This book was beautifully written and a wonderful love story. ( )

A very unique love story is probably the only way to describe this novel. Romance is in general a genre I don't read, but from the get go this book had me hooked. An added bonus is the fact that this novel had me in tears which is not an easy thing to do even 'My Sister's Keeper' which itself is a moving story didn't reduce me to a crying wreck. Follow the lives of Henry and Clare a young couple who although have found their soulmate in each other have their lives complicated by the fact that Henry has a genetic condition that means he disappears and reappears suddenly to signficant points in his life. ( )

Wow. Couldn't put the book down! Wonderful storyline, a joy to read!! Splendid writing. Fell in love with both, Henry and Clare. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy love stories, with an edge, and I would read this book again in a heartbeat. I can't wait to see the movie, so that I can see how horrible it is compared to the book. Kudos. ( )

I really wanted to like this book. Really, I did.

I enjoyed it until the last few chapters. I thought the end was absolutely ridiculous and contrived. However, because I liked MOST of the book, I gave it two stars instead of just one.

I feel bad about spoiling in a review, so I won't say what exactly happens...but just be aware the ending is not neatly tied up nor does the book end on a happy note. I found the way things resolved more than a little unbelievable, and depressing to boot. ( )

This is an expertly woven story. The constant time shifts could easily have made the story difficult to follow, but I was amazed at Ms. Niffenberger's skill at keeping the reader involved and in the moment. I thought about the characters long after I read the last word. ( )

Brilliant!

Here's another original idea of time travel. The story is fresh, humorous and yet sad. This is a love story I never want to end. Magical and dark, moving and bright.

I tend to be really wary of books that everyone says you have to read because it's the best ever. So I avoided picking this one up for quite awhile. I found I was really interested in her second book and I figured I should read the first one first, so I did.

This book was just okay for me. The device (the time traveling guy and his long-term relationship) was really really cool. The way the time traveling was handled and the sort of universal breaking of lots of the established rules about time travel (thou shalt not meet thyself or thine world will end kinda thing) was original and handled with lots of verve. She writes well and I liked how well she established time and place through mention of bands of the time period and clubs and whatnot. I think some people should get over themselves when they complain about "name checking."

Now, on to what mostly didn't work for me - Henry and Clare. How wonderful that they had this great big mythic love. How awful that the author couldn't manage to make me believe in it, mostly because Clare is so poorly written that it is almost impossible to differentiate her from any other random character. I'm okay with the main narrator having the most fully fleshed voice and other characters being, well, less. But if a mythic romance is at the center of your time traveling story both halves of that romance ought to feel real and Clare just doesn't work for me.

Ultimately, there were big chunks of this book that I really enjoyed, but I think the coolest thing about it - the time traveling device - was also its downfall. I'm still interested to read Her Fearful Symmetry (I'm a sucker for a good ghost story) and more interested now that I've read the first book. Niffenegger is a writer with a lot of interesting promise - let's see if she lives up to it. ( )

Touching and poignant. This book made me laugh and cry. ( )

An exceptional story. The interweaving of the timelines just in itself is incredible. But I also found the story line and the telling of the story to be very engaging. A definite page turner. ( )

A good book to me is one that leaves images in your head that pop up out of nowhere throughout the course of a day. This book had many of those images, often horrific and always haunting. I'm not usually one for romance stories, but the added component of Chrono Displacement disorder (uncontrollable time traveling) gave the story enough of a twist to intrigue me until I found I couldn't put the book down. Having spent a summer in Chicago also added something to the experience because I could often picture where scenes were taking place.

An intriguing concept that was drawn out into a complex narrative that left me emotionally drained and devastated by the time the last page was done. I enjoyed every minute of it even if certain more graphic moments gave me slightly macabre nightmares. I really shouldn't read this stuff before bed... ( )

Started off a little slow and predictable, but weaved a more interesting plot in the second half along with some tugging of the heart strings as the reader becomes more entwined with the emotional conflict of the protaganist.

A beautiful, timeless romance, that I'll treasure always...

an easy enjoyable read. I wonder how they will convert it in to a movie. Many small parts make up the whole. ( )

Interesting premise about time and love but didn't like how the story unfolded. The constant jumping back and forth made the story too much work to read without any real payoff at the end. ( )

From my blog: http://weelittleactress.blogspot.com

"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Recommended Tea: Tazo's Passion

Recently, my husband and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary. We went to the site of our wedding, visited all of the important places. It was strange - strange because those places had changed.

"That Sonic wasn't there before, was it?" "When did they start doing construction here?" "It's not as humid as it was last year."

It was as if we believed the happiness that we felt on that day had the power to keep anything from changing.

It is this belief that leads millions upon millions of people to get married. The belief that what you feel is so strong that it will keep anything from changing. Ever.

Unfortunately, time doesn't freeze. Time keeps going. As it ticks away, things change. You gain weight, you lose weight. The house is clean, the house is a wreck. The fridge is full, the fridge is empty. You're getting along perfectly, and then you have a disagreement.

You're young, in love, and together... but then, one day, one of you is gone.

This is a fear that has haunted me since the day that I knew my husband would someday be my husband. The fear of never finding "the one" is immediately replaced with the fear of what will happen when "the one" is gone. Or you are gone. I cannot imagine anything more terrifying.

The reality of death hit me at a very young age, when someone in my family passed away. After experiencing the reality of that horror, death has turned into my noisy neighbor, the paparazzi hiding behind the bushes and peeking into my windows, wrecking moments that are supposed to be personal and private. I know that he is there. He knows that I know that he is there.

On the one hand, the knowledge of this keeps me thankful. I became aware, earlier than most of my friends, that we would not have each other forever. This gave me an appreciation for the people around me.

On the other hand, this has placed a shadow over much of my life. I could be watching the sunset with my husband, only to burst into tears at the thought that he, or I, could die tomorrow. Every time my mother travels, she calls me and tells me where her will is, where she keeps her valuable jewelry, and how much she loves me. Every doctor visit, every late night phone call, every time my husband doesn't come home when I expect him to.

The Time Traveler's Wife has a similar theme. When you love someone, time gets a bit warped. In my heart, the present day and my wedding day, the present day and the day I will lose my husband, all seem to blur together.

On my goodreads.com account, I gave this book three stars. I enjoyed it, I felt like I knew the characters (sometimes maybe even a bit more than I would like), but my response to it is (without going into specific details and giving too much away) ...meh.

The themes, however, and the concept... those, I give ten stars. The themes alone - regardless of the story - make this book worth reading.

Niffenegger's argument seems to be that time travel is a metaphor for differences in a relationship. When two people decide to live a life together, how can there ever be harmony when one of them has a mind that works like an actor and the other has a mind that works like a professor? Can they actually be at the exact same place at the exact same time, or is their whole relationship an attempt to reach across their differences, or, in Clare and Henry's case, time?

There's also the big scary thing called expectation, or what we in the south sometimes call a "case of the sposed ta's." I'm supposed to get married. I'm supposed to have a baby. I'm supposed to be happy. I'm supposed to have this job or that job. Clare and Henry are husband and wife. This is the future, this is what is supposed to happen. This is what we, and they, are told from page one. But, in my own humble opinion, they don't seem too compatible. You start to wonder "Hmm... would these two be together if they didn't think they were supposed to be?" And there's a good chance that they wouldn't be. Because Clare and Henry know that they are "supposed to" be together, they get married. And in life, the pressure of the sposed ta's rarely keeps things from happening... well... the way they're sposed ta.

Time travel could also be a symbol for that mysterious I-don't-know-what that keeps people together. One moment that I keep traveling back to is the night I had one of my first panic attacks. My husband and I had just started dating, and the panic set in while we were spending time alone together. I remember he had an important test early the next morning, but he drove me to my bed, tucked me in, and sat up all night watching me to make sure that I was alright. This was when I knew that I wanted him there by my side for always and always.

How many times have I visited this moment? Thousands. Maybe millions. It is visiting this moment that makes the crappy part-time job, the messy apartment, and all of those little-things-that-seem-big-at-the-time moments vanish into the background while my husband stays beautifully focused in the foreground.

Are all of these what Niffenegger was hoping to communicate in the writing of this book? I have no idea. And that is why it deserves ten stars. The theme is there, and it is brilliant. What it means... that's for you to figure out.

And in the meantime, we keep holding on to each other, keep watching those sunsets, keep traveling back to the past and keep anticipating, looking forward to, and dreading all that is to come.

The clock keeps ticking, and we hold on like hell. ( )

I am not a fan of this book. I thought it was dumb that he would end up naked whenever he time traveled? Erm, ok! And the fact that there was really no reason for his ability to time travel. I hope the movie is better than the book! ( )

Several friends have been trying to get me to read The Time Traveler's Wife for awhile now, and for this reason or that, I kept putting it off. They kept telling me that in addition to it being a fantastic story, I'd love it as it takes place in Chicago and that I'd recognize so many of the places talked about in the story (and for those that don't know me that well, I have a love affair with the city of Chicago and will be moving there, someday!). Well, they were all right on all counts, and I'm just sorry that it took me so long to getting around to reading this wonderful book.

The Time Traveler's Wife is the story of Henry and Clare. Henry is a time traveler; he has a genetic disease that causes him, at random intervals, to fall out of his present and arrive in different locations and times, and never of his choice. Henry seems drawn to Clare continually during his time jumps, from the time that she is a child, continuing through until he meets her in his own present. This is one of the amazing aspects of the book to me, how Niffenegger was able to tell this story: Clare's story moves forward in a clear chronological pace, yet Henry falls in and out of her life at various ages, so that while one meeting with Clare will find Henry in his 40s, the next may find him in his 30s, and he must become continuously aware of his place with Clare, as what is happening in her present may still constitute his future or past self.

Niffenegger tells their story honestly. It isn't always good between Henry and Clare, and we are carried along on the ups and downs of their relationship. It can be a roller coaster of a ride sometimes, but ultimately, isn't that what all relationships are about? The ups and downs, good times and bad? However, when the times are good, Niffenegger buoys us along with their happiness, and you just know it's going to be OK.

I started out listening to an audiobook version of the story, but by the time that I was getting to the end, I couldn't wait until the drive into work the next day to continue the story so pulled out my copy of the book and found where I left off and continued reading. The ending, even though you have a vague foreshadowing of what's to come, is still amazingly powerful.

Some parts of the book seemed a little too long for my liking: scenes where entire games of pool are described, for instance, seemed a little more detail than was completely necessary to keep the story moving. These handful of scenes aside, the book moves along at a comfortable speed. You might think that the jumping back and forth between times might be a little confusing, and it does seem daunting at first, but once you get into the groove of the story, everything moves along nicely and the time jumps aren't even noticeable.

Another word on the audiobook production: it is narrated by William Hope and Laurel Lefkow and since the book is written from both Henry and Clare's points of view, this makes for a nice listening experience, as both characters literally have a voice of their own.

When all is said and done, The Time Traveler's Wife is an amazing book and comes highly recommended. ( )

This is a cracking book which could have been improved by a little judicious pruning. At three hundred pages, this would have been spot on, at five hundred and forty, it stretched a bit in the middle.
The concept; a man with a genetic problem that causes him to bounce back and forth in time, is original and ,fitting it into the novel, must have taken considerable mental exercise.
I would, however, question the blurb's proposition that this is a love story. Henry meets Clare as a six year old - he is thirty-six - and, through a series of meetings at different stages of her youth, persuades her that she loves him. Take away the time travelling concept, and this would more accurately take the appellation 'grooming'. Henry seems to control the entire relationship and, we learn of the fate of his girlfriend at the time at which he met Claire (Ingrid). She is ceremonially dumped and meets an unfortunate end. Henry maintains control to the very end: as he is dying, he tells Claire to live the rest of her life and not to waste it in mourning. He then tells her that he will visit her once more in her future. Naturally, she waits and, in her eighties in an old people's home, she is rewarded with a brief visit. Claire is pathetically grateful. ( )

I have pondered with reading this for quite a while. On the one hand some friends were excited about it, on the other hand some called it 'chick lit' with a detesting smirk on their faces.

But to everyone out there: Of course this is a book about love, and it is a deeply emotional book, but you HAVE TO READ it anyway. Cause it is not only about love, but also about time and fate, and it is not only emotional, but also quite suspenseful and at times chillingly so.

And one final thing: If you don't start crying while reading the last page, I dare say you're not human... ( )

What can I say that hasn't been said? Probably nothing, but here goes. A beautiful amazing book. I had a hard time not getting too caught up in the mechanics of time travel, as long as I could suspend my disbelief to go along with the story, I was fine. Amazing though, I highly recommend to anyone to read. ( )

First let me say that I have a tremendous fondness for Chicago novels. I'd go even farther and say that I'm a sucker if an author writes a book and I can recognize the locations all the way through. And when you mention Bookman's Alley AND the Newberry Library in the same book, how can I not like it? Sure, it's an odd mix of disturbing, sappy and unbelievable even for the fantastical, but it's also a really enjoyable read and quite a good love story. Because it's written in little vignettes, it almost feels like a collection of short stories, but I think the disconcerting moving around perfectly mirrors the disconcerting nature of a time traveler's life. ( )

very unique and imaginative. I loved it. ( )

Een prachtig verhaal over hoe liefde zelfs de tijd kan overwinnen. Clare en Henry leren elkaar kennen als Clare 6 is en Henry 36. Door een genetisch foutje verdwijnt Henry, als hij in een stressvolle of emotionele situatie terecht komt naar zijn verleden of naar zijn toekomst. Clare en Henry komen elkaar regelmatig tegen en trouwen als Clare 22 is en Henry 30. Een prachtig verhaal over geliefden die niet weten hoe lang ze bij elkaar zullen zijn en welke leeftijd Henry zal hebben wanneer ze elkaar weer zien. ( )

I tried to listen to this talking book and turned it off after 20 minutes. One of only two talking books I have ever turned off. Perhaps I will revisit this book after reading all the positive review. This time I will try reading the book rather that listening to it. ( )

I finished The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger the other day, and I’m surprised at how much it’s stayed in my head since then. It’s not the kind of book that I’d usually pick up, but the girlfriend rated it and said it’s one of her favourite ever books, so I figured I’d give it a go.

And from the opening chapter it just gripped me. There’s not so much a plot, more of a tale of love between two people. Admittedly, the eponymous time travelling does give the book something different, and its execution is simply fantastic, but it’s still a love story at heart.

The switch in narration between the two lovers works well, especially with the chronology so thrown out by all of the time travelling taking place. Within half a paragraph you know exactly where you are, and what each character does and doesn’t know.

I really don’t know how to describe it further. It’s poignant in places, bittersweet in others; the sex scenes are well written, but equally well put across are other intimate moments that don’t necessarily involve getting down to it.

I fully agree with the girlfriend: this is a great book, and I can highly recommend it. ( )