The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

General Joy

general soothsayer
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 22, 2005
Messages
170
Reaction score
34
Location
MD
Website
www.cassandrazaruba.net
The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger


This is a very popular book--we've all seen it in every bookstore, and I've heard it's being made into a movie. So... is it worth all the hype? I personally enjoyed it, though it had some flaws. I was confused by the time-traveling at some points, and for a short while in the middle of the book I got a little bored. But the ending made me cry, at the part where Clare sees Henry after he already died, because it was his time-traveling self that had visited the future. She runs to him, but he vanishes right before they have a chance to embrace.

What did others think about the novel?
 
Last edited:

Dawno

Shiny!
Super Moderator
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
11,261
Reaction score
3,279
Age
66
Location
someplace around here, anyone seen my keys?
I loved it. I will be going back to read it again, just have a small mountain of other books to read right now. The reason I want to re-read is to read it with an eye towards how it was constructed...the concept is challenging and the execution of it was very well done, IIRC.

I love books that defy pigeonholing...it's not 'romance' it's not Science Fiction but it's not 'literary' either, but I think you could shelve it in any of those sections and not have customers feel misled.

Dang, I want to go read it now but I must not!!
 

maestrowork

Fear the Death Ray
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Messages
43,746
Reaction score
8,652
Location
Los Angeles
Website
www.amazon.com
It's an uneven book. Nice concept. Some good writing. The middle drags. I think the ending could have been better. The timeline could get a little confusing. I think she handles the dual first person POVs rather well. I would call it a romantic novel (not a genre romance). It's not really sci-fi, even though it's about time travel. The core story is a romance. She did a great job thinking up the events and constructing it so that it makes sense -- it's hard to do. It's going to be interesting to see how they're going to adapt it into a movie (but now that Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston are in splitville -- not sure about the status of the movie).
 

BlueTexas

Back from self-exile land.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 21, 2005
Messages
1,159
Reaction score
220
Location
Aledo, TX
I loved it. Loved it.

The middle did drag, but it wasn't fatal. There were a couple spots where I had to reread to get the timeline, but since I was interested enough to reread, not a big deal.
 

TrainofThought

A flowering bud of bitchiness
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 7, 2006
Messages
6,179
Reaction score
6,835
Location
Land of Bier
Website
www.authordenisebaer.com
I loved this book. It is one of my favorites, and honestly, the time travel was the only thing I needed to get use to and understand. I consider it a love story, a true, unbreakable love. This is one I highly recommend to anyone looking for good writing; a unique storyline; wanting to get involved with characters; and to feel a strong, deep bond of love. Clare and Henry pulled me into their story, and I enjoyed every word, page and chapter.
 

byElizabeth

Writer Unscripted
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 27, 2006
Messages
112
Reaction score
17
Location
Sunny Southwest...
Website
mommyetc.blogspot.com
I loved this book so much and I can't wait for the movie...if it's being made...I'm not sure. It's unfortunate that Neffineger hasn't written anything else that meets this standard...I can't even get myself to buy anything else of hers. Maybe that's just me. I don't think she has anything else out there that is novel length though???

I was able to follow the time traveling without error and I didn't really think the mid-section dragged...I was so into it I didn't want it to end!
 

dceptiveophelia

Registered
Joined
May 5, 2005
Messages
16
Reaction score
1
Location
So Cal
:cry:What a tearjerker for me! I cried sporadically from the middle of the book to the end. This is my favorite novel at the moment. I loved the characters, and Henry & Claire's relationship was utterly incredible! I wrote Ms. Niffenegger a letter to let her know how much I thoroughly enjoyed it, and lo...she wrote back to thank me!
 

Sesselja

General Joy said:
I was confused by the time-traveling at some points, and for a short while in the middle of the book I got a little bored.

You said it nicely.

It was OK, but I would rather spend the money on a different book (lucky me got it for X-mas last year, so I didn't need to spend any money on it.)
 

MyFirstMystery

Having Fun with Words
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 2, 2006
Messages
159
Reaction score
18
Location
Seattle, WA
I enjoyed it very much, I agree the timeline got a little confusing, but I thought Niffenger's prose had a viceral realism, and her writing is really what drew me in.

I loved the ending.
 

Bartholomew

Comic guy
Kind Benefactor
Poetry Book Collaborator
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 2, 2006
Messages
8,507
Reaction score
1,956
Location
Kansas! Again.
General Joy said:
The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger


This is a very popular book--we've all seen it in every bookstore, and I've heard it's being made into a movie. So... is it worth all the hype? I personally enjoyed it, though it had some flaws. I was confused by the time-traveling at some points, and for a short while in the middle of the book I got a little bored. But the ending made me cry, at the part where Clare sees Henry after he already died, because it was his time-traveling self that had visited the future. She runs to him, but he vanishes right before they have a chance to embrace.

What did others think about the novel?

SPOILER WARNING PLEASE.
 

Unique

Agent of Doom
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 23, 2005
Messages
8,861
Reaction score
3,230
Location
Outer Limits
Bartholomew said:
SPOILER WARNING PLEASE.
:Huh: Bart! This is the book club forum. The whole place needs a warning.
Unless we're discussing books we haven't read ...
 

BIBLIA-VORE

Registered
Joined
Nov 6, 2006
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
I have read this book three times and found it more enthralling each time; something about it stirkes a chord within me that is such a delicious, bitter-sweet reverberation I find myself wanting to re-experience it as soon as I finish the last page. The bond between Claire and Henry is magical from the first meeting, and survives Henry's involuntary presence-abductions, Claire's desperate and horrifying attempts to conceive, and the arsenal their enemy/friend, Time, subjects them to. The scene someone else mentioned, where Claire is trying to get to Henry before he disappears, left me exhausted from the urgency and yearning. The ending took my breath as well, because it leaves the reader's imagination free to create its own picture of what the next few second would hold.

"The music is the space between the notes". --Debussy
 

WriterInChains

Feed my eyes
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
1,179
Reaction score
152
Location
Portland, OR
I've been on the list for this book at the library more than once, but only started to read it last weekend. It's mind-boggling that so many people like it so much & yet it took me three days to read 62 pages and now I can't bring myself to open it again. I thought maybe I was just burned-out & needed a break from reading, or I was coming down with something (because I've never been burned-out on reading before!), but I opened Clearcut [Nina Shengold] last night & in less than half an hour was on page 50.

I hate it when a book is so popular I just have to read it, & sounds like it'll be good (sci fi-good; romance-good) & then I'm bored. Makes me wonder if I have a chance in this biz. :Shrug:
 

PeeDee

Where's my tea, please...?
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 16, 2005
Messages
11,724
Reaction score
2,085
Website
peterdamien.com
I haven't read it, but it was one of those great concepts where I read the back of the book and went "WOW...." and really wanted to go home and write it myself.

I'll snap it up in a heartbeat when it appears in myne bookstore.
 

CaroGirl

Living the dream
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 27, 2006
Messages
8,368
Reaction score
2,327
Location
Bookstores
I finished it last night and was quite blown away by it. I have trouble plotting my linear little novel. How on earth did she manage to successfully plot this time-shifting mammoth!? Kudos to her.

I'm firmly in the liked-it-very-much camp. I wasn't bored by it, nor do I think it's the best novel I've ever read. It's solid, well written, and entertaining. I'd recommend it.
 

CaroGirl

Living the dream
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 27, 2006
Messages
8,368
Reaction score
2,327
Location
Bookstores
Um: SPOILER

I'll just add two problems I had with it. If Henry was so afraid of ending up naked in the Cage, why didn't he pre-emptively shove some clothes in there for his time-travelling self to wear? When he did end up in there, they just pushed clothes through the bars.

Secondly, the author never explains why Ingrid understands and accepts Henry's time travelling so readily. She seems to understand it even before she sees Henry on her last day alive. Ingrid has a grasp of it when she sees Alba in the alleyway.

Just two little things that bothered me.
 

TrainofThought

A flowering bud of bitchiness
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 7, 2006
Messages
6,179
Reaction score
6,835
Location
Land of Bier
Website
www.authordenisebaer.com
CaroGirl said:
I finished it last night and was quite blown away by it. I have trouble plotting my linear little novel. How on earth did she manage to successfully plot this time-shifting mammoth!? Kudos to her.
I thought the same thing.

CaroGirl said:
I'll just add two problems I had with it. If Henry was so afraid of ending up naked in the Cage, why didn't he pre-emptively shove some clothes in there for his time-travelling self to wear? When he did end up in there, they just pushed clothes through the bars.

Secondly, the author never explains why Ingrid understands and accepts Henry's time travelling so readily. She seems to understand it even before she sees Henry on her last day alive. Ingrid has a grasp of it when she sees Alba in the alleyway.
It’s been a while since I read the book. There wasn't a guarantee the clothes would remain in the Cage if Henry put them there. That’s why Claire hid clothes for him when he returned to her childhood and adolescence.

I can’t remember Henry’s relationship with Ingrid, but I believe she was about to commit suicide when he shows up. I figured anyone that deep in despair wouldn’t care what was happening around them. My two cents.
 

tenpenynail

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 13, 2006
Messages
61
Reaction score
11
Location
Smokey Mountians
**Read it, Liked it, Won't go on my read-again shelf**

**First, like others here, I was blown away by the concept! And jealous that I didn't think of it.

I love parallel universe and time travel stuff. But this one did lose me sometimes in the back and forth. I'd have to turn back a page or two to figure it out.

But all in all a good read.
 

Deadbeat 007

Matriarch of Mediocrity
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 2, 2007
Messages
137
Reaction score
116
Location
Arizona/Florida
Sounds interesting. As long as it's not a sappy romance like I thought it was, I think I'll give it a shot. I admit, the story line sounded really intriguing.
 

justpat

QueryTracker
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 15, 2007
Messages
354
Reaction score
50
Location
Location: Location:
Website
www.querytracker.net
I considered this one of the top books I've read this decade. I thought it was a good, original approach to an old idea (time travel).

OK, I didn't actually read it, but I have listened to the audio book twice and have purchased the print version for reading, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. One of the reasons is because I keep lending it out to people and telling them they really must read it.