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The Time Traveler's Wife
Written by Audrey Niffenegger
Narrated by Fred Berman and Phoebe Strole
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Start ListeningEditor's Note
Sweet love story…
Do you remember when “The Time Traveler’s Wife” was everywhere in the 2000s? Well prepare yourself, because everyone’s enthusiasm for this sweet love story tinged with a bit of sci-fi magic is about to time travel into the present due to the upcoming HBO adaptation. A good reminder to appreciate all the time you have together with loved ones.
Description
This bestselling and innovative debut novel from Audrey Niffenegger explores the perfect marriage, one that is tested by challenges the couple can neither control nor predict. An imaginative extension of everyday life, the story asks: What if two people who loved each other deeply, married, and faced a life in which one person remained constant while the other slipped fluidly in and out of time?
This 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 is one of the first people diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder: triggered by emotions and memories, his genetic clock resets and he finds himself misplaced in time. His disappearances are spontaneous and his experiences are unpredictable. Through Henry' time travel the couple attempt to live normal lives, but all of this is threatened by something neither can control.
This 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 is one of the first people diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder: triggered by emotions and memories, his genetic clock resets and he finds himself misplaced in time. His disappearances are spontaneous and his experiences are unpredictable. Through Henry' time travel the couple attempt to live normal lives, but all of this is threatened by something neither can control.
Book Actions
Start ListeningBook Information
The Time Traveler's Wife
Written by Audrey Niffenegger
Narrated by Fred Berman and Phoebe Strole
Editor's Note
Sweet love story…
Do you remember when “The Time Traveler’s Wife” was everywhere in the 2000s? Well prepare yourself, because everyone’s enthusiasm for this sweet love story tinged with a bit of sci-fi magic is about to time travel into the present due to the upcoming HBO adaptation. A good reminder to appreciate all the time you have together with loved ones.
Description
This bestselling and innovative debut novel from Audrey Niffenegger explores the perfect marriage, one that is tested by challenges the couple can neither control nor predict. An imaginative extension of everyday life, the story asks: What if two people who loved each other deeply, married, and faced a life in which one person remained constant while the other slipped fluidly in and out of time?
This 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 is one of the first people diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder: triggered by emotions and memories, his genetic clock resets and he finds himself misplaced in time. His disappearances are spontaneous and his experiences are unpredictable. Through Henry' time travel the couple attempt to live normal lives, but all of this is threatened by something neither can control.
This 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 is one of the first people diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder: triggered by emotions and memories, his genetic clock resets and he finds himself misplaced in time. His disappearances are spontaneous and his experiences are unpredictable. Through Henry' time travel the couple attempt to live normal lives, but all of this is threatened by something neither can control.
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Reviews
I really liked this book, I thought the story was fairly original and the author does a great job at showing the emotions/passion between the two main characters. I would have to say you need to read it twice, things that happen in the beginning make much more sense later in the book and it's just easier to read it over almost right away. There are a few things that bothered me that seemed unnecessary to be in the story at all. Overall a good book that can make you cry.
Rating: 5I really, really liked this.... but not so much the end of his life..... It didn't make sense.But other than that, I'm glad that I finally read it.... Thanks to whomever it was who wrote the last review.I kept avoiding this because of the other people (in a particular group) who read it & "loved" it.... I found that I normally hated almost everything they read....It really is rather bittersweet, non-soppy, and a decent love story!
Rating: 4I enjoyed this book much more than I expected. I like the use of time-travel as a metaphor for two people's lives being destined to intersect at some point. I also liked the idea of being able to visit your past self and past and future versions of your partner. It made me want to start keeping a journal, since it seems all too easy to constantly revise the past in one's memory.
Rating: 4I didn't have any expectations when I started reading this story. Frankly, I didn't even know what it was about. I believe I got the book because of a rec from PBS, but it had been sitting on my shelf for a better part of two years. I gave it to a co-worker to read and she insisted that I needed to read it. Well, I finally did and all I can say is WOW! What a great book. It's basically about a guy named Henry who time-travels, his relationship with his wife, Clare, their inability to conceive and the attempt to stop or, at least, control Henry's time-traveling. Henry cannot control when he goes or where he goes. I experienced many emotions while reading this book: happiness, sadness, laughter, wonder, awe. It's a beautifully written novel that will stay with me for some time. It's definitely one of the best books I've ever read.
Rating: 5Totally loving this. Was concerned about length but I'm getting through it easily. So readable. Recommended. Go read it.
Rating: 4Enjoyable book. Well-written. Easy to read. Unique story.
Rating: 5I enjoyed this different view of time travel, a sci-fi trope, which is often unbelievable, but still captivating in concept, this book looks at it as though it were an innate ability/curse. The writing compelling, although it is clear it is a first novel, there are some pitfalls in characterization, but it kept me wanting to know more. I enjoyed the read, and I think others will too, but it likely wouldn't stand up to re-reading.
Rating: 4I didn't think I would like it, but I did! The characters were fun to be with and the circumstances are just crazy enough to be believed. Fun read.
Lexile: 780
Rating: 3Lexile: 780
fascinating idea.
Rating: 4Interesting story, amazingly well told.
Rating: 4A really fun read!
Rating: 4Everyone and their brother has recommended this book to me, so I decided to go ahead and read it. Let's just get this out of the way before I continue: Everyone judges books by their covers, and I'm pretty open about the fact that I do also. I was a bit put off by this book originally because of its cover, and now that I've read it I would still argue that another image would have been better. I enjoyed the book Lolita, but not enough to finish it, and certainly not enough to read another like it, so when I saw this image of child's legs with mary janes next to old man shoes, I immediately thought that perhaps this "time traveler" was a pedophile.However, I'm not one to refuse books - everything gets a chance - and I'm glad I picked it up. The book is about a man who time travels uncontrollably, usually to moments in his past but sometimes moments in his future. He frequently finds himself in the vicinity of Clare, who eventually becomes his wife. According to the back cover, this is a book about their love and what it takes to love unconditionally without boundaries and over time, which is true, but I felt it was so much more than just that. The book is called The Time Traveler's Wife but I would have been just as content with The Time Traveler. It is the story of two people coming together and their lives, not just hers. Struggles are apparent for both sexes.Clare, of course, has to deal with her time-travelling boyfriend. Sometimes she'll wake up in the middle of the night and Henry will be gone. When she was a little girl, she had to adjust to a man coming to visit every so often. One time he'd be 28, the next time 40, then 36, then 28 again. He comes and goes in an instant with no control over it, which I imagine must be very frustrating especially as he is clearly the only one in this book who can cook very well.Henry, as the time-traveler, finds himself at random moments in history without any clothes on. It's true, he can't bring anything with him (except memories, apparently, which are very useful in cheating the lottery system), and that includes clothing. He doesn't know how long he'll be in this new location nor how much time will have passed when he returns (at his wedding, he's gone for five minutes, but finds himself in the past for several hours). I didn't immediately get into this book because it's written in present tense from two different view points - Henry's and Clare's. I seriously expected that at any moment I would find options at the bottom of the page, "If Henry goes left, turn to page 146. If Henry goes right, turn to page 79." (It never happened, sadly, but jumping around pages in this book would totally have fit in the theme of jumping around time.) Present tense narration is always hard for me to get used to, but it was handled rather well. The style was fluid and enjoyable, not difficult to comprehend or get through. I read it in three days and would have finished it earlier had I not been required for other duties.I've been reading a few reviews of this book around the web and it seems like the general consensus is "this book rocks, but there is so much cursing and sex that I didn't finish it." It's true. It's full of loving touches in inappropriate places, random satisfaction, and, ahem, colorful language. That stuff doesn't bother me but I suppose it bothers some more than others. That said, it's worth getting through this book even if you have to gloss over those parts. It's worth getting to know each character, trying to figure out the difference between "fate" and "free will" in this book. There's no such thing as destiny, Henry claims, and yet he already knows what's going to happen to Clare, already knows what's going to happen to himself. I don't read very many time travel books and perhaps this is brought up in a lot of them, but it's a wonderful thing to frustrate oneself thinking about. I'm not sure I could make this review more succinct or interesting even if I put it off another couple of weeks and really hashed out my thoughts. I more or less already discussed the confusing parts with Richard, who had read it previously, and who either explained a bit or admitted equal amounts of confusion. Like, if Henry only time travels while he's stressed, what's with that scene where he time travels while he's calmly sitting on his porch? And if it's hereditary, why did no one else in his family experience it before him? In any case, it's a really good book and I really encourage you to pick it up if you've been wondering about it.
Rating: 4More like the time traveler and his wife.I never imagined that I would like this book. I've heard of it. I had a basic understanding of what it was about. But never would I have thought that I would enjoy it as much as I did. I'm not usually big on romance novels, but this was pleasantly surprising with the aspect of time traveling and how that affects the characters. And for anyone that is put off by heavy sci-fi elements (time traveling, anyone?), then don't worry. The only thing you have to realize is that the Henry's perspective is non-linear, whereas Claire's perspective is, for the most part. You are given the ages of the characters and the date for each chapter, so anyone with a basic understanding of calendar dates will have no trouble keeping up time travelers.As an audiobook, it was really well done. Good writing usually equates to good audiobook narration, and this one does not disappointment. With two narrators, one for Henry's perspective and one for Claire's perspective, it makes it easier to mentally keep track of who you are following. Even someone like me who likes to listen to narration at a much faster pace, I had no trouble keeping track of the progress of narration due to some excellent voice work.Definitely recommend.
Rating: 5Wow. Absolutely fabulous.
Rating: 5The Time Traveler's Wife is the 2004 Alex Award Winner about the relationship of a man with a genetic disorder that causes him to travel back and forth along his timeline, and his wife. Henry meets Clare for the first time when she is twenty and he is twenty-eight. However, Clare meets Henry for the first time when she is six and Henry is 35. She makes love to him for the first time when she was 18, but he makes love to her for the first time when he is 28. Clare gets pregnant at 29, but by a 33-year-old Henry. Henry is with Clare for the last time of his life when he is 43, but Clare is with Henry for the last time of her life when she is 82.Told in alternating first-person perspectives, this is a beautiful, moving, and entertaining love story. Though rarely moved to tears by the books I read, I must admit to shedding a few tears over Henry and Clare's story. I loved that it was told from both perspectives; as the reader, you really get a feeling for how they love each other. Certainly not without their share of problems, it's the love and unending devotion that Henry and Clare have for one another that gets them through their unique situation.High school seniors will probably enjoy this book most. I consider it very much an adult book given the themes and the adult worries and situations that Clare and Henry face.
Rating: 5It's beautiful, but my god is it ever sad and depressing really. Everything is so inevitable and unchangeable... What has been has been and will be again.
:(
Rating: 4:(
The Time Traveller's Wife came out at a time when I was listening to more books than reading them, and the only version available on Audible was the abridged version. Since I couldn't imagine only reading part of a book, I decided to wait. My chance finally came last year when I received the book in a Bookish Secret Santa exchange (through Reddit). So, I decided to read it last summer as the 'book over 500 pages' in a book bingo I was doing, but I didn't get to it before the time ran out... so this year, I made it one of the first books I read!I could not stop reading it. The non-liniar time line of the chapters, the shifting point of view, the fascinating rules of how time travel works all made the book impossible to put down. I loved how the characters evolved through the concepts of fate and free will and chance; very groundless. I was captivated by the tiny twists and turns in the plot, and the (mostly) subtle foreshadowing. I didn't want it to end!Until the end. I wanted the unrequited sentiment to continue, rather than be tied up so neatly. I would give the book 3.5 stars if I could; awesome, but a little anticlimactic.
Rating: 4Great book. Funny - sad - heartwarming - all around a great book.
Very interesting concept of time traveling person. The reader gets his perspective as well as his wife's.
About love - sacrifices - hardships - family -friends - getting left behind - waiting - patience.
Rating: 4Very interesting concept of time traveling person. The reader gets his perspective as well as his wife's.
About love - sacrifices - hardships - family -friends - getting left behind - waiting - patience.
I was looking forward to reading this book - in fact, had saved it for a time when I could take my time reading and enjoying it. I was very disappointed. There was little character development - and less diversity among the characters (they are all white, middle class). There was nothing for me to become emotionally attached to - and I just didn't connect with this book.(less) [edit]
Rating: 2I picked up this book because at the time I was working at the Barn & Nob and wanted to read it since the movie was coming out shortly. What I will say is that I did read the whole thing . . . I tend to drop books I don't find interesting or that aren't pulling me along because I have limited reading time and it's precious. I don't force myself to read books I'm not enjoying. I did not enjoy this book. Why did I read all the way to the end? Cuz I was sure something else would eventually happen. He travels. He comes back. He travels. He comes back. He travels. He comes back. And then finally a little something at the end but not worth the effort of getting through the book I didn't feel.
Women would come in to buy it and ask me what I thought of it. I would reply "I read the whole thing!"
Rating: 2Women would come in to buy it and ask me what I thought of it. I would reply "I read the whole thing!"
Wow! Amazing book and the author managed to keep the time travel straight.
Rating: 5An enjoyable romance story about the lives of the time traveler's wife and her chrono-impaired husband.
Rating: 4While I was out shopping yesterday, I saw this book. I wanted something to read while I was waiting for Something Rotten to arrive from Amazon. I love Time Travel and it looked like a good book. Still, since I was at Long's, I was skeptical. I opened it up and was completely sucked in. I stood there in the middle of Long's unable to put it down. Uh, yea, looks like a good one.This is a first novel. It's the kind of first novel that makes wanna-be writers feel a certain sense of dispair. It is so well-written, so well-crafted, so original, and so compelling. I could not sleep last night -- total insomnia (my husband had it too which is really weird). So, I got up and read again last night. I read until 4am. I sat weeping at around 3:30 -- tears just running down my cheeks. The story is so compelling.I have limited bookcase space and, so, I only keep books that I am interested in re-reading (and since I re-read a LOT of books), this is akin to Elaine from Seinfeld trying to decide if a guy is "sponge-worthy". This book is totally sponge-worthy!
Rating: 5How surreal and beautiful...
Rating: 4The title already gives away that this book revolves around one of the more popular tropes of fiction, time traveling. However, if you expect yet another novel to deal with the intricacies of time traveling from a more or less scientific what-would-happen-if angle, you will certainly be disappointed. Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife takes the actual possibility of time traveling as a given from the beginning and does not care so much about whether one could change events in the past in order to influence the future. Rather the novel simply postulates that the future cannot be altered. Niffenegger's time traveler, the protagonist Henry DeTamble, is merely allowed to see certain events in his future and revisit others in his past. The focus of the novel is on the relationship between Henry and his past/present/future wife Clare. Niffenegger explores how time traveling will affect the day-to-day of a relationship and how the lovers can cope. Normal-couples' decisions such as whether to have a baby are regarded from a different point of view: Will it work? Will the baby be a time traveler too? Is there any way to spare the child from this ordeal?It is exactly the angle that The Time Traveler's Wife takes that makes this book stand out. As a reader you find yourself confronted with everyday situations, only that there is the added twist of one of the partners being a time traveler. I quite enjoyed following along Niffenegger's narrative. The story is told from the perspectives of the two main characters Clare and Henry, who each relate events in their lives from a first-person perspective. One of the characters being a time traveler enables Niffenegger to create tension and have the readers suspensefully waiting for events that are only briefly revealed in flashbacks and flash forwards.On the whole, I found The Time Traveler's Wife a pleasure to read. It did, however, lack the 'something special' that I would expect from a five star read. 4 stars.
Rating: 4I don't know why I enjoyed this book so much. It's not my "type" of book at all. I think it was just the frame of mind I was in at the time. I couldn't put it down. The relationship between Clare and Henry, despite the whole time traveling twist, was probably the most authentic portrayal of a marriage I've ever read. I enjoyed the time travel aspect too. It was different and complicated, and there was a real sense of danger yet wonder involved. You envied Henry and Clare but felt sorry for them too, like they were cursed. I'll reread this one, definitely.
Rating: 5If a fun filled adventure is what your seeking then this is not the book for you. It is a book about the romance between a man and woman with the man being a time traveler. I am glad I chose the audio version because I am not sure I would have remained interested. Books that span different time periods have a way of losing me but the narration kept me focused on where exactly in time a chapter was based on. A deep thread of melancholy runs through the story as one predicts that things are not going to end in a happily ever after for the main characters. I was in tears more than once. The story was rather long...and could have been trimmed down a bit. Most if not all of the characters were quite interesting. There were some parts that were a bit hard to swallow and creepy such as the night Claire gets impregnated by one version of Henry while the current Henry sleeps on the side of her. I could envision a spinoff of this book with the daughter, who is also a time traveler, being the main character.
Rating: 3Love the first half of the book, how Henry would travel back in time to Clare's childhood.
The second half wasn't as good.
Poor Henry.
Rating: 4The second half wasn't as good.
Poor Henry.
It was so sad :'(
Rating: 5Very moving
Rating: 5