Review: The Time Traveler's Wife

Don't Forget to Enter My Halloween Giveaway :)

It took me a long time to read The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.  You see, I got about halfway in and then misplaced my book.  It was lost in my house, among piles of other books belonging to me, my mom, and my two sisters.  It took me ages to find it, too.  Once I did find it, I practically devoured the rest of the book until I started nearing the end.  I wanted to cherish it.  I loved The Time Traveler's Wife even though there were a few bits I didn't like so much.

As I'm sure most of you know, this book is a love story between two people-Clare and Henry.  Henry is a time traveler.  He doesn't want to be one-his body just vanishes whether he wants to time travel or not.  When they first meet, Clare is 6 and Henry is 36 and time traveling.  Henry is already in love with grown-up Clare, who met Henry when she was 6.  Does this make sense?  This is a story about love and loss and waiting.  It is happy and sad and at times funny, and if you're a hopefully romantic like me, you'll probably love it.

When I first started reading The Time Traveler's Wife, I wasn't sure I'd like the way it was written.  It flips between the viewpoints of Henry and Clare, at various ages in their lives.  I grew to love this form of story telling though.  I think it had to be told this way for the book to work.  Especially because Clare has known Henry her whole life, while Henry doesn't meet Clare until he is 28 and she is 20.

I was also afraid this would be one of those hopelessly confusing books where I never really know what's going on.  I was wrong about that too.  Niffenegger did a superb job writing this book in a clear and concise way, and I think she did a great job at giving us a glimpse of "time travel". 

My only real beef with the book has to do with the ending.  Not the way it ended per say, but more with a certain part in the ending.  Oh, and I'm including spoilers.  If you don't want to know what happens, skip this next bold red part and go to the end of the review.

~~~~~~~SPOILERS~~~~~~~
~~~
~~~
~~~
~~~
~~
~~
~~
~~
~
~
~
~
I'm fine with Henry dying.  I expected it and it was heart wrenching and I cried.  But death is a part of life, so I'm not going to say "Oh no he can't die!!".  What I didn't like was how the story just seemed to drag on after his death.  Sure, it was interesting to see how Clare delt with his death, but I think we all knew she was going to be heart-broken and sad and alone..  It should have, in my opinion, ended either with the letter Henry leaves for Clare, or just jumped from Clare reading the letter to her being an old lady and waiting for Henry.  For those who have read this book, what's you opinion????


And two memorable quotes that could spoil things:
Page 498: Henry- "There are a few faint lines, at the corners of her eyes and mouth, that are the merest suggestion of the beginnings of Clare's face in middle age.  I will never see that face of hers, and I regret it bitterly, the face with which Clare will go on without me, which will never be kissed by me, which will belong to a world that I won't know, except as a memory of Clare's, relegated finally to a definite past."


Page 511: Clare- "I can't believe this.  I knew that it was coming, soon, had to come sooner or later, but here it is, and we are just lying here, waiting...."
-I love this quote, and really the whole passage it's from because it captures that feeling I know all too well of knowing someone you love will soon be dead, and there is nothing you can do about it.


~
~~
~~
~~~
~~~
~~~
~~~~
~~~~
~~~~
~~~~
END OF SPOILERS!

This was a beautiful and heart-wrenching love story about two people who yearn to be together but are often separated.  I think that the fact that Clare had to wait so much for Henry actually strengthened her love for him, like I often hear people in real life saying about long distance relationships they are in.  It truly is a lovely story, but also kind of haunting.  I've been thinking about that book a lot since finishing it.  It's also in a way very uplifting.  People really can love each other their whole lives (even if it's just in books).  And in a world where so many people divorce, it gave me hope for my own relationship with my boyfriend of almost four years.  It also didn't hurt that Henry totally reminded me of Boyfriend!  They have similar personalities, and so often Henry would say or do something just like my boyfriend.

I connected really well with the characters in this book too, which is always a plus.  They aren't perfect.  Yes, Henry and Clare love each other, but that doesn't mean they don't get mad at or really annoyed with each other.  This seemed to make the story even more real.

I know this book had a lot of mixed reviews.  Some people loved it and some really did not like it.  As you can tell, I loved it.  To me, it was one of those timeless love stories that make you feel warm and happy inside for the love that they share, while also making you sad because you know they can't be together for long.  If you are on the fence about it, give it a try and see how you feel.  I plan on watching the movie soon, although I'm sure it's not nearly as good as the book.  Rachel McAdams is in it though, and I've got such a big girl crush on her (plus, ERIC BANA!!) that I can't resist!

A memorable quote:
Page 239: Clare- "'But don't you think,' I persist, "that it's better to be extremely happy for a short while, even if you lose it, than to be just okay for your whole life?'"
How lovely and true is that?!  I 100% agree with that quote :)


Title: The Time Traveler's Wife
Author: Audrey Niffenegger
Date of Publication: 2003
Number of Pages: 537
Genre: Fiction
Source: personal copy (borrowed from mom)