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The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

The Time Traveler's Wife

by Audrey Niffenegger
  • Critics' Consensus:
  • Readers' Rating:
  • First Published:
  • Aug 1, 2003, 518 pages
  • Paperback:
  • May 2004, 560 pages
  • Genres & Themes
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Reviews

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There are currently 52 reader reviews for The Time Traveler's Wife
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Beth

I decided to read this book when I learned that the movie rights had been purchased by Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. It sat on my shelf a good six months before I got around to reading it, but once I started, I coud not put it down. It is the best book I have ever read. The story is compelling on so many levels. It was exciting, funny and most of all a very touching love story. Pick a weekend, schedule nothing, and curl up with The Time Traveler's Wife (don't forget a box of Kleenex) and you will be mesmerized. Attention Brad and Jennifer, if you are indeed going to turn this lovely book into a movie, how about Clive Owen as Henry - he'd be perfect!
JWH

I miss Henry and Clare. That is the sign of a good book.
jlp

What if you disappeared occasionally, to another time and place, spontaneously, randomly? What if you were married to a man to whom that happened? This is the story of Henry deTamble, who suffers from Chromo-Displacement Disorder, and his wife, Clare, who first met him when she was six and he 36, and married him when she was 23 and he 31, and their attempts to lead a normal life while always expecting the unexpected.

What an amazing book! Niffenegger grabs you and holds you for 500+ pages. I read this in 3 days, the writing is so compelling. I don't ordinarily like books that are written in the present tense, but in this book, narrated by both Henry and Clare, it is absolutely right.

For me, the book carried the added attraction of referencing people and places I know about, including the mention of an organization to which I belong. A good part of the book takes place at the Newberry Library, one of my favorite places. (One error that could have been avoided if the author shared her character's disorder: the two guys who sold libretti at the Opera House retired, and by the time of the episode in this book had been succeeded by two young women.)

If you don't like science fiction and so are avoiding this book because you've heard it's about time travel, pick it up and read it. It's not science fiction, it's not fantasy, it's a finely crafted piece of literature about life and love, about dealing with crisis and with day-to-day living. You really all need to read this book.
Karen - 27 years old

This is by far the most beautifully told love story I have ever read. Henry and Clare's love and devotion to each other is the only constant they can depend on throughout all the chaos and hurdles they must endure. It is both lovely and sad. It made my day to day problems seem insignificant by comparison and made me appreciate my relationship that much more. Once I opened the book I found it almost impossible to put down. This book will grab you and plunge you right into their lives in such a way that you will know these characters inside out, share and feel their undescribable happiness as well as their heart wrenching pain. I absolutely recommend this book to anyone who believes in absolute, pure, simple, everlasting 'fairy tale' love we all want for ourselves.

Hilda Williams

Excellent book, I could not put it down
Larissa

I have found my favorite book of all time. I laughed, I cried, I read it over and over. Through this book I was able to satisfy my taste for hopeless romance without compromising reality. Yes, I know it's about time travel, how realistic is that? But the author creates such in-depth characters that they seem realistic, and you believe in them and their relationships. It's like a large scale version of the trials of every relationship. You see the happiness, the ocassional awkwardness, the fights. And it's all amplified by the fact that Henry can't stay put. But the most beautiful part of the book, in my opinion, was how easy it was to relate to Clare. Clare lived her life in a state of waiting and uncertainty for the moments in between with the man she loved. I'm only seventeen. Nobody knows the waiting and longing of Clare like a teenager. Waiting to move on, waiting to be with the ones we love, waiting to do what we want and become who we are. You know what, stop reading this and go read the book. Again.
Jo

I loved this book sooo much! I don't remember the last time I felt this strongly about a book - I've never written into a forum before, but I just had to! I really can't pick up another book until I can get Clare and Henry out of my mind. I really feel like I know them and throughout the whole story I kept feeling like I could identify somehow, to both Clare and Henry, but I couldn't exactly put my finger on how. All through the day I would find myself thinking about their relationship, time travel, the logistics, the benefits, the drawbacks. I finished the book at least 2 weeks ago and I'm still enthralled with it. I'm going to suggest it to every person I know.
Chris in PA

I laughed, blushed, cried, sobbed, and thought. Time travel and real love, a real marriage; portrayed in such a way as to show both the power and frailty of the human heart and spirit. Inspirational and tragic; this is one of the best books I have ever read.

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