The Time Traveler's Wife in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Feb 23, 2011 Lacey Louwagie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sciencefiction, literary-fiction, romance

At first, I wasn't quite sure what to make of this book. It felt like it was trying to be a little too literary (the long paragraphs, weird punctuation/attribution style, and disregard for mechanics without good reason did irk me a little throughout), I wasn't sure whether I should be creeped out by adult Hentry's relationship with child Clare, and I was intimidated by the hopping around in time.

But by the time I reached the halfway point, I'd come to care deeply for Clare and Henry. At first, At first, I wasn't quite sure what to make of this book. It felt like it was trying to be a little too literary (the long paragraphs, weird punctuation/attribution style, and disregard for mechanics without good reason did irk me a little throughout), I wasn't sure whether I should be creeped out by adult Hentry's relationship with child Clare, and I was intimidated by the hopping around in time.

But by the time I reached the halfway point, I'd come to care deeply for Clare and Henry. At first, I wasn't sure there was much to this book, since it was "just" about their relationship. But interestingly, the middle portion of the book, which focuses MORE on their relationship and less on outside distractions, was the most compelling part of the book to me. (And it had be weeping by the end.) I really liked how the nature of Henry's time-traveling seemed to "even out" the power dynamic between him and Clare, so that the relationship felt really even. For example, Henry started time-traveling to see Clare as a child when he was in his 30s, so he knew tons about their life together. But Clare met Henry "in real life" when he was 28, before he'd started time-traveling to her past, so at that point SHE knew all about him and he was in the dark about their life together. The time-travel raises some other interesting questions, too -- such as, is it "cheating" if you sleep with an earlier or later version of your husband or wife, rather than the one who is in chronological time with you? Clare and Henry didn't seem to feel jealous or threatened by their "other selves," but it did feel a little naughty to me.

As a reader of science fiction, I had mixed feelings about the "sci fi" elements in this story. What made this literary fiction rather than science fiction? Why could it use a common sc-fi trope and still be accepted/taken seriously in the "mainstream," and why does this acceptance as a mainstream piece of literature make it unacceptable to true-blue fans of sci-fi? (Example: when I mentioned the book to another sci-fi fan and made an argument for it being science fiction (hello, time travel?!?), he said, "No, everyone knows that's *really* a romance.") I for one tend to like genre-blending like this; what I don't like is the way people put something squarely in one category even though it doesn't totally fit there.

Rant over, I suppose. Now it's on to the movie!

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Mar 09, 2007 Kristen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I can't begin to tell you how much I enjoyed this book. Once you give yourself over to the premise of the time-traveling and don't overanalyze it too much, you'll be treated to a darn great story. I plowed through it, and even shed a few tears at the end. A beautiful contemporary novel. ...more

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Mar 23, 2008 Becki rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

It's been a while since I read any serious fiction, and this book did not disappoint. I picked it up randomly after hearing a coworker talk about it, and the premise of the book sounded interesting. It's heartbreaking and beautiful and very clever. ...more

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