The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Books Completed: 7
Date Completed: January 6, 2009
Pages: 536
Publication Date: June 29, 2004

Reason for Reading: Nymeth reviewed it, Sci-Fi Experience, and just because I wanted to!

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 finds himself periodically displaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity from 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 am always worried when I go back and read a book for the second time that I might not like it the next time, and then I am left disappointed. This was not the case at all with this book! When I read it the first time, in about 2004, I loved it. I finished it and I wanted to start it all over again. I was in university and I was getting near the end of the book. I ended up reading the last fifty pages or so in my Medieval Literature class. I just loved the book so much that I didn't want to put it down! I think if I had been a blogger when I read it the first time, I would have been worried that I could not do this book justice. I find myself worried about that all over again. I am shocked that I reread it in a little over a day; and when I closed that last page, I wanted to start the book all over again. I am so happy that this book has stood up to being one of my favourite books of all times.

This is the story of Henry and Clare. It is in many ways a romance novel, but that is not why I read it. I read it for the first time because of the time travel aspect. I was still reading science-fiction back then, so I was intriuged by this mainstream novel that had time travel written in as natural. I really thought I wasn't going to like it. It's a love story and I am just not a love story kind of person. In the end, though, I loved it! I can't even say why. I have tried, believe me! I lent it to a few people back when I read it the first time and I could never get into words just what it was about this book that captivated me so. I think I love everything, that's the problem. Even with a second read through I cannot remember a single thing that I didn't like. If I actually rated books on here, it would receive a perfect five out of five!

I won't rehash the story on here. The book first came out in 2003, so that is almost six years of reviews. If you haven't read it yet, you probably have still seen countless reviews of it, so most people are well aware of the story. It is just a book that I cannot recommend enough. You really should give it a chance! I won't tell you that you are going to love it, though, because the two people I lent it to back when I read it the first time didn't like it! That sort of made me stop recommending it, but still, do give it a try! It might become a favourite for many years to come.