The Time Traveler's Wife

Rating:
Summary: Librarians in time: a clever idea, well executed
Review: Librarian Henry DeTamble suffers from an unusual disorder that affects his body's genetic clock. The result is that he sometimes disappears from the present, leaving nothing but a pile of clothes behind him, and materializes stark naked in some other time and place. Without resources in his new time, Henry needs to survive by stealth and speed--stealing clothing and money, outrunning--or trying to outrun--the police, by whom he is frequently arrested.

"[T]here are several outstanding warrants for my arrest: breaking and entering, shoplifting, resisting arrest, breaking arrest, trespassing, indecent exposure, robbery, und so weiter. From this one might deduce that I am a very inept criminal, but really the main problem is that it's so hard to be inconspicuous when you're naked"

The adventures Henry has when chronologically displaced are alternately dangerous, or sorrowful, or life-changing. He sometimes visits himself in the past--and, similarly, is visited in the present by past and future selves. (His teenage selves engage in what must be a peculiarly effective form of auto-eroticism: Niffenegger has thought of everything.) He is made to repeatedly re-witness emotionally fraught incidents from his past. Principally, however, as its title suggests, The Time Traveler's Wife is the story of Henry's relationship with Clare, who so often finds herself waiting for her husband to return to her. This being a time travel book, Henry's relationship with Clare is not straightforward. They first meet when he is 36 and she is 6, and they meet again for the first time when Henry is 28 and Clare 20. The story of their life together is told from both of their points of view in brief, dated sections that chronicle Henry's jumps into and out of Clare's life.

Given her premise, Niffenegger might have concentrated on the gee-whizness of Henry's condition, telling us in greater detail about the cool stuff that happens to Henry when he time travels (bumping into his parents during his own infancy, for example). But the author's account is rather a serious consideration of the practical effects of Henry's condition on his life: his unexplained absences from work (and his naked reappearances in the library's stacks), the dangers inherent in his driving or flying, the possibility of materializing in some life-threatening circumstance, the disruption to his family life, and so on. I would myself have enjoyed reading a bit more of the gee-whiz stuff--and less about the protagonists' dreams. And I would have liked to read about some of the more dangerous episodes in Henry's time-traveling career, the fight-or-flight situations to which Niffenegger only alludes. But quibbles aside, The Time Traveler's Wife is a very cleverly conceived and well-written book. One hopes the author is already at work on a second novel.

Rating:
Summary: Must Be Different
Review: I must be different because I truly loved this book. A unique different look at a book. Original storyline, the author keeps you focused with smooth storytelling. I guess I'm not mainstream..as this is one of the better books. I also thoroughly enjoyed Nightmares Echo and Secret Life of Bees. Life of Pi was ok, Fractured Life..ok. This book, excellent!

Rating:
Summary: What a debut!
Review: I read so many books and find many to be remakes, "reimaginings," or plain out hodgepodges of previously used ideas. There's nothing wrong with that; heck, why reinvent the wheel?

Well, The Time Traveler's Wife is one of those instances in which the wheel *does* get reinvented. Audrey Niffenegger has such an original plot and such a unique way of telling the story that I was absolutely shocked. (And rather confused at the beginning, but once I made some progress through the book, things made more sense.)

I kind of don't want to divulge anymore since I feel that would give away vital things that contribute to the effect. Just read the summary inside the front cover. The summary they give makes it sounds strange and kind of dorky, but read it anyway and be pleasantly surprised.

Rating:
Summary: Original, Beautiful, Nearly Flawless
Review: I spent today sacked out on the couch, reading the final 2/3rds of TTW. It was a day well-spent. Niffeneger's descriptions are beautiful and affecting and TTW is as original as you can get without spilling over into the sci-fi racks. She deserves five stars. My only (tiny tiny) beef is with dialogue; conversations among all characters are as soaring as the prose. Real people don't talk this way. Then again, real people don't time travel, but I'm thankful Niffenegger decided they should.

Rating:
Summary: BOY AM I GLAD I DIDN'T READ THE REVIEWS TIL AFTER THE BOOK!
Review: I listened to this on CDs; I couldn't wait to get back in my car! Drove home after a nice Thanksgiving Day with friends listening to the last cd with a lump in my throat. Claire and Henry's families and friends round out their lives and help us understand them. I'm not into fantasy or science fiction; this is enchanting and believable. It's one of those books you don't want to end and after, you want a sequel. Of course it would make a great movie.
Claire and Henry have the kind of love we all wish for; romantic, fun and guided by respect for each other. Totally immersed in each other yet with independent views, jobs, friends.
Only one segment struck a wrong note with me; the rest-99.99% pure.

Rating:
Summary: My favorite read of the year
Review: I probably read 50 or more literary type books a year, so for me to say that this is the best of the lot is saying a great deal. I was not only hooked from the first page, but I could not get the book out of my mind. By the end of the book, I was in tears. I finished the book on Thanksgiving day, which was rather appropriate. Both the holiday and the book are ones where you ponder the blessings you have, and to consider how very lucky you are to have them. I found myself thinking of my own spouse, how special he is to me, and how horrible it would be to lose him. It made me remember that life is a present, in the present, and to enjoy every moment of it.

This is the author's first book, which surprised me considering the length of the book, the complexity, and the skill in writing. She obviously knows how to handle many plots and situations, and can make the different time changes seem as if its an every day thing for us. Her main characters were beautifully realized. She didn't develop her secondary characters, but that wasn't a problem for me. They were window dressing to this unusual story about love and time. I had some quibbles, but they were minor considering the scope of this work.

For those who were 'creeped out' by the romance in the beginning - what romance? He was time traveling, and he got to know his actual wife as a child. Her absolute trust in him and his respect for her continued throughout their lives. I can only hope that we all have the opportunity for love that these two had.

This is a book I plan to read again, and plan to recommend to anyone who enjoys an interesting, original and well written book.

Rating:
Summary: better than the lovely bones
Review: I have just finished reading this book and felt compelled to write. Ironically this was not a book that I couldn't put down. In fact, as I approached the last 50 or so pages I set it down and did not pick it up for several weeks. I know now that was because I could not bear to see it end.

This is maybe the most beautiful love story since Casablanca, and perhaps the most beautiful love story in all printdom. At page 504 I started weeping and cried through most of the last 14 pages. For all readers who have loved and lost forever this is the book for you.

This book captivated me from page one in the same way the movie "Memento" captivated me from the first scene. It is written in that same back and forth zigzagging of time but like "Memento" it is easy to follow once your brain catches up with your sight.

Rarely have I liked a character as much as I liked Henry. His actions during the course of his "condition" are not always laudable and many times pretty despicable particularly during his younger years. Although he does it differently than the rest of us, he does mature. He reminds me of myself and any other 20-year-old who grew up to be 40.

I hardily recommend scrolling to the top of this page and clicking the buy now for "The Time Traveler's Wife."

Rating:
Summary: This book betrayed me
Review: I bought into this entirely in the first "Book 1" I didn't mind the premise was contrived. OF COURSE it was! If you can't suspend your disbelief you have no business picking it up. I didn't mind that Henry appeared naked a few times before a young Clare. Really, what's the big deal? We are so PC in our outrage. I didn't mind the (very) few incidents of 'language' that has upset some. I liked their relationship. I bought into Henry's eccentricity (I'm a librarian, too!) His capability for larceny and mayhem to defend himself had me rooting for him.

And here we have something like 90 out of 95 reviews earning so many stars. Why do I feel so betrayed?

The second half just killed me. Not only did it lack the sparkle of Book 1, it turned mundane, plodded into an undeserved depravity I couldn't bear to finish. I felt like I had vested emotion, energy and worship into a god who had turned evil before my eyes, like supporting and believeing in Pinochet only to learn the truth. I shouldn't expect perfection, formula or storybook romance, but this was beyond tragedy, like a kick in the gut delivered to me, personally. I feel manipulated like an Aztec warrior given a year of plenty only to have his heart ripped out in the end.

My reaction is, "Damn you!" I will never read this author again.

Rating:
Summary: Finally! Sci fi romance - and it works beautifully.
Review: All you women who read sci fi and fantasy - this is top notch! I'm not even finished with the book yet, but I'm planning to read it again. I've been interested in this genre for over 30 years, and I don't think I've ever read anything like it. I only hope Niffenegger is just getting started in a long writing career.

Rating:
Summary: astonishing, lovely, heartbreaking, powerful...
Review: those are a few of many adjectives i would use to describe "the time traveler's wife".
i was reading the most recent reviews on this book and i came to the conclusion that i'd have to write my own. i rarely feel compelled to write a review because i seldom read books good enough to be worthy of them, even though i read a LOT.
i bought this book a few days ago and just finished reading it today and all i can say is that i cried, i smiled, i laughed, i loved the characters and felt immersed in their world.
if you're thinking of buying this book but are not sure, forget any preconcieved notion u might have about time traveling and forget any thoughts u might have had about it being based on science fiction. "the time traveler's wife" is an incredible, well-thought out love story. the way it's written is perfect and i wouldn't have changed a thing about any of it. it is now deemed one of my absolute favorite books and i will end up re-reading it many times over the years. i'm not going to give out any plot points because others do so quite well, and if u like to be surprised while reading a book, i wouldn't read a few of these reviews. i was really shocked that someone so callously and annoyingly gave out a really important plot point in a review that's not too far down from this one. so beware.
one person that reviewed this book questions why so many writers today make so many characters dysfunctional. well, that's because so many people are and if that person hasn't realized that then they're in for a rude awakening. they also wondered why the author would have made henry, the main character, go through so much violence on his "trips". all i could think of when i read that was: duh (not a word i've used often since childhood but it fit so well this time)!! if you were displaced violently from one period of time to another and arrived naked on, say, a busy sidewalk in nyc, don't you think there might be some violence involved?? i wish some people would use their heads.
all i can say is: if you like to read books that are powerful and make u think and that u can't put down, just read it.
that's it.