The Time Traveler’s Wife
I just read The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger for the second time. I decided to re-read it after seeing the film because I couldn't quite remember exactly how everything happened or what they added or took out from the book. But, this isn't about the film. This is about the book. A book that I loved even more the second time around.
The Time Traveler's Wife is the story of Henry, a man with a genetic disposition that causes him to time travel unwillingly, and Clare, Henry's wife, who has had her entire life laid out before her since age six. For Henry, he and Clare meet when she is 20 and he is 28, but for Clare, they meet 14 years earlier when Henry, as a 35 year old man, appears to a 6 year old Clare in the meadow behind her childhood home.
Confused? You should be. Time means nothing in this novel. Well, nothing....yet everything. This is the story of two people whose lives are intertwined through time and who are almost held prisoner by it. Free will is no longer a possibility for either character, seeing as how they both spend their lives being told, by one or the other, what the future holds. For example, Henry tells Clare at an early age that they will be married, and Clare tells Henry at 28 that they will be married. Neither questions this or tries to go against it because they both understand that at some point in time this has already happened. And so, this is their life and we, the readers, are taken on the journey with them, experiencing every high and low point, every frightening moment and every happy occasion.
The thing I love about this book is its originality and it's ability to evoke emotion and force you to picture yourself as these characters. How would you handle having to witness the death of your mother over and over and over again, such as Henry does throughout his life? Or, how would you feel if you were Clare, knowing your entire life how the future was going to unfold and not having the ability to make any decisions for yourself because time has already made them for you?
One thing I would like to say is that I've heard several people say "oh I thought this was a chick book," but this is most definitely not the case. The film version might be considered a chick flick, but the book? Not so much. So, if you're a man reading this, don't get swayed thinking you'll be reading Danielle Steele. I've read Danielle Steele, and Danielle Steele this is not. Thankfully.
In summary, go pick up this book. It's tragic. It's joyous. It's sexy. It's funny. It's just a good read, and, as I found out, it's an even better read the second go-round.
Book Rating: A