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

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.

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.

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.

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!

Gayathri Jinesh

I took a peek into the prologue and fell into the story. 
The freefall was a fantastic experience with garden variety romance, only chronologically misplaced. Nearing the end when the looming 'thud' was apparent, I knew I had to start another book to soften the blow.

Henry travels in time and has no control over when or where that happens. He meets his wife for the first time, when he is in his late 30s and she is six. He has to leave Clare, with no promise of a time of return. It's like a love story written twice, because neither has the memory of the other when they first meet.


  "I'm at a loss because I am in love with a man who is standing before me with no memories of me at all."


There is something about describing or atleast mentioning smells and textures, that makes reading a book a more immersive experience. By the first few chapters, I was comfortable and cozy lying around in the dimly lit recesses of this unshapely story. It's quirky and fun, with writing that made my heart melt.

"Each moment that I wait feels like a year, an eternity. Each moment is as slow and transparent as glass. Through each moment I can see infinite moments line up, waiting. 
  Why has he gone where I cannot follow?"


Just to get this out of the way. The rating for this book is polarized. The one star-haters' main complaints are
1) It's a little Humbert humbertish.
It is reasonable that people find it creepy that a 40 year old guy meets his wife when she was 6, and could (in fact he couldn't), influence her whichever way he wanted. But the point is, that is not denied in the story at all. The author as well as Henry, seems apologetic, that it couldn't be any other way. It is just the way it happened. Which brings us to the second part.

2) Neither of them had a choice.
The novel stems from the premise of fate; that all of it has already happened and time is just flowing past us, rather than we moving forward. Henry himself says that, if you think you have no free will, it gets depressing. That's a note to the reader too. If you think too much of the choice they had, you wouldn't like it. Don't think. Just enjoy.

My only complaint is that the story was slightly, unnecessarily sad. It could have changed a teeny bit and still be able to pull at the heart strings, even without the gratuitous sadness.

"...had we but world enough and time"

I might read this again, in the know.

Alice Myles

Before I begin, I would just like to say that I did, really enjoy this book so my three star review is by no means a bad thing, if I hadn't have enjoyed it I wouldn't have finished it, I just didn't get as absorbed in it as I wanted to. The book is beautifully and perfectly crafted and the premise was so well portrayed that you're almost led to believe that it all could be true. I don't even know what it was that made me fail to connect with this book emotionally because it's normally the sort of thing I would leap at and I'd been meaning to read it for so long yet somehow now that I've finished it feels more like a sense of achievement and a relief rather than a "what am I going to do with my life now" moment that I so often feel when finishing a book. Nevertheless, it was still very very good and I would still highly recommend it.

Arianna M

I would love to understand the hype on this book. I would love to, but I honestly don't get it.
To begin with, it's not even written that well; it's just not.
What actually bothers me is the narrative, which sports such classic elements as Woman Waits for Man Forever, One True Love Based on Child Imprinting On Older Man, Woman Keeping Herself for Man Even Though Man Can Do About Anything and Is Instantly Forgiven; with added bonus of This Relationship Is Really Toxic But What Can I Do It's True Love Right?, I'll Guilt Trip You Because You're Rich and I'm Poor But Also Take Your Money Always, He Lies All The Time About Really Important Things But Holds a Grudge For Anything She Does and She Forgives Him, He's an Asshole and She's a Mary-Sue and Changes the Man. But I digress.
(view spoiler)[Little girl has a secret friend who just happens to be a thirty-six year old man who appears at random, naked, in the woods behind her house. She idolizes him and falls in love with him, and every relationship she has after that is a shadow of her relationship with him, who becomes her quasi-boyfriend when she's sixteen and punches other boys for her. Then he disappears and she's just waiting for him to reappear again and bam, he does. He's younger than she's ever seen him, and a bit of an asshole but oh, sparks! Magic!, she changes him and they get engaged and married and then: tragedy.
This book spoon-feeds you tragedy after tragedy. He can't control his travels! Oh, no! They love each other so much, but they're never sure how long they can be together! Abortions! Tragedy! He doesn't want to have children anymore because he's afraid one abortion will kill her! Oh no! He gets a vasectomy in secret! He disappears! He reappears! Pregnancy because she has sex with past him! Oh joy! But no, he's injured! He can't walk anymore! This is so TRAGIC because he can't run and hide when he travels anymore! He knows he's gonna DIE soon but doesn't tell her! Tragedy!!!!!! He dies in her arms!!!!!!!!!!!! Shot by her family!!!!!!!!!!!!! She's faithful to him forever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! T R A G E D Y!!!!!!!!!!
It's really not the kind of narrative I admire, to say the least. Not to mention that when he dies, there is the incredibly unnecessary friend who tries to rape her, because… you guessed it! Tragedy. (hide spoiler)]
I won't even get to how plain the characters are because at this point it's just a given.

Little aside: Claire is so artsy and cultured and intelligent!!!!!!! Let's shove it down everyone's throats!!!!!! And she grew up in a white privileged household with… black servants. No but really. And the racism doesn't stop there! Claire is so perfect, she has one Filipino friend and we can't stop being reminded of how stereotypically Filipino she is! And Gomez, the Latino friend… is a villain in the end.
Oh and the time travelling is not interesting at all.
Do yourself a favour and do not waste time with this.

Usually when I want to finish a book it's because I'm bored but this time I wanted to finish it because I was dying to know how it ends and what happens with the characters. I was invested but sometimes it was a bit repetitive and a bit too smutty for my liking 

Yalin Tsikun

Georgia Carr

*also posted on my blog*

This is a shining example of how reviews are pivotal in influencing a reader's ideas, prior to even opening the front cover. I read a lot of negative comments about this book, about how it's disjointed and slow and not as good as the movie. For so long, determined not to ruin my enjoyment of the film, I put off reading this. Jesus, I’m still so angry with myself because this book is absolutely beautiful.
 
I hate to be where she is not, when she is not. And yet, I am always going, and she cannot follow.

The Time Traveler’s Wife is the story of Clare and Henry. They met when Clare was six and Henry thirty-six, and were married when Clare was twenty-two and Henry thirty. It sounds impossible, and in our world, it is. But to Henry DeTamble, it’s a life. His genetic clock resets itself at indistinct moments, throwing him forward or backward through his own timeline by no will of his own. Clare’s left behind, waiting. Always waiting. 

Their story is told through both perspectives, pieces of their lives unravelling as you get further into the novel. Clare’s bitter at times, and understandably so. Henry’s angry, helpless to the existence he has to bear. There’s a massive gap between the happiness he shares with Clare and their friends and family, and the lonely days he wanders, becoming someone he doesn’t want to be in order to survive until he is pulled back to the present. 

Yes, it’s jerky and I did get confused at times, but that never detracted from my enjoyment. The hope and the love shared between Henry and Clare is lovely to read, but at the same time, their life is not perfect when they are together and there are very real elements amongst all the time travel. Their relationship is fantastically written and grows in so many different ways. 

There are so many parts of this book that made me tearful, and moments so heartbreaking that all you can do is stop reading and remind yourself that in actuality, this doesn’t happen to people. It’s gripping and devastatingly beautiful and I was utterly unable to put it down.

dascha

There are obvious reasons why people wouldn't like this book. It basically just talks you through the life of a time traveler and his wife. No MAYOR plot twists, no epic time travel incidents, nothing will absolutely blow your mind. Not in a way a book with the word 'time' and 'travel' would do. I totally get why people wouldn't like such a long book.
But personally? I loved it. Although, yeah, nothing mayor really happens, I loved following Clark and Henry through their lives. How heartbreaking must it be to be the wife of a time traveler? That question deffinteley got answered.

So going into this book remember: it's about the relationship of Henry and Clare. It's not supposed to be an epic time travel novel. Two lovers with a slight issue.

Have fun reading,
metheintrovert

(I have to say that I spoiled the ending for myself, because my mom was watching the movie and I, of course, walked right in when the sad thing happened. Don't know if not knowing would've been even sadder to me but it was really sad, get your tissues ready for all pages after 500)

The time travel in the book works in odd ways, and it's a little hard to believe that the main character doesn't have at least a little control over it, he appears in convenient locations throughout the book which lets him bond with his wife during a time when she is way too young for him. Even if he appears in a general location near her was a coincidence, he already knows in the future that she is his wife and he seeks to meet up with her, and not avoid her.

The characters of this book are bland, and forgettable especially everyone besides the main characters Clare, and Henry. But even the stuff we find out about the main characters isn't sufficient to establish a strong bond between them and the reader. A lot of stuff you find out about them is pretty gross or shallow. They already seem to live quite comfortable lives, but the time-traveling also provides cheat codes for them (which they only use when the plot demands it). You don't get to hear a ton about their work life which you would assume would be at affected by time travel at random times.

The scenario sorta seems like a setup for smut, the sex scenes we do get have quite silly descriptions, and sometimes even other scenes have an odd choice of words.

There are a lot of parts in the book where the author throws a ton of adjectives, and lists of references (one time even a very long grocery list). There are also a ton of parts where nothing of interest happens.

The main character expresses negative views toward adoption that do not make any sense—questionable romanticism of pregnancy.

Nota

The time travel in the book works in odd ways, and it's a little hard to believe that the main character doesn't have at least a little control over it, he appears in convenient locations throughout the book which lets him bond with his wife during a time when she is way too young for him. Even if he appears in a general location near her was a coincidence, he already knows in the future that she is his wife and he seeks to meet up with her, and not avoid her.

The characters of this book are bland, and forgettable especially everyone besides the main characters Clare, and Henry. But even the stuff we find out about the main characters isn't sufficient to establish a strong bond between them and the reader. A lot of stuff you find out about them is pretty gross or shallow. They already seem to live quite comfortable lives, but the time-traveling also provides cheat codes for them (which they only use when the plot demands it). You don't get to hear a ton about their work life which you would assume would be at affected by time travel at random times.

The scenario sorta seems like a setup for smut, the sex scenes we do get have quite silly descriptions, and sometimes even other scenes have an odd choice of words.

There are a lot of parts in the book where the author throws a ton of adjectives, and lists of references (one time even a very long grocery list). There are also a ton of parts where nothing of interest happens.

The main character expresses negative views toward adoption that do not make any sense—questionable romanticism of pregnancy.

It is one of those books that holds a lifetime in 500 pages. 
Honestly, I had a hard time when I started it, but then I went with the flow and loved it. Almost every sentence of it. It is the perfect mixture of drama, romance, and time travel. It's complicated and awkward at times, but once you start making a timeline in your mind it gives you a perfect feeling of understanding and satisfaction. Considering this is the author's first book, it is done really well, and then with that said I feel like it explains the ending chapters a bit more. It is like she was holding on to the story and afraid to let go. And now as I am writing this, I realized I actually liked that part too. 
4.8⭐

Ayden

I had an actually pleasant time reading this book and could easily read it in one sitting (if I had that much free time in a row) but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone for a few reasons:
1) a little too Lolita esq for my liking 
2) just generally too explicit 
3) The prose were awful. There was no differences in the separate POVs. I often mixed up if I was reading from Henry or Clare.
4) I like the fact that time is set and there’s nothing you can do to change what already happened. That being said there are times where Henry willfully puts himself into bad situations with the anticipation that it’ll go wrong. 
5) We hardly see Henry time jump to the future and when he does I don’t understand how he has enough time to check up stocks/ lottery ticket number/ and obituaries.
6) Everything was obviously very predictable which is fine but by page 500 you’re wondering why you’re still reading

Ri Liu

I found myself getting pretty frustrated at some of the other reviews that criticised the book's realism, cultural references and subtle historical inaccuracies. That's a pretty pretentious way to evaluate the book in my opinion. I'd rather judge the it by the quality of the writing, the entertainment value and the emotional effects invoked by it.

What the book did do was entertain, and move me emotionally. I could read this book for long stretches and not be tempted to put it down. I'm giving it a 4 because some parts of the plot did bother me a bit (very subjective thing) and the poetry bits were a bit unnecessary. Not sure if it's a good or bad thing, but I did watch the movie first, so I probably was not as surprised by certain moments as I should have been. Overall though, enjoyable read.

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

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