Book Review: The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Author: Audrey Niffenegger
Title: The Time Traveler's Wife
Genre: Sci-Fi, Romance, & fantasy
Pages: 500
Published: 2003
Where I Got It: My shelf (Salvation Army)

A funny, often poignant tale of boy meets girl with a twist: what if one of them couldn't stop slipping in and out of time? Highly original and imaginative, this debut novel raises questions about life, love, and the effects of time on relationships.

Audrey Niffenegger’s innovative debut, The Time Traveler’s Wife, is the story of Clare, a beautiful art student, and Henry, an adventuresome librarian, who have known each other since Clare was six and Henry was thirty-six, and were married when Clare was twenty-three and Henry thirty-one. Impossible but true, because Henry is one of the first people diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder: periodically his genetic clock resets and he finds himself misplaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity in his life, past and future. His disappearances are spontaneous, his experiences unpredictable, alternately harrowing and amusing. 

The Time Traveler’s Wife depicts the effects of time travel on Henry and Clare’s marriage and their passionate love for each other as the story unfolds from both points of view. Clare and Henry attempt to live normal lives, pursuing familiar goals—steady jobs, good friends, children of their own. All of this is threatened by something they can neither prevent nor control, making their story intensely moving and entirely unforgettable.

I’ve been meaning to read the book for years now. I watched the movie when it first came out with my friend. I really liked the movie. It made me cry. I’ve been avoiding the book for whatever reason. I’m not sure. 

In a way, it was good I avoided the book because I barely remember the movie. There are highlights I remember, but I felt like I was visiting Henry and Clare for the first time. It was nice honestly! It was fun to be reminded of some of the scenes and it was nice to be surprised by parts that were not in the movie (or I don’t remember). 

Henry was a real piece of work, but I adore him. Sure he has his problems like he likes to fight, likes his booze, and his women. He changes for the better when he gets older. But can you blame young, hot Henry? He is a messed up man who is sucked out of his timeline and tossed around NAKED to other times. Poor guy…that would make anyone want to drink and punch someone. I would! Once he gets with Clare he gets better and finds his focal point. 

Clare was okay. She was a sweetie but sometimes I felt like she was TOO understanding and forgiving with Henry. However, I guess you can’t be too mad at him when he pretty much helped you through your childhood problems. He was there from the beginning since she was 6. It is a little creepy, but let’s be honest? Fate threw them together. He didn’t choose to meet her at that age. And honestly, every one of us would have a hard time NOT wanting to part of our significant other’s past. I so would! 

This didn’t make me cry like the movie like I thought it would. I did have more emotion over scenes though…just no tears. I wanted to fly with fists punching when we found out how Clare got that scar. I’m surprised Henry didn’t just murder the man. Kuddos for self-control. I also felt SO, SO sad for them when they had issues (can’t say with what). I couldn’t have handled it. Too sad! The ending left me with a bittersweet hope. Yes, it was sad, but it was sweet and I liked it. 

What else to say?

Ummmmm…..I liked this a lot. In some ways, it is WAY better than the movie (from what I remember). I loved how we got to see more of his jumping around time. The author did a wonderful job keeping everything simple and easy to follow. The format was excellent. Time travel is a hard one to follow. She did well with consistency and character development. 

I WANT A SEQUEL WITH ALBA! I WANT TO SEE HER ADVENTURES!

In the end, this was really good. I wish I had read this sooner. I do want to re-watch the movie and see how I feel now that I read the book. Mhmmm. I’ll give this….5 stars. No issues on my end. A really good book and I recommend it. 
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