Audrey Niffenegger: The Time Traveler's Wife

[Prairie_Girl]

there's been some confusion about whether travel(l)er has one L or two. you proably searched with one, and that thread has two.

 

[GeoffNelder]

The time travel theme has fascinated me since HG Wells onwards. Exploration of the TT paradox makes excellent intelligent fiction as well as non-fiction. But this book explores none of this, probably wisely. Nevertheless, we cannot but be intrigued by the premise of a man carrying a chrono-mutated gene such that he suddenly finds himself naked in his current body-age but in anywhen give or take 50 years, and anywhere. Actually the anywhere tends to be in places he works, lives (past, present and future), in the street or in the garden of a young girl.
Aspects of this plot worry me. The girl is not freaked out nearly as much as one would expect. Sadly for her the man, Henry manipulates her whole life from six years old, through marriage to him, past his death to when she is in her 80s. He cannot be serous that he has no control over their destinies, or that of others, when he engineers their wealth through lottery and equity predictions. He is also able to change the future as in the experiment changing a signature on a painting. It is a copout not to invoke paradoxes here. And why, sometimes, doesn’t he emerges in a wall, in the air, in someone? Maybe I am too nostalgic for the science logic, but Henry claims not to want to air travel for fear of returning to a place where the airplane was.
I am equally disturbed that the two main characters are not likeable – do we care what happens to them? No. This is partly because of the plot structure device of rapid-switching POV between them. I’m not sure how I would have organised it but the result of this way is that the reader doesn’t build a rapport with either of them.
The whole book depends on an illogicality too. He doesn’t meet, in real time, the woman he often engages with until he is 28, she 20. She remembers him but he doesn’t her. Yet, he can travel back and to, up to 50 years. His going forward must have stumbled over Clare, or the evidence for her. This plot contrivance is ludicrous, sadly, because it has the elements of a rich love story, if only we cared.

There are few very well-written and memorable phrasing. One is where Clare mentions why she has no culinary skills. ‘I walk into the kitchen and I hear this little voice saying, “Go away.” So I do.’

The wedding speech by love/hate friend/enemy Gomez (p267) is very good as is the hilarious whirlwind of TT disappearances on Henry’s wedding day.

Some editing and continuity errors exist in this (and every) book. P376 he’s a CDP should be she.

The premise is not original. After Michael Moorcock’s vast output of TT tales it would be difficult. But an episode of Quantum Leap (TV series 1989 – 1993) had Scott Bakula (Capn Archer in Star Trek, Next Generation)
as Dr Sam Beckett, spontaneously travelled to and fro in time, once, if I remember correctly, to see his future wife as a young girl, and had the dilemma of preventing an accident, but which would bring their timelines together. Preventing the accident could have meant not meeting and so not marrying her later. Also, the premise of an illness inducing time changes is not new. However, very little is any story is brand new, what matters is how this story unfolds and how it is told. There are magic moments, especially for readers unfamiliar with time travel in fiction. There is a love story, albeit with two self-obsessed individuals who make it difficult for the reader to care about them.

Geoff

 

[WoundedThorns]

i keep seeing the book in my school library, but i also keep putting it off. i dunno, i guess its not really a book that i'm rushing to read, nor spend $14 on. i read amazon.com review about it, and i guess it caught my attention enough

 

[jaybe]

I hated it. For me it was a romance, I hate romances.

I did finish it though, so I've partly read hundreds which were a lot worse.

The Three Incestuous Sisters, I got that from the library. A hideously expensive picture book. It takes ten minutes to read.

The pictures/drawings I should say, are I suppose a bit in the style of Aubrey Beardsley. And very poor in comparison.

 

[jaynebosco]

The Time Traveler's Wife

I am considering of buying this book, but I was wondering if anybody on this site would recommend the book. Did you like it? Was it worth the purchase price?

If you could let me know, if it was worth it, without giving away the story/plot, I would really appreciate it.

 

[Appolonia]

I read it when it first came out because the premise intrigued me, and I enjoyed it a lot. It was one of my favorite books that year and I would highly recommend it. But I have talked to some people who have disliked it was well. It's one of those books people either love or hate.

(I assume you already know the basic plot of the book, which is information shared on the book jacket and reviews. If you don't and want to read it completely blind, consider the information ahead a spoiler and read no further.)

I've heard two basic reasons given for disliking the book. The first is the age of the two main characters. They are different ages at different times, and although they don't become lovers until they are both adults, some people thought this it was ethically questionable when Clare is a young girl and Henry is an adult. The other complaint was confusion, caused by Henry's jumping through time. This was not a problem for me because before each section (and jump), the author would note the date and the ages of the two protagonists at the time of the scene. This helped me, but some people thought it was confusing.

I do hope you end up reading it and share with us what you thought!

 

[jaynebosco]

Oh, I am going to give the book a try. I just have to wait a bit before my bookstore has it or I go to another one that has many more copies available. The reason I am looking for the book is because not only did I see the title advertised at the top of the page (in the Amazon.uk ad), but I also found the title of the book intriguing.

I like trying new sorts of book and as a reader, it's always an adventure finding new and fascinating books that intrigue us. In fact, I just bought a book I had had an eye on when it came out in hardback, but just recently came out in trade and from what I hear, it's pretty good, if indication from the reviews that are placed at the front of the book are any indication.

I then went to the Chapters.ca website and looked it up and it looked interesting. Went to the local bookseller, cause I noticed that they had a copy left at the store, but they had just sold their last copy, but told me that they were going to be ordering in more copies in the next week or two. The store cashier told me that the book had been selling well at the store and as a result they had no copies left.

 

[raffaellabella]

I enjoyed it and would suggest it to anyone who is interested in time travel. Oh, and its a love story as well.

 

[MonkeyCatcher]

I also enjoyed this book and would heartily recommend it - however I did confuse myself numerous times when thinking of the effect his time travel had on certain events throughout his life (had to explain without spoilers ). A good read

 

[theoptimist]

I was rather disappointed by this book. I started it with high hopes and felt severely let down. It wasn't as good as everyone told me it would be.

The concept of the book is great but the way it's written is not. It's not on my list of 'enjoyable reads'.

 

[Ryouko]

I enjoyed it. I thought that the plot was both intriguing and unique, and the characters had some depth to them.

 

[pink shadow]

I actually didn't finish this book and I don't exactly know why. It's a great idea and I liked the characters. Only explanation I can come up with is that it's written in present tense and I hate that in a book. I still think I might finish it some day though

 

[mehastings]

I've merged a couple threads together here.

 

[steffee]

I'm about halfway through this and desperately regret reading this thread, especially Shade's excellent review with its spoiler - and wah, why? aww, no, that's terrible.

Anyway, I came along here to say I just don't understand it. I don't normally read fantasy / science fiction because I read about dragons and fairies and stuff and just think it's plain silly, and science fiction turns me into a ooh, but if that were really true, then... frame of mind... but anyway, so I can kind of grasp the idea that he is going back through his life at various moments, and therefore she is 6 and he 32 (or whatever) when they first meet and then she kind of grows up with this naked man regularly visiting her...

I don't understand how he can be there with his younger self, or even his same-age self. Huh? And I have spent at least 100 pages wondering just why same age self couldn't warn same age self that his (their) dad was about to catch them masturbating. How can it be altering the future if they're the same age? And just who is this other self? Surely he looks identical to the real self, and therefore wouldn't his dad wonder why he suddenly had identical twins?

There are many other bits I don't understand but the main one is if they meet in Clare's real life when she is 6, and they meet in Henry's real life when he is 28 and she is 20, and each convinces the other that they're madly in love with one another in real life (as Shade says in his review) then this is not even real (other than the time travelling, obviously).

 

[Libre]

I've read abour 130 pages. I've not read most of this thread, and I'd appreciate it if you post any spoilers, to tag them as such.
I would like to say, though, that this book is utterly remarkable.
When I began, I immediatley discounted any possibility of time travel as it is described. So, as I could not suspend my disbelief, I thought I was going to have trouble with the book. NOT SO! Forget the fact that people just can't bounce around, back and forth in time. Let's instead look at the masterful weaving of the story, the ingenious plot, the first person perspective from 2 separate individuals. Let's also acknowledge the gorgeous use of language. Even more masterful is the author's ability to introduce a character and give the reader a sense of who they are, and elicit emotional responses from the reader. The characters are amazing. The dialogue is funny - I've laughed out loud more than once. The book, on the whole, is spellbinding. I love it, I can't stop thinking about it when I'm not reading it - which is my benchmark for a REALLY GREAT BOOK.
At least, so far.

 

[steffee]

I've read abour 130 pages. I've not read most of this thread, and I'd appreciate it if you post any spoilers, to tag them as such.
I would like to say, though, that this book is utterly remarkable.

You really thought that so early into it? I was too busy trying to work out how it could happen. The time travelling thing, hypothetically, obviously... I thought it was dreadfully badly described.

Let's instead look at the masterful weaving of the story, the ingenious plot, the first person perspective from 2 separate individuals. Let's also acknowledge the gorgeous use of language.

The story was mediocre, to be fair. Boy meets girl, etc. It's hardly "masterful weaving". What ingenious plot? Neither of the characters were particularly likeable, even so early on. I can't even remember his name, but Clare was to naive, and he was too sly.

I'm not picking on you, honestly, but the first person from two characters, as Shade (I think) points out earlier in this thread, is portrayed badly, so that often you're not sure who is 'speaking'. With that kind of narration, it should be apparent to the reader who is speaking, even without the 'Clare, age 7' or whatever helpful headings.

I'll admit I don't remember much of the use of language to comment.

Even more masterful is the author's ability to introduce a character and give the reader a sense of who they are, and elicit emotional responses from the reader. The characters are amazing. The dialogue is funny - I've laughed out loud more than once. The book, on the whole, is spellbinding. I love it, I can't stop thinking about it when I'm not reading it - which is my benchmark for a REALLY GREAT BOOK.
At least, so far.

Sorry for arguing, glad you liked it.

I worked out all by myself, exactly how he managed to be in two (or more) places at once, but I have one major problem. Nobody else seems to have mentioned it in this thread, so maybe it's just my suspicious mind, but

Spoiler

I can't remember the characters names, but Clare's friend's boyfriend (later husband), Gomez is it?... isn't it obvious that really, in the real future, Clare and him were together, and Henry went back in time purposely to convince her to be with him instead... i.e. Henry brainwashed her, so that her and Gomez wouldn't be together in the present, future, whatever it is. But why? And what about his wife? Who was she meant to be with? So many people's life paths altered because of one man's ability to change the past (even though he claims not to be able to)...

okay, so maybe I'm getting a little carried away with this...

 

[Libre]

steffee-
Don't be sorry for arguing. Why should you be? This, after all, is a forum.
I have about 20 pages to go - and nothing I've read since page 130 has changed my opinion - only reinforced it.
The only thing about your tone that is a little off-putting, is that it has somehow made me feel defensive about liking this book, as though I had tasted a cheapo wine and liked it, only to be rebuked by a wine connoisseur.

You didn't like either character? Heh. I loved both characters - and most of the other characters as well. I don't mean that I necessarily loved their personalities - just their presence.
That's ok - I love people in real life that don't love other people I love, too. Doesn't mean I'm wrong to love them.

Very rarely have I had any problem knowing who was speaking. Once or twice I did get disoriented - then I had to check the heading of the passage. Actually I've had to check the headings often - but only to figure out when things are happening.

The only negative is the fact that time travel, as described, is clearly impossible. I have had a bit of trouble working around that. So, it's a book. It's a work of imagination. Wizards, fairies, and dragons are impossible too (I think....).
Doesn't stop people from writing about them and others from enjoying reading about them.

I've greatly enjoyed this - it will stay with me for quite awhile.

 

[steffee]

The only thing about your tone that is a little off-putting, is that it has somehow made me feel defensive about liking this book, as though I had tasted a cheapo wine and liked it, only to be rebuked by a wine connoisseur.

Aww, sorry for that! Don't read anything into my tone, or feel defensive for liking the book. A wine connoisseur? Nah... After all, I found value in The Da Vinci Code!

You didn't like either character? Heh. I loved both characters - and most of the other characters as well. I don't mean that I necessarily loved their personalities - just their presence.
That's ok - I love people in real life that don't love other people I love, too. Doesn't mean I'm wrong to love them.

That's very true, it doesn't!

I thought Clare was both naive and the know-it-all around her friends and family. I thought Henry was a complete pig. I do see what you mean about their presence...

The only negative is the fact that time travel, as described, is clearly impossible. I have had a bit of trouble working around that. So, it's a book. It's a work of imagination. Wizards, fairies, and dragons are impossible too (I think....).
Doesn't stop people from writing about them and others from enjoying reading about them.

That's true. And I tend to agree with you. I hate to see unbelievable aspects in a book, because it just spoils the whole story, when I'm sat there working out whether it's actually possible or not. Some people love all that stuff, however, and each to their own... so I concede that compared to similar kinds of concepts in books, Niffenegger did it well.

I've greatly enjoyed this - it will stay with me for quite awhile.

I'll remember it too, but more for the bits of Henry and Clare I disliked, and the amount of work I had to do. But whatever the reason, it's a memorable book.

 

[Libre]

POSSIBLE SPOILERS BELOW (depending on where you are in the book)
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I thought Clare was both naive and the know-it-all around her friends and family. I thought Henry was a complete pig. I do see what you mean about their presence...

Maybe it's a Men are from Mars (and so on....) kind of thing, but I adored Clare and admired the hell out of Henry. Henry is the guy that I wish I were - tall, lithe, resourceful, sophisticated, suave, panther like, - and believe me, I don't want to be a pig - or a complete pig at any rate.
But, I do take issue with the pig part. Clare was begging him for ages to make love to her in the Meadow - wasn't she? And didn't Henry have the restraint to wait until she was 18? Huh? Also, didn't Henry show valor when he defended her and extracted retribution from the football playing punk who assaulted her, early on?
Sure, others said Henry was rough on women - but I haven't really seen the evidence of it yet. I don't know exactly what happened with Ingrid - it seems like a typical case of a guy just backing out of a marriage. Not exactly pig-like. In fact Henry has been uncommonly faithful and loyal to Clare.
Of course, all that could change in the last 20 pages!

 

[steffee]

POSSIBLE SPOILERS BELOW (depending on where you are in the book)
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.
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.
.
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Maybe it's a Men are from Mars (and so on....) kind of thing, but I adored Clare and admired the hell out of Henry. Henry is the guy that I wish I were - tall, lithe, resourceful, sophisticated, suave, panther like, - and believe me, I don't want to be a pig - or a complete pig at any rate.

Maybe I'm just too cynical. I know plenty men like you describe, often having hidden 'qualities' too though.

But, I do take issue with the pig part. Clare was begging him for ages to make love to her in the Meadow - wasn't she? And didn't Henry have the restraint to wait until she was 18? Huh? Also, didn't Henry show valor when he defended her and extracted retribution from the football playing punk who assaulted her, early on?

That's true! He waited until she was 18. Does that chivalry really matter all that much, in the grand scheme of things? He robbed her of her whole life, what was a couple of years of not acting on his lust? True, he beat up that guy who hurt her. Hardly a moral stance though, was it - if somebody says something wrong, does something wrong, etc, just beat them...

Sure, others said Henry was rough on women - but I haven't really seen the evidence of it yet. I don't know exactly what happened with Ingrid - it seems like a typical case of a guy just backing out of a marriage. Not exactly pig-like. In fact Henry has been uncommonly faithful and loyal to Clare.

He was faithful and loyal to Clare, but which Clare? The real Clare, who was free to grow up and make her own decisions, or the Clare he brainwashed with the 'soulmates' stuff, forcing her to wait for years as a teenager for him, and then

Spoiler

for the rest of her life, when he dies when she's in her thirties

. What about being faithful to himself? To his so-called friends?

Of course, all that could change in the last 20 pages!

Read them right now! Then we can discuss without spoiling it for you.