The Time Traveler's Wife

Just finished The Time Traveler’s Wife last night and I thought I’d take a moment and write down my thoughts on the novel. I picked it up after seeing the ads for the movie not knowing what it was really about.

As many of you know, I am not a romantic, but this story had enough drama and tragedy to keep me entertained for all of the 536 pages and deal with the romance at the same time. And it didn’t delve too deeply into the science fiction world either, even though I have been known to read an Orson Scott Card book or two.

The Time Traveler’s Wife is the story of a man and woman that find each other over the course of the man’s time travels. He suffers from Chrono-Displacement Disorder (CPD) which whisks him from the present to another point in time (usually the past.) Henry meets Clare when he is 28 and she is 20 – however Clare meets Henry when she’s 6 and he is 36, time traveling from the future. Although this might seem confusing, Niffenegger (who I will refer to as N from this point on cause that’s way too hard to spell and makes me giggle) does a fantastic job of keeping it all straight. She quickly notes at the beginning of each chapter, and even in between, the date and the ages of the main characters. Thankfully - because there is no way to progress through this novel without throwing it across the room if she didn’t.

So the story progressed and evolved. I enjoyed the way N differentiated the characters. Clare, the artsy romantic who found her true love at age 6 versus Henry, the irritated time traveler that always ends up beaten and bruised (and naked), drinks to excess to forget some of his life atrocities and is the unwavering realist. Maybe that’s why I liked Henry’s character more than Clare’s?

Time travel is, in my opinion, just a small piece of this novel’s premise. Of the reviews I’ve read online, there is much fuss between whether to classify it as science fiction or romance. I would choose the latter as the science fiction angle is only used as a way to develop this extraordinary relationship. Would Henry and Clare have fallen in love had Henry not traveled back in time and met Clare? I would say yes. Would their lives have moved forward differently? Maybe not. Throughout the novel the restrictions on free will are discussed. Henry states that “there is only free will when you are in time, in the present.” Their relationship progressed in real time because they shoes for it to, not because Henry had already traveled to the future (into the present or into Clare’s past) and decided it so. Confusing, I know, just read the book.

This was one of my better reads of late. I’ve spent too much time on murder mystery fluff or vampire drivel (sorry Twilight fans!) that it was nice to cuddle up each night with something that really kept my attention and made my brain work.

What’s next on my list? Don’t know. I’ve got a non-fiction novel called Founding Brothers that I’ve started and seems interesting (albeit necessitating an encyclopedia at my side – bad girl with my lack of U.S. history knowledge.) But it seems promising and educational at the same time. Anyone have any others to recommend?

~Becky