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The Time Traveler's Wife

Audrey Niffenegger

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Mar 11, 2009 Lynne rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Quite simply, this is one of the most beautiful and haunting love stories I have had the pleasure (and agony) to read. Not many contemporary books can make me cry. Ok, who am I kidding? I cry at the drop of a hat. However, this book made me bawl like a baby several times throughout--I'm talking heaving sobs that left me gasping for breath. I just re-read it for the second time, and it was even better. Of course tension--and often times dread--pervades the entire novel, but my anticipation was he Quite simply, this is one of the most beautiful and haunting love stories I have had the pleasure (and agony) to read. Not many contemporary books can make me cry. Ok, who am I kidding? I cry at the drop of a hat. However, this book made me bawl like a baby several times throughout--I'm talking heaving sobs that left me gasping for breath. I just re-read it for the second time, and it was even better. Of course tension--and often times dread--pervades the entire novel, but my anticipation was heightened on the second read because this time I knew exactly what was coming. This knowledge also helped with my reaction after I finished it. The first time I read this book I was completely devastated when it was over. I was emotionally spent. The second time around I was better prepared. I realized, as Henry knows throughout the entirety of the novel, that knowing what was going to happen didn't hinder my enjoyment at the here and now.

I love how Niffenegger plays with narrative here. For a book that contains time travel, the story is actually fairly linear. Alternately told by Henry and Clare (by the way, the way she distinguishes between the voices of Henry and Clare is wonderful), the story roughly traces Clare's life with Henry popping in and out as he travels. The chopping up of the narrative might prove frustrating for some, but it ultimately makes the readers feel the same anxiety that the characters do, so this technique is highly effective.

The time travel aspect isn't presented in a magical or fantastical way; involuntarily traveling through time is simply Henry's reality. And I love the way the power/knowledge balance between Henry and Clare is always shifting because of Henry's traveling.

Though at times unlikeable, Henry is always sympathetic. Clare could have been painted as a passive character like Job who simply waits for Henry as he travels, but there's a reason this is called _The Time Traveler's Wife_: Clare is essentially a widower because Henry's primary relationship is with time, but she is a strong character in her own right. This is definitely her story. Together the two characters are as compelling as the familiar-with-a-twist world they inhabit.

Niffenegger's new novel is set to be released in October of this year, and I can't wait. ...more

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Mar 26, 2007 Christi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Jan 22, 2011 Amanda rated it really liked it

Jan 14, 2022 Rebecca marked it as to-read · review of another edition

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