Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 2237
 Powerful, well-written, original September 5, 2003
Diana (Emporia, KS USA)
836 out of 923 found this review helpful
"The Time Traveler's Wife" is one of the most interesting, powerful books I've read in a long time. Audrey Niffenegger did a beautiful job taking some of the most complex ideas - time travel, marriage, love, children, friends, literary and artistic allusions, religion, death, drugs, childhood, growing, loss, and what it means to be human - and weaving them together poetically and with amazing clarity. Her characters are wonderful, "real" people with strengths and flaws, and I really grew to adore them. Despite skipping around time at the same rate as Henry, the time traveler, the events are sequenced in such a way that you still witness each character's growth as a person, as well as discover many surprises along the way. Clare and Henry's story is one of the best love stories I've read in a very long time. This book also echoes important modern-day questions about the appropriateness of gene therapy, and what it means to be a human being. I highly and enthusiastically recommend this book.
Beautifully written! April 5, 2004
Monica Morgan (Galloway, NJ United States)
158 out of 179 found this review helpful
I stumbled across this book by mistake and hesitated to read it simply because it was 518 pages. To my surprise, I devoured this book in a few days and felt a pang of sadness when it was finished. The author crafts a story of something that is quite unbelievable and yet deftly makes it so very believable. I was hooked after the first chapter. Niffenegger managed to suck me in to this story so that I felt emotionally bound to the characters and their plight. It's a tragic story that weaves so much love/pain/joy/disappointment that it fairly bursts with emotion. Read it!
Surprisingly wonderful book! October 1, 2003
Beth (Orrville, Ohio)
42 out of 48 found this review helpful
I picked this book up, ONLY because I read a few good reviews; I really thought it sounded like the typical romantic "fluff" novels that I despise. SURPRISE! This book was remarkable, I thoroughly enjoyed it - I didn't want it to end. It is different - fantasy, fairy tale, horror story, but most of all, a truly touching love story. It makes you realize that we need to treasure life's joys, because those moments can be fleeting. Also, it shows that in a loving relationship, we must be willing to compromise to accomodate each other's weaknesses and strengths, and to adjust our expectations to the reality of the situation in a truly loving relationship. A wonderful book, very touching! I highly recommend it - I borrowed this book from the library, and I am going out to buy it tomorrow, I HAVE to own it!
Realized I loved it by page 8! August 1, 2005
Stewart Stryker (Windsor, VT United States)
31 out of 35 found this review helpful
This is a love story with the science fiction of time travel blended in wonderfully.
I've read a LOT of scifi, including lots on time travel. But the author totally blew me away with some of her concepts of time travel here. The love story was terrific, with lots of unique characters, ideas and plot developments. And the author's unique method of telling this story was totally successful, even though it requires the reader to flip pages to keep track of the story line.
I had real trouble putting this book down and enjoyed it to the end because she continually kept it intesting, exciting, unique and loving.
I can't recommend this highly enough.
Update 9/19/07: Two years later this is still my favorite book of all time.
An Interesting and Unique New Voice In Fiction... November 2, 2003
Kelly A. fuller (Pennsville, New Jersey)
29 out of 33 found this review helpful
I was very intrigued by The Time Traveler's Wife when I first saw it announced as the Today Show Book Club pick for October. The story seemed so unique and fresh. I find it amazing when an author can come up with an inventive, new concept to base a novel on. It seems to me that in this day and age many authors "borrow" ideas from their rivals, or simply just recycle an old plot to make it seem fresh. That's not the case with Audrey Niffenegger. This first time novelist manages to create a unique character with an unheard of medical condition. Henry is a CDP, Chronologically Displaced Person. Henry spends his life with the constant fear that he will suddenly time travel to another era of his life. His wife meets him in an orchard when she is 6 and his 36. He doesn't actually "meet" her until years later when he is in his twenties. Doesn't make sense? Don't worry, read the book and it will all come together.This book is thick, with a very complicated story. You will find yourself slightly confused at times, wondering where in life Henry's disorder has placed him. Keep reading. Although it may feel as if you are trying to fit together some strange puzzle of time and places, they do connect, creating a beautiful and absolutley exceptional novel. The prevailing concept that I took with me from reading this book is that love can stand the test of time. In fact, in the case of Henry and Clare, love is absolutley timeless.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 2237
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