The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Published in 2003 by Harcourt, Inc.
4 stars

Goodreads Review
When Henry meets Clare, he is twenty-eight and she is twenty. Henry has never met Clare before; Clare has known Henry since she was six. Impossible but true, because Henry finds himself periodically displaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity from his life, past and future. Henry and Clare's attempts to live normal lives are threatened by a force they can neither prevent nor control, making their passionate love story intensely moving and entirely unforgettable. The Time Traveler's Wife is a story of fate, hope and belief, and more than that, it's about the power of love to endure beyond the bounds of time.


Review:  The Time Traveler's Wife is a unique love story that uses a fantasy premise of unintentional time travel to analyze completely real topics of death, infertility, loss, and love.  The non-linear timeline is a wonderful and interesting way to tell this rare love story.


I read somewhere that this book was like two books crammed into one.  One book was an amazing love story that could move you to tears and the other book was a boring list of grocery items, punk bands, book titles, and abstract painters.  I think this book just tried to be too much all at once.  I little more careful editing to cut out some of the sulfurous detail would have made this book a home run.

As it is The Time Traveler's Wife is still a great romance that really touched me.  I really liked how the time travel added a new dimension to their relationship.  Claire knows what has happened and Henry knows what will.  I also really liked the aspects of this book that dealt with child bearing and infertility.  I thought that was really interesting and it dealt with those topics in a very strong way.  I also really liked Alba and her interactions with Henry.  She was my favorite character; touching, sweet, and gentle with her parents.

Overall The Time Traveler's Wife is a beautiful love story that sometimes gets bogged down in the details.  I still highly recommend it for anyone interested in an adult novel that deals with all of the pain and happiness associated with loving someone.

Sidenote, I listened to the audio book and I thought it was really well done.  The actor for Henry was especially talented.  I really enjoyed the emotion shown in the audio book.

Another sidenote, the movie was a great adaptation of this book.  It took all of the important parts and made a great representation of the heart of the book.  Well done.