger weaves the storyline gently between the two characters, telling us their story- a journey through two different worlds, connected only by what we don't see- an anchored time and place where Henry and Clare can finally exist together. Time and space, as Niffenegger so skillfully shows, are illusions. Waiting for the perfect moment, for the right time, or the right place are equations easily disturbed. It's our ability to feel, experience, and love that makes a moment in time move- not time itself. Lovely work of human experience and time theories.
Rating:
Summary: I wanted a happy ending.... but alas!
Review: Do not be fooled by the 4-star rating. This was a 5-star book based on the idea and the quality of the writing. The author had a clever idea and the presentation was exquisite. I loved the character development and watching both Henry and Clare's lives unfolding. I was not at all confused by the way the author presented the time travel, but I would definately agree with another reviewer... this book should be read during long sittings and not ten minutes at a time. The book was excellent, exhilirating, but as I got closer to the end of the book, depressing. Clare's life is turned into this litany of sadness. Henry is trapped by a cruel, hopeless fate from which there is no escape. As the end became more inevitable, the more desperate I became for the author to write a miracle and save these two people. She tries to redeem them at the end, by having Henry and his daughter meet and telling Clare that he will see her again, but in the darkness of the empty years ahead of Clare, this seems cold comfort. There are many, many beautiful moments in the book, but the wretchedness of the ending has marked the book as a sad one. I would have given this book 5 stars but the ending absolutly broke my heart.
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