Reader reviews

• wellreadcatlady

  (5/5)

  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.
• auntie0nanuuq

  (4/5)

  I 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!
• poppycock77

  (4/5)

  I 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.
• mitabird

  (5/5)

  I 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.
• lydiasbooks

  (4/5)

  Totally loving this. Was concerned about length but I'm getting through it easily. So readable. Recommended. Go read it.
• kirchren

  (5/5)

  Enjoyable book. Well-written. Easy to read. Unique story.
• pepperwings

  (4/5)

  I 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.
• joanaxthelm

  (3/5)

  I 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
• lara335

  (4/5)

  fascinating idea.
• wktarin

  (4/5)

  Interesting story, amazingly well told.
• lonnieb_10

  (4/5)

  A really fun read!
• jms001

  (5/5)

  More 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.
• awfki_1

  (5/5)

  Wow. Absolutely fabulous.
• cybercarotte-1

  (4/5)

  It'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.
  
  :(
  
  
• liosa-4

  (4/5)

  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.
• booksfortheliving

  (4/5)

  Great 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.
• peggy.s

  (2/5)

  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]
• bethetter

  (2/5)

  I 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!"
• foghorn2leghorn

  (5/5)

  Wow! Amazing book and the author managed to keep the time travel straight.
• brakketh-1

  (4/5)

  An enjoyable romance story about the lives of the time traveler's wife and her chrono-impaired husband.
• readingraven

  (5/5)

  While 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!
• lissabeth21

  (4/5)

  How surreal and beautiful...
• oscarwilde87_1

  (4/5)

  The 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.
• kiernanmaire

  (5/5)

  I 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.
• bostonterrio-1

  (3/5)

  If 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.
• joeyee-4

  (4/5)

  Love 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.
• seabear_1

  (5/5)

  It was so sad :'(
• gerob76

  (5/5)

  Very moving
• grenpen

  (5/5)

  A wonderfully unique book.
• al_stone-1

  (4/5)

  A brilliant, moving story of a love between two people. Beautifully written. I loved Clare and Henry. The chemistry between them felt authentic. It's original and poignant. A must read!