Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
I really enjoyed the characterization and the writing style in this book. My favourite character was definitely Alba, though I did like Henry quite a bit as well.
I liked that he was a librarian and she was an artist but they both were punk fans. I enjoyed all that he knew in the book. I really like that he was able to quote German poetry.
The end of the book really threw me off, it scared me a little bit too. It got very dark very quickly.
All in all I really enjoyed this book, though now I'm a bit afraid to see the movie since I think it may destroy my good impression of the story.
I liked that he was a librarian and she was an artist but they both were punk fans. I enjoyed all that he knew in the book. I really like that he was able to quote German poetry.
The end of the book really threw me off, it scared me a little bit too. It got very dark very quickly.
All in all I really enjoyed this book, though now I'm a bit afraid to see the movie since I think it may destroy my good impression of the story.
I resisted reading this book for quite some time. But then I was stuck for a couple hours on the Magnificent Mile during a trip to Chicago. I found this book in a discount section, sat by the window, and started reading it. I think Audrey Neffenegger captured Chicago very well. I suppose for people not familiar with Chicago it might be a bit annoying to hear certain names and have no idea what they mean. However, for me it was the perfect time to read the book.
I decided to rate this book 4 stars even though there were some things about the book that bothered me. In the end the thing I liked best about the book was that it had parts that made me uncomfortable and it didn't have a nice and easy picture happy story line. These things separated it from the fairly straight forward boring book I was expecting.
I decided to rate this book 4 stars even though there were some things about the book that bothered me. In the end the thing I liked best about the book was that it had parts that made me uncomfortable and it didn't have a nice and easy picture happy story line. These things separated it from the fairly straight forward boring book I was expecting.
My feelings about this book are all over the place, kind of like the book itself. I really liked parts of it, but parts of it were depressing and dreadful. I enjoy time travel stories and romance novels, so I expected a lot out of it. Maybe I set my expectations a little too high.
It was obvious that the last half of Clare's life would be harder than the early years, but I didn't expect how depressing the end really would be. I loved the premise and had so many ideas in my head about where this book would go. It didn't. ** There will be spoilers after this point. ** Except for it being a little creepy, I thought the idea of Henry showing up so many times to meet young Clare was a very interesting twist. I liked the idea that his time travel was random, but I thought the whole naked thing was weird and unnecessary. Granted, it's what allows for the things that happen in the last 25% of the book, but given that I hated that part, I'm sticking with the whole naked thing being weird. I think the book was too long.
There were many things that could have been cut, such as all the useless rambling about paper art (I never skip reading parts of books, but I skipped a lot of this stuff because it bored me to sleep...literally). There were other random useless things, too. The author tried a little too hard to make Henry punk. It was weird. The same was true of Clare's art. I'm not sure if it was the author's lack of experience (since this was her first novel), but I felt that all the sex was put in because she didn't really know how to express the feelings to show that Clare and Henry were really in love. It, too, was weird. Also, maybe it's because the author was older when this was written, but some of the terms she used were derogatory and unnecessary. They just didn't fit for a love story. Also, instead of all the extra things that we didn't need to hear, it would have been nice to have some more information about how they really met and fell in love in the present. Clare was already in love because she had known him all her life, but it was kind of like Henry just accepted it quickly and went with it.
I thought the thing that would bother me most in this story were the miscarriage scenes. Why??? Why was that necessary? It was just sad and disgusting. It turned out the part where Henry has to have his legs amputated and we have to go through all the sadness with the family was the worst part for me. Why couldn't the hunting accident have happened without all of that. It would have eliminated a lot of the depressing parts, it would have been quick and impactful, and it would have grabbed the reader's attention better.
I'm not sure why Henry never went to visit Clare in the future. Given that he visited all over the place (and he showed up to get her pregnant when present Henry could not), it doesn't make any sense. Henry showed up to visit Clare in the future after he died would have been a great way to continue the love story, especially knowing that he visits Alba. It's just another thing that didn't make sense and wasn't really explained. I know, after all this, that it's hard to believe that there were things I liked about this book. I think it's just that there was so much sadness and weirdness at the end that those things stood out to me a lot. I will say that I enjoyed the very end, even though I expected a little more from it. It did make me sad to think that Clare sat there every day, staring out the window, just waiting for him to show up. While it's sweet, it's also strange because they made such a big deal of saying how you can't change the future. It was going to happen either way, yet Clare chose to live a sad lonely life just waiting for him to show up. After that, it kind of took away from the idea I had that Henry and Clare were meant to be together in the past, present, and future. The only problem was what I just mentioned -- he wasn't there in the future until the very end since the readers will assume that once he showed up (and she doesn't expect him again) that her life is probably over.
Not a horrible book, but certainly not one of my favorites. It kind of let me down.
It was obvious that the last half of Clare's life would be harder than the early years, but I didn't expect how depressing the end really would be. I loved the premise and had so many ideas in my head about where this book would go. It didn't. ** There will be spoilers after this point. ** Except for it being a little creepy, I thought the idea of Henry showing up so many times to meet young Clare was a very interesting twist. I liked the idea that his time travel was random, but I thought the whole naked thing was weird and unnecessary. Granted, it's what allows for the things that happen in the last 25% of the book, but given that I hated that part, I'm sticking with the whole naked thing being weird. I think the book was too long.
There were many things that could have been cut, such as all the useless rambling about paper art (I never skip reading parts of books, but I skipped a lot of this stuff because it bored me to sleep...literally). There were other random useless things, too. The author tried a little too hard to make Henry punk. It was weird. The same was true of Clare's art. I'm not sure if it was the author's lack of experience (since this was her first novel), but I felt that all the sex was put in because she didn't really know how to express the feelings to show that Clare and Henry were really in love. It, too, was weird. Also, maybe it's because the author was older when this was written, but some of the terms she used were derogatory and unnecessary. They just didn't fit for a love story. Also, instead of all the extra things that we didn't need to hear, it would have been nice to have some more information about how they really met and fell in love in the present. Clare was already in love because she had known him all her life, but it was kind of like Henry just accepted it quickly and went with it.
I thought the thing that would bother me most in this story were the miscarriage scenes. Why??? Why was that necessary? It was just sad and disgusting. It turned out the part where Henry has to have his legs amputated and we have to go through all the sadness with the family was the worst part for me. Why couldn't the hunting accident have happened without all of that. It would have eliminated a lot of the depressing parts, it would have been quick and impactful, and it would have grabbed the reader's attention better.
I'm not sure why Henry never went to visit Clare in the future. Given that he visited all over the place (and he showed up to get her pregnant when present Henry could not), it doesn't make any sense. Henry showed up to visit Clare in the future after he died would have been a great way to continue the love story, especially knowing that he visits Alba. It's just another thing that didn't make sense and wasn't really explained. I know, after all this, that it's hard to believe that there were things I liked about this book. I think it's just that there was so much sadness and weirdness at the end that those things stood out to me a lot. I will say that I enjoyed the very end, even though I expected a little more from it. It did make me sad to think that Clare sat there every day, staring out the window, just waiting for him to show up. While it's sweet, it's also strange because they made such a big deal of saying how you can't change the future. It was going to happen either way, yet Clare chose to live a sad lonely life just waiting for him to show up. After that, it kind of took away from the idea I had that Henry and Clare were meant to be together in the past, present, and future. The only problem was what I just mentioned -- he wasn't there in the future until the very end since the readers will assume that once he showed up (and she doesn't expect him again) that her life is probably over.
Not a horrible book, but certainly not one of my favorites. It kind of let me down.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Incredible story line - the narrative pulls you in and is compelling. I defy you not to sob when you reach the climax of the book
I read this book years ago and remember liking it, but don't remember much of what it was about today. Hence the 3 stars.