Henry and Clare have been together, in one way or another, all their lives. That’s because Henry is a time traveler, an ability that is out of his control, and he tends to hop around at various points in past and future to see the people who are most important to him. So an older Henry starts visiting his future wife, Clare, when she is only 6 years old. By the time she meets him “for real,” in the present timeline, she has loved him for years, while he is only meeting her for the first time.

A story about time travel done well is a difficult thing to write, and this is one done well. Despite the non-linear story and overlapping timelines — even the scenes when Henry appears with himself at different ages — the reader never feels lost. The structure of the novel unfolds and then folds again quite neatly, bookended by young and old Clare, always waiting for Henry to appear out of time.

Ultimately, this is a tragic romance, mainly because of the Henry’s predestined death. But even more than that, the story is tragic because Henry appears to have no choices, no free will, in his life. Because he has already experienced what will happen, he has no power to change it — it has happened to him, even if it happened in the future. He has no control over his own life. Which raises the question of whether Clare has choices too, such as the choice to move on after Henry has gone, or whether she is predestined to wait her whole life for him to appear one more time.

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I loved it.original and though provoking.

Eh, mixed feelings. Some of the story was interesting and very innovative, but the romance itself annoyed me. I didn’t think it was explained well enough how a real relationship could exist between the two when there was such an imbalance between them. All of the witholding information on his part left a bad taste in my mouth, and I didn’t get enough closure. Still, it was worth reading.

UNSURE IF THIS IS A GOOD OR BAD THING

Apparently, a film is in the works. Haven’t heard of the pair they have set to play Henry and Clare:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0452694/

i’ve basically spent my sunday reading it, and it can’t get out of my mind. I’m not usually fond of love stories, but this book was truly amazing

This evocative, multi-layered story was a wonderful read—the author managed the jarring time-jumps perfectly, evoking the shock of chronological displacement without losing the narrative thread. One of the best reads of the past year or so. Much Recommended.

I’m still reading it so a review will come later but I’ll just say I started it yesterday and am 1/3 of the way in. Gripping read. I’d say it’s like PULP FICTION crossed with a love story because the plotline is out of sequence and you view it at times through timetraveling Henry’s eyes and at other times through his wife Clare’s. I’m really liking this so far.

EDIT:
Loved the book. Without giving spoilers, I’ll just say I was (pleasantly) surprised they avoided a cliche ending…

A touching escapist love story. A fantasy we can all choose to believe in, because to love, and to be loved, is all we ever need

This was on my book list and the minute I picked it up I knew there was something different here! I didn’t move for four hours while i read this….it just consumed me! I loved it, read it now!

The point of this, I think, is to say that we all are time-travelers. We all live in our memories and expectations of the future, and we never let our loved ones go – not completely. While this is more concretely true of the Time Traveler himself, we all spend our lives traveling in our minds to times and places we’ve been before and hope to be.

More fascinating, though, was the circular nature of the actual story – that Henry and Clare were soulmates: they never had a chance to choose each other. They were always married, always committed to each other.

At times I felt the author speaking directly to me through her character’s personalities and cultural references. I saw where someone in another review called these references trite or contrived, but not so – either you get them or you don’t, and the ones I didn’t get are dog-eared for look-up! In a lot of ways it was a trip down memory lane for me, with suggestions of other works I might like.

I loved the book, and am only holding back that one last star for a few loose ends not tied up, and, frankly, I felt the book was not long enough! But the Time Traveler’s Wife developed from an excellent concept and execution, and is certainly a new favorite.

I cannot say enough about this book, it was absolutely fantastic, a little bit of everything for everyone, wonderfully written, an imagainative story written so well that it never seems far-fetched.

The Time Traveler’s Wife adeptly evokes the longing caused by separation, the power of memory and the sweet pain of love.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I loved the way that the story unfolded with so many layers and perspectives in time. Niffenegger did an amazing job of creating a cohesive and compelling narrative when it could easily have become confusing and convoluted. I don’t know if I buy into the idea of time travel or even find the concept appealing, but it was a wonderful story, well told, and it made me think. I highly recommend this book.

One of the thicker books I have read, but still was hard to put down.

I really loved this book, despite the fact that time trael novels usually confuse me. It felt real and the end was really sad.

I did wonder about one thing though. If his kid was going back and seeing him, wouldn’t he have noticed this kid showing up in different times and not aging?

Reading The Time Traveler’s Wife is much like dancing on knives, but not wanting to stop because the music is so beautiful.

The story weaving was well done, especially for a first book. But the story just didn’t do much for me. And I didn’t like the way the author emotionally screwed with the reader; it just seemed like a cheap – albeit effective – shot.

Sad, romantic, sweet love story

I finished this book on the way home from work yesterday, and it made me cry on the train. There is an incredible amount of detail and story-weaving in this book, it’s rather amazing. I don’t know if I’d read it again, but it’s definitely a book that will stay with me for a while.

BookBlog’s selection for October 2005.