BOOK REVIEW
The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
It's Tuesday, Travel Tuesday, but instead of giving you an actual travel post, I've taken a slight liberty here and I bring you, for one week only... Time Travel Tuesday!!
I picked up this copy during my recent Charity Shop Challenge and although I have read it before, it has always stayed with me. I wanted to read it again now that I am older and (allegedly) wiser. I also really enjoyed the movie, it stayed true enough to the original work and did a reasonable job of presenting the romance, tragedy, and heartbreak that the book does so well. The challenge with re-reads is the worry that the same feelings won't be elicited the second time round. I needn't have worried!
BLURB
Clare and Henry met when Clare was just six and Henry thiry-six, and were married when Clare was twenty-two and Henry thirty.
Impossible but true.
The Time Traveler's Wife is the international bestselling novel of a time-altering love. Henry is a librarian who suffers from a rare condition where his genetic clock periodically resets, finding himself pulled suddenly into his past or future. Meanwhile, Clare is an artist waiting all her life for her great love Henry to appear. In the face of this force neither can prevent nor control, Henry and Clare's struggle to lead normal lives is both intensely moving and entirely unforgettable.
'Dark, unpredictable, incredibly clever and a modern romance' - Grazia
MY REVIEW
I'll start by saying that I didn't enjoy this book as much the second time around, which isn't a slight about the novel at all, but I remembered too much and found it hard to be fully immersed.
That being said, I was still completely enthralled by the writing and having read it before, I was able to really appreciate the foreshadowing in the moment, which was intense and gave me chills.
We follow Henry and Clare through their relationship, which takes place throughout time, with Henry being pulled into different places in time as a result of his genetic disorder. One moment he's 33, enjoying breakfast with his wife and the next he's at his wife's childhood home 20) years ago, having breakfast with his wife (who is now 5). The book explores the interesting, almost sci-fi, concept of time travel as a genetic disorder while also navigating the trials, tribulations and pitfalls of building, and maintaining, a 'traditional' relationship.
Let's deal with the elephant in the room. Some of the interactions between Henry, time travelling as an adult, and Clare a child, are a little creepy and uncomfortable on the surface. I don't want to say grooming, as it's one of those time travel, fate, has happened a million times, circle of life, can't be avoided, tropes that needs to be viewed in the way it was intended.
That being said, the story is intricately developed, with time travel being explored in a unique way. None of this "you can't interact with people in the past or you might not exist any more" drama. This made it easier to digest and get my head around the often complex. It's certainly not a standard romance, since it's already happened. There's no "will they, won't they" but there's plenty of miscommunication, arguments, unhappy moments, doubt and angst as you'd expect in a more traditional romance novel.
Without sharing spoilers, the book deals with some intense topics (loss, grief, substance use, and fertility issues being some of the key ones) so I'd advise checking content warnings if you're unsure. These topics were handled with sensitivity and were all integral to the plot to some degree (though not always apparent at the time!). It's also not a closed book romance, though none of the scenes were particularly graphic (in comparison to some of the more spiiiiiicy books I've read anyway!)
It's incredibly well written and I'm envious of the sheer talent and effort it will have taken to have all these threads woven without feeling that there are any loose ends. For a book dealing with time travel, that's an achievement and a half! Time travel is not an easy subject to take on, even as a reader sometimes!
Both characters were well developed and intentionally flawed (I love reading about a character's jealousy, insecurities and irrational thoughts). I was rooting for them, my heart broke for them, and I was fully invested in their stories both as a couple and as individuals.
My first readthrough of this book was an absolute 5-star, this time I was less immersed and couldn't quite shake that problematic feeling during those adult Henry/youth Clare interactions. This absolutely doesn't take anything away from the beauty of the writing, the breath-taking moments and the intricacy of the story-telling. Absolutely still 4-stars for me this time around, I honestly wish I could read it for the first time again!
Have you read this one? What were your thoughts on the unique approach to time travel?
If, by some stroke of luck, you made it to the end of this post and thought "Wow, what a great review, I'd love to read more!" you can FOLLOW MY BLOG by clicking the link and subscribing :) I also post bookish content on Instagram. Happy reading!
Well, yes, Slim Shady is also back with an album that's making all the Millennials (including me) jump for joy, but I was talking about me! I'm back after my laptop spent the last week in the repair shop, £90 lighter and with plenty of reviews to get cracking with. I will start with Stephen King's collection of short stories, released earlier this year, You Like It Darker. I finished this at the end of June so I've been waiting desperately to get my views on paper as it were!
.png)
