Rating: 
Summary: So-so
Review: Interesting idea, characters not very well developed, and a large, obvious, glaring (at least to me) plot error near the end that pretty much ruined the book for me.
Rating: 
Summary: "My whole life is a deju vu"
Review: I have to admit that I didn't know what to expect before I picked up this book. In the spirit of science fiction I expected a time traveler who travels back in momentous periods in world history. But I was most happy to discover that I was wrong (I'm not a big fan of that genre). THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE is a highly engrossing and entertaining tale of Henry De Tamble. He is inflicted with chrono-displacement disorder. In other words, he has a tendency to travel to both the future and past of his own life and the lives of his loved ones. He doesn't have any control of when he disappears or where he travels to, and as a result he constantly finds himself in precarious and dangerous situations. During one such traveling excursion he meets his wife Clare as a young child. What follows is a lovely story of how these two individuals are connected beyond the limitations of time and space. Another enduring aspect of this book is that it is primarily set in Chicago. From the very beginning it becomes apparent that the author possesses an intimate knowledge of the city. While other authors and filmmakers develop a stilted vision of Chicago, Audrey Niffenegger does a superb job in recreating both the geography and feel of the city. There were several passages when the book's characters traveled through my neighborhood and ate at restaurants that I have frequented. It's an eerie yet comforting sense.
It is difficult to believe that this is Niffenegger's debut novel, and I hope it's not her last. I thoroughly enjoyed THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE and would highly recommend it to others who enjoy a quality page-turner.
Rating: 
Summary: Perfect Level of Detail
Review: Who said romance was dead? "The Time Traveler's Wife" is an awesome combination of romance and sci-fi that reminds of "A Momment in Time." The writing is absolute artistry in line with "My Fractured Life" and the visuals are in the picture perfect detail of "Middlesex." All in all, a whirlwind of time and emotion.
Rating:
Summary: A time travel romance
Review: This novel is half way between a science fiction book and a romance. Henry deTamble and Claire Abshire are in love, but the truly strange thing about their relationship is that Henry is a time traveler and has been wooing Claire since she was 6 years old. Something he doesn't remember when they finally meet in 1991 because for Henry, the relationship although it is in Claire's past, is still part of Henry's future. This novel deals well with some aspects of involuntary time travel on Henry's behalf. There's the embarrassing and life-threatening fact that his clothes don't go with him when he moves into the past or the future, and that for Henry cause and effect are not straight forward. However, at the same time other aspects of Henry's gift (or curse) are glossed over, such as when other people with the same abilities are supposedly found in the future, and the attitude of his workmates in the years after they find out about his ability. The heart of this novel is the relationship between Henry and Claire and the strange paths it takes for both of them because of the simple fact that Henry time travels and it is the glue which holds the story together. Even if you aren't into science fiction you will probably enjoy reading about Henry and Claire simply because they are such nice people and they keep on making you want to know more about how their story ends.
Rating:
Summary: If you want to fall in love...
Review: I think that Audrey Niffenegger's Book THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE is an amazing book, beyond being well written it is a story about love. But not one of those cheesy love stories that has been rewritten a hundered times, this book is about real love, a love between two people SO strong that she will wait a life time to have it. I think that this book helps us see how love really is, love is something that makes us alive, it creates our sole being. This is the love that i got from Niffenegger's book, the love that we dream, the love we have for someone when we can love like we have never been hurt.
Rating:
Summary: Harlequin Romance? Mainstream? Hardly - just a darn good rea
Review: I am a life long reader who choses an eclectic selection of books throughout the year. I have never read a Harlequin romance, but I have read everything from sci fi/fantasy to classic lit to translations of international works and everything in between. So I am not someone you can pigeon hole. I just like good books. And this is one. In fact, of all of the books I read this year, it is far and away my favorite. I started reading it on Thanksgiving day. Finished it that Friday, and immediately went back to page one and read it again. The interesting and complex take on time travel, the development of both main characters, the literary and music references, the twists and turns all kept me riveted to the page. For those of you who complain about the sex and language - while there were parts that made me a tad uncomfortable, there was nothing in the book that I hadn't read before. In fact, I felt the language and sex rather tame by modern standards, and felt that both were done within the context of the book and were quite realistic. As for the problem with the naked man and the 5 year old child - at no time was that child in any danger, and he was as embarrassed and as uncomfortable as she. Yet his journey to meet his wife's younger self was heartwarming and heart breaking. Ignore the reviewers who insult other readers. Ignore the fact that this was selected by the Today Show. Ignore the fact that it is probably a book like you have never read before. Read this book. I don't think you'll regret it.
Rating: 
Summary: Compellingly Disappointing
Review: Picked this up and put it down before finally ordering it. I zipped though the book (hence 2 stars instead of 1), but in a frustrated and irritated manner. I have to concur that the relationship between Henry and Clare is at heart unrealistic and creepy. I have two daughters and I can't imagine that they would be anything but terrified at the sight of a naked man appearing suddenly in the back yard. It gave the relationship a dark, furtive quality that I found repellent. I also found all the characters staggeringly undeveloped, including Henry and Clare. I didn't like simply being told that Clare was a wonderful artist. That part of her life never seemed intrinsic to her character. It seemed like "interesting details" were simply tacked on to all the characters and I didn't find a single one compelling or believable. At the risk of sounding like a prude, I found the crude language and love scenes singularly unpleasant especially since they were jumbled up with scenes of the adult Henry and the child Clare.I don't want to spoil the story (be warned), but I must say that the miscarriage scenes were excruciating and completely unwarranted. I've seen many reviews descibe this as a soaring love story. It's not.
Rating:
Summary: A Script Sold To You as a Book
Review: Let me warn you -- you're in for pages and pages of one line dialogue like "I munched my toast." "What things never should have been invented?" Blah blah blah. Somebody at the publishing house paid somebody at the Today Show a lot of money for this endorsement. A time travel romance is an old cliched idea and this one just rambles on for 500 plus pages. People who have raved about this book are probably HUGE Harlequin Romance fans. Grocery Store Junk. Save your money. Check it out at the library if you think you must read it, but don't say I didn't warn you. P.S. Definately a nominee for the BAD SEX WRITING AWARD. BLEEECH.
Rating:
Summary: Unique and Entertaining
Review: While this novel is about a lot of different things, it is primarily a love story with a wicked twist. Henry meets Clare and falls in love, she is six, he is 36, and 14, somewhere. Henry, it seems has a problem. He bounces around in time willy-nilly with no control over where he goes. Clare grows up knowing Henry, and then meets him when she is 20 and he is 28-the catch is Henry doesn't know her. And so it goes. This is a clever, fast-paced, and very entertaining novel. While we are bounced around into different time frames the author has done a great job of organizing the novel so the reader has not trouble remembering where we are-even if Henry isn't always quite so sure. There's also some great foreshadowing. I would quibble with one overall plot element that was a bit distracting for me, but it's a bit of spoiler so I'll let it be. This book was a lot of fun to read.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed Reader
Review: This was a pleasant enough read, but certainly not serious literature and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. It was so repetitive and silly and, in the end, overly sentimental. I was really looking forward to getting into this book, or at least being entertained by a novel idea, but all I got was a very long Danielle Steele type piece of fiction. It's a shame because the author obviously had an interesting idea, but she had no plot ... and without plot, you've just got a really long dialogue.By the way, if you are choosing books for The Today Show, you should really start looking around for a new job. Your choice of literary material stinks. There HAS to be better work out there!
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