Name: Matthew Jackson's review of The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Item: The Time Traveler's Wife
Rating: 3
Author: Matthew Jackson

Audrey Niffenegger

A Novel

The Time Traveler's Wife

Clare, an art student, and Henry, an adventurous librarian, have known each other since Clare was six, and Henry was thirty-six. Yet when they marry, Clare is twenty-three and Henry is only thirty-one. Impossible but true. Henry is one of the first people diagnosed with chron-displacement disorder. Periodically his genetic clock resets and he finds himself misplaced in time. His disappearances are spontaneous, his experiences unpredictable, alternatively harrowing and amusing. Clare and Henry attempt to live normal lives; a pursuit threatened by something they can neither prevent nor control.

The Time Traveller's Wife

pluto

But because truly being here is so much; because everything here apparently needs us, this fleeting world, which in some strange way keeps calling to us. Us, the most fleeting of all.

This is the extraordinary love story of Clare and Henry who met when Clare was six and Henry was thirty-six, and were married when Clare was twenty-two and Henry thirty. Impossible but true, because Henry suffers from a rare condition where his genetic clock periodically resets and he finds himself pulled suddenly into his past or future. In the face of this force they can neither prevent nor control, Henry and Clare's struggle to lead normal lives is both intensely moving and entirely unforgettable.
(back cover)

High Fidelity

My body wanted a baby. I felt empty and I wanted to be full. I wanted someone to love who would stay: stay and be there, always. And I wanted Henry to be in this child, so that when he was gone he wouldn’t be entirely gone, there would be a bit of him with me.. .insurance, in case of fire, flood, act of God.

But then I feel guilty for wanting to avoid the sadness; dead people need us to remember them, even if it eats us, even if all we can do is say I’m sorry until it is as meaningless as air.

Here all of nature was captured, labeled, arranged according to a logic that seemed as timeless as if ordered by God, perhaps a God who had mislaid the original paperwork on the Creation and had requested the Field Museum staff to help Him out and keep track of it all.

My apartment is basically a couch, an armchair, and about four thousand books.

When Henry meets Clare, he is twenty-eight and she is twenty. He is a hip librarian; she is a beautiful art student. Henry has never met Clare before; Clare has known Henry since she was six...

This exceptional first novel is the story of Henry and Clare, who have known each other since Clare was 6 and Henry was 36, and were married when Clare was 20 and Henry 28. This is possible only because Henry is one of the first people diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder: periodically his genetic clock resets and he flashes to other points in time, usually moments of emotional gravity for him. His disappearances are spontaneous, his experiences unpredictable, alternately harrowing and amusing. Audrey Niffenegger explores the effects this condition has 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 strain to live as normal a life as they can, pursuing goals that will be familiar to most readers - steady jobs, love, good friends, children of their own. That these are all threatened by something Henry can neither prevent nor control makes this story profoundly moving and entirely unforgettable.

Patricia Melova

Matthew Jackson

Passionately in love, Clare and Henry vow to hold onto each other and their marriage as they struggle with the effects of Chrono-Displacement Disorder, a condition that casts Henry involuntarily into the world of time travel.

Bria

** spoiler alert **
           I don't know if it's me or what but this didn't give me the same feeling that a lot of other people seem to have about this book. It was just okay to me.

Megan Gardner

I usually dislike books with fantastical elements (time travelling, anyone?), but I actually quite liked this one.

Itzel

I just want to say that this was the first book that made me cry, ever. 
So I have a sweet spot for it. It was adorable.

This extraordinary, magical novel is the story of Clare and Henry who have known each other since Clare was six and Henry was thirty-six, and were married when Clare was twenty-two and Henry thirty. 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 pulled suddenly into his past or future. His disappearances are spontaneous and his experiences are alternately harrowing and amusing.The Time Traveler's Wifedepicts the effects of time travel on Henry and Clare's passionate love for each other with grace and humour. Their struggle to lead normal lives in the face of a force they can neither prevent nor control is intensely moving and entirely unforgettable.

Speechless. This is probably my favorite book to date. 

Madeleine Winterich

La moglie dell'uomo che viaggiava nel tempo

Paolo Genta

questo libro mi ha emozionato. profondamente. una storia d'amore vissuta appieno, tutta la vita, nel tempo e nello spazio. libro non banale e sicuramente da leggere!

Sarah Sammis

I've read better time travel books. This book just didn't hold my attention and I found it oddly amusing that it read just as well back to front as it does front to back. It just seems like the author took all her ideas for the plot, wrote them down on index cards and then tossed the whole lot up in the air and then wrote the book down in the order that she picked the cards up. There's never a compelling reason given for why Henry is so fascinated by Clare or why she so obediently decides to wait for him. The only really interesting character is Alba and she doesn't show up until the last third of the book.

Interesting concept, very, very messy execution

Annabella

Interesting concept, very, very messy execution



Roman

Die Frau des Zeitreisenden

Das Buch hatte Cornelia Funke in einem Interview empfohlen und ich habe es innerhalb von 2 Tagen durchgelesen. Der Roman ist packend geschrieben und die hiesigen Konzepte von Liebe und Zeit regen zum nachdenken an. Auch wenn bei mir einige Fragen offen bleiben, definitiv ein lesenswertes Buch! 

Hannah

esperanza 

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.

Geoffrey Froggatt

** spoiler alert **
           I must confess: I initially had no interest in reading this book until I was informed that the titular time traveler goes back in time and has sex with himself. Hearing this immediately made me think back to the many conversations I’ve had with people over the years about whether or not they would have sex with themselves. Those conversations mostly focused on ideas surrounding clones, incest, and masturbation, but I feel like the heart of those conversations is reflected in this book’s strange plot point. If you’re somehow curious to where I would fall in these conversations: Yes. I would have sex with myself, and yes, I’m completely aware that that’s very weird, and ethically gross if you think about it too hard. Weird hypothetical sex situations aside, the actual book is a love story about Henry, a man with a genetic disorder that causes him to time travel unpredictably, and about Clare, his wife, an artist who has to cope with his frequent absences. Content warning for miscarriage, death of a parent, adult/minor relationship (non-sexual), suicide (described on page), and mentions of suicide, rape, and homophobia. I must admit, I don’t like time travel stories and I’m not a fan of most time travel storytelling tropes. I feel like the different theories and rules for time travel in stories are either never done well enough, or done so well that it becomes convoluted and hard for me to follow. That being said, I love how we begin this story with Clare “meeting” a young version of Henry, with Clare already having met a future version of Henry and with Henry having no idea who she is. I like that each chapter begins with the characters ages in order to understand where we are in their timelines. 

I can understand why some readers would be uncomfortable with the plot point that future Henry meets with Clare as a child (being naked when he time travels and knowing they eventually become romantically involved) but I do think that it’s unfair to try and attach real life realistic connotations to such a fictional fantastical situation, and Clare makes it clear that future Henry wouldn’t have sex with her no matter how hard she tried as a teenager. The heart of this story is romantic and doesn’t muddy itself in real world implications. However, this is just my personal opinion and your mileage may vary. Some readers may find this plot point disturbing and comparable to grooming, but I think that in the context of time travel as a genetic condition, this was a realistic depiction of two people who’s lives are intertwined but timelines are mixed up. It should be noted that Henry never treats younger Clare as anything but a child despite knowing their future together, and he goes out of his way to make their interactions appropriate and non-sexual and reaffirm his presence as something almost paternal or friendly. This plot point is still strange and weird, just not as sinister as critics make it out to be, in my opinion. I like the comments that the author has made regarding this part of the book and encourage those who feel uncomfortable with this plot point to search up her interview regarding the newest HBO adaptation. 

Whenever I saw this book on bookshelves, I imagined that this book would be filled with flowery writing, and in a way it is, but much more subdued than what I had imagined it to be. I was very surprised to see how the author described sex and sexuality so bluntly. There were no flowery euphemisms or beating around the bush here. I liked that aspect as it was honest and raw, I just had assumed that those scenes would be framed in a way similar to a vague romantic poem. Seeing how Henry learns to adapt to his surroundings when he is thrust naked into the past was very interesting, and I don’t think I’d be able to adjust to living to a life like that. I like how Henry runs into younger versions of himself in his travels and I like how he interacts with each one differently depending on where they are in his timeline. While the protagonists’ lives are told out of order and out of sequence, there is a rhythmic feel to each snippet and it was easy to grasp the story structure despite the chronology of events. I like the small bits of world building surrounding Henry’s condition. The theories about Henry being a different species or the next step in human evolution were interesting, and I like how younger Clare remarks that if time travelers are real, what else is real? While these discussions made me ponder the answers to these questions, I’m glad that the story didn’t choose to explore any of those ideas too deeply and focused on the love story between these two characters. I loved the conversation these characters had about free will, the idea of God, and determinism. These deeper conversations made me wonder about the rules of time travel in this story. Is everything predestined, or does the timeline change every time Henry time travels? I love how young Clare constantly asks about the future while future Henry navigates what he can and can’t share. I love the small secret hints he drops about the future, and I love the moment where he realizes he’s said too much. I love when Henry figures out the meaning behind certain things in their lives when he time travels, like when he figures out the meaning behind something strange someone says to him in the future while he’s travelling backwards throughout time. I liked seeing teenage Clare’s inner darkness and how Henry chooses to let her indulge in it. What happened to Henry’s mom was so tragic, but I liked how it shaped Henry and shaped the story. Clare’s struggles with getting pregnant are tragic and I felt like it was done well in the context of this story. 

Despite the fact that I loved this book, I did have some problems with it. All the non-white characters feel like caricatures and shallow stereotypes. I blame this on the author being a white woman and having written this in 1997. While she could have been more educated on how to properly portray non-white characters in the 90s, I do understand that the portrayals of non-white characters during this time period aren’t going to be up to today’s standards especially with the mainstream public perception of non-white people during the 90s and the aughts being filled with stereotypes and subtle racism. There are also a number of plot conveniences for the characters that, if removed, may have made for a more interesting story. The two biggest plot conveniences being all the characters are wealthy enough to not worry about money (besides when Henry is thrust naked back in time and must resort to pickpocketing) and Henry somehow maintains a job at the library despite disappearing for long periods of time. Logistically, this book felt a little too long and a bit drawn out in the middle despite only having around 500 pages, but I estimate that it only felt like this because I read it in mostly one sitting. I wish there had been a bit more conflict and subplots, but it also felt intentional to have this story be focused on the characters’ interpersonal relationships and histories. Despite all this, my problems with this story are eclipsed by my love for it. 

My feelings towards this book and the backlash towards it can be summed up by a quote from an article where the author herself addresses the public reception of the story and the newest television adaptation. 

From Rob Salkowitz’s Forbes article “Author Stands Behind HBO’s Controversial Adaptation Of ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife’”:

“Part of the issue with the reception of the show, she thinks, might be the result of mismatched expectations. Though The Time Traveler’s Wife sold well over 8 million copies worldwide and was previously adapted into a 2009 feature film starring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams, it was never intended as a crowd-pleasing genre novel with simple conflicts and resolutions. “There are people who say it’s not sci-fi enough, and people who say ‘this isn’t a romance!’ and I’m like, ‘yeah, it’s a book.’ I didn’t want to peg it to anything so specific.””

I’ve seen a lot of romance readers negatively review this book because they expected a formulaic mainstream romance novel (with a time travelling twist) with the typical romance caricatures, but these characters are more complex than that. They’re messy, they’re unlikable. They’re imperfect. They aren’t the typical perfect romance protagonists that readers have become comfortable with, and this book isn’t a trope-filled romance novel. These characters feel like real people. Complicated real people dealing with an abnormal fantastical situation. I liked the exploration of this strange morally grey romance. I liked the introduction of a certain character halfway through the novel and how they shook up the character dynamics and the story itself. Clare’s multiple miscarriages and the reveal that her babies’ fetuses kept time travelling in and out of her womb and dying was insane. What happened to Ingrid broke my heart even though I wasn’t invested in her character before the end of her story. The implication that she thought she had met her future daughter only to realize that Alba wasn’t hers which later leads to her suicide was so dark. While I feel like her character wasn’t given enough focus, this oddly fit as we are following Henry through his non-chronological travels through his own timeline, and the subtle implications only made it more powerful for me. The ending was heartbreaking, but I loved how beautifully tragic it all was. I do believe that this story will only be effective if the reader empathizes with these characters, and I do feel like readers must have an open mind in order to do so with Henry and Clare. I highly recommend this book for fans of romance stories that aren’t completely revolved around stereotypical romance or tropes typically associated with the genre.

pozie

99% of the time books are obviously much better than the movie adaptations. But sometimes…. You find that 1% Honestly I’m only giving it three stars for the good music references and the fact that I’m thankful for the movie

Peggy Walker

I loved this book. I read a fascinating interview with the author. This is her first book. She is a paper artist, much like the heroine of the story. I loved hearing the author describe how she had to keep an excel spreadsheet to keep track of all the time travel episodes, and where each person in the story was at that time of their lives. I really liked that it was not linear, so that when she finally meets him in real time, he doesn't know her, even though he has been a fixture in HER life since she was a young girl. I think she does a wonderful job keeping all these timelines straight. I thought it was made more "real" by the fact that the traveller encounters many difficulties when he suddenly appears in another time and place....he is naked, he has no money, he is trapped in places he can't get out of, he gets injured and beaten. I have always thought it was very convenient that most literary time travelers don't seem to encounter life-threatening situtations. This book takes a LOT of concentration, but I think it is well worth it. Excellent.

a novel

The time traveler's wife

Mythos

1/5 stars

In some cases, I can read through a book and say I read, I didn't like it, I would never read it again. This is not one of those books. Instead, I can't even bring myself to finish it. Personally, I felt like this book was a waste of my time. I kept waiting for it to become interesting, but it just couldn't capture my interest.

Henry wasn't likable at all and felt creepy most of the time. I hated the way the book treated his ex. It's almost as if they tried to make it seem as if she attempted suicide for attention-seeking. Clare wasn't treated any better. Both of them revolved their lives around Henry. Personally, I felt like Clare was being groomed by Henry. Being told from a young age she was going to marry Henry was already a big red flag for me. I don't recommend this book as I deem it a waste of time. If you do read it, do it at your own risk.

1/5 stars

In some cases, I can read through a book and say I read it, I didn't like it, and I would never read it again. This is not one of those books. Instead, I can't even bring myself to finish it. Personally, I felt like this book was a waste of my time. I kept waiting for it to become interesting, but it just couldn't capture my interest.

Henry wasn't likable at all and felt creepy most of the time. I hated the way the book treated his ex. It's almost as if they tried to make it seem as if she attempted suicide for attention-seeking. Clare wasn't treated any better. Both of them revolved their lives around Henry. Personally, I felt like Clare was being groomed by Henry. Being told from a young age she was going to marry Henry was already a big red flag for me. I don't recommend this book as I deem it a waste of time. If you do read it, do it at your own risk.

Signed Copy

Krystyna 

This book was good but can be confusing and difficult to follow at times because of the time travel aspect. It jumps across various timelines so you really have to focus and pay attention.

an existential crisis of a book, but so beautiful 

Ralie Sutton

Beautiful beautiful and did I mention beautiful?

Hannah Alexander 

I read up to to page 324, and the narrative was getting extremely bland. All the passages are just repetition of their routine and how Claire’s copes with not being able to stay with Henry in a moment.

Also the whole grooming and time traveling paradise is hella weird. 

The author clearly attempts to establish the idea that Claire’s decisions are made independently from Henry’s influence. But none of such scenes in the book redeem the fact that Henry still had affects on her. Essentially he did groom her and made himself the epicenter of her entire life. 

Regardless of the fact that he can’t control his time traveling he could’ve chosen to stay hush hush. Maybe actually interact with her when she was older. The idea that youth don’t believe in timetravelers is wack. Cuz how does it explain other adult characters believing him. Everything happened all at once is just a narrative ploy that author used to justify Henry’s hellishly weird interactions with a child.

Erika Kodama

Sure the writing is good but too simple.

I read up to to page 324, and the narrative was getting extremely bland. All the passages are just repetition of their routine and how Claire’s copes with not being able to stay with Henry in a moment.

It gets boring quickly.

Also the whole grooming and time traveling paradise is hella weird. 

The author clearly attempts to establish the idea that Claire’s decisions are made independently from Henry’s influence. But none of such scenes in the book redeem the fact that Henry still had affects on her. Essentially he did groom her and made himself the epicenter of her entire life. 

Regardless of the fact that he can’t control his time traveling he could’ve chosen to stay hush hush. Maybe actually interact with her when she was older. The idea that youth don’t believe in timetravelers is wack. Cuz how does it explain other adult characters believing him. Everything happened all at once is just a narrative ploy that author used to justify Henry’s hellishly weird interactions with a child.

Everyone should read this book in their lifetime. 

I loved this book! The relationship between Henry and Clare is realistic and so heartwarming - really felt like a real couple both modern day and in the past. The way Henry interacts with children, specifically past Clare and past Henry is so sweet, I was obsessed with every one of these scenes.

Overall the book is such a clever concept and is written so beautifully. That being said, I struggled a little with the writing style - it felt as though the book was a collection of short stories but this did make sense further on in the book and I thoroughly enjoyed.

Warning: This book should have come with a trigger warning for miscarriage and suicide. Both topics are explained in detail and could be damaging to some readers.

Jess

Everyone should read this book in their lifetime. 

I loved this book! The relationship between Henry and Clare is realistic and so heartwarming - really felt like a real couple both modern day and in the past. The way Henry interacts with children, specifically past Clare and past Henry is so sweet, I was obsessed with every one of these scenes.

Overall the book is such a clever concept and is written so beautifully. That being said, I struggled a little with the writing style - it felt as though the book was a collection of short stories but this did make sense further on in the book and I thoroughly enjoyed.

Warning: This book should have come with a trigger warning for miscarriage and suicide. Both topics are explained in detail and could be damaging to some readers.

Lee Schneider

Brilliant, lyrical, poignant, and sad at the end. Much great writing in this book. Little long for my taste but others may like sticking with the story for a long time

Alexa M

Anna Ureta

*listened to the audiobook/ebook/paperback*

I don't know how long I've had this book sitting on my shelf but I've FINALLY read it. 

I remember watching the movie years ago. 

HBO did their own adaptation that was unfortunately cancelled after one season - because people suck -_- and are just worrying about the wrong things right now - but the show was AMAZING and Theo James and Rose Leslie did an amazing job. I am so sad they didn't get to continue to work on the show. I think it would have been amazing!

The book did get very long in the middle....and just dragged on, I think about 20-30% just felt like it dragged on. 

But then it picked up and got emotional. 
I'm glad I finally got to read this, it was lovely~ 
Now I know why this was such a big deal back when it first came out.

Kayla Ndife

I'll start off by saying that I wouldn't hand this book to anybody under the age of seventeen. At some points it's pretty graphic, both in a gorey sense and usually in a sexual sense.

Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, I'll continue on to say that this is one of the best books I've ever read. It didn't feel like a sci-fi fantasy book, but it has that air of the supernatural to take the edge off, and I think this reaches out to several people. Secondly, it's a romance novel. Pure and simple. The best thing about this, however, is that it is believable in its depictions of love. There's an honest-to-goodness healthy relationship full of support and care going on here, without either person forgetting to take care of themselves. Following Henry and Clare's lives together never felt cliche or contrived to me in any way. To be honest, I got my boyfriend to read this, and he loved it as well.

This is an excellent summer read, especially if you have time to take it in and bask in the voice and the style that Audrey Niffenegger employs. Don't expect, though, that this will be a book that you can forget about once you've finished it and put it down... it WILL stick with you.

Jeannette Ordas

Blah, I can't even recall what I didn't like about this book. It was recommended to me by someone, I read it, and now it has vanished. Poof!

Matthew Jackson &
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

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