Reviews with content warning for Suicide - The Time Traveler's Wife

This took me a frustrating number of tries to actually finish, but once I got through it I was really glad for it. It’s really devastating and made me sob like a little baby and that was mostly good! But a little bit of the end just felt like an unnecessary downer. The book is really just a lot to think about, it really makes you think a lot.

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lubie_'s review against another edition

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emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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beatrizdizon_'s review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

You know in Twilight when Jacob imprinted on Renesmee, and it’s all icky and weird because it was bound to be romantic despite him being a full-grown adult and her a wee baby? I guess this makes me one of the people who doesn’t like how Henry and Clare met in The Timetraveler’s Wife. I didn’t mind that they got together, then I wouldn’t have read the book in the first place — it’s already in the title: WIFE. It just baffles me how they couldn’t just be both kids or at least the same age when Henry time-jumps to her. They meet in the present when Clare is 20 but for her, it has always been Henry. Henry is the person she knows she’ll dedicate her whole life to.

That’s what it felt like. It is as though Clare’s life revolved around Henry. Even in the two years they were apart, she was shattered and messy for him. Everything is for him.

Except the premise of the book had such great potential to make an interesting plot. Instead, we deal with characters I couldn't care less about or at least root for. Clare’s struggles and loneliness with a husband who constantly and unwillingly disappears have an appeal as a subject. That only materialized in the second half, I should not have to fight this much to enjoy a book!

I have a bone to pick with the writing: Ingrid’s ending, Gomez’s character, but specifically Henry’s POV. I hate that he constantly tells us that he knows what will happen and that he’s a time traveler. Like okay? We know too, damn, no need to spell it out. Let the readers be thrilled too and just show us.

Also, there were too many unnecessary mentions of breasts and r*pe. Especially for the latter, as if humans do not commit a plethora of wrongful deeds for a person to cite.

I admit that there were moments I was moved, shedding a few tears here and there, hence 2.75. Still, I had to let that semi-rant out. But to be honest, I would have DNF’ed this if I wasn’t annotating it for my best friend. I have been looking forward to talking to her about this, and I can’t if I only know a small percentage of the material.

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agw622's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is such a captivating book. The time traveling is well handled. The overlaps are used to add suspense especially at the end. It can be quite intense and sad at places. While not a happy read, it's an amazing read.

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onabookban's review against another edition

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emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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edg5000's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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zunn's review

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I feel very weird about this book. I enjoyed the writing style and the concept behind the time travelling, especially questioning the idea of determinism. But the book is problematic in many ways. There is a romantization of a grooming situation and lots of racist stereotypes.

I also think there is criticism on Clare's position in the book, with her waiting for Henry all the time. I think it does also show how men are allowed to be adventurous and not zomen, but i couldn't really tell wether the author was being purposely exaggerated in that direction, or willfully unaware..

Similarly, I was appalled by Henry's behaviour in many ways : I found him to be grooming Clare and rapey, both when Clare is a child and when she is an adult. He is very manipulative, and their over achieving sex life clearly poses a problem to Clare, that is brushed off as him being passionate. I also am wondering about his description as a womanizer suddenly turned quiet library boyfriend. As if he always was a man to be feared, as Ingrid warned, but that it would only appear at the end. I wondered throughout the whole book wether the end would have some kind of moral showing the wrongs of his behaviour.
Towards Alba, I find that his fondness for her isn't as authe tic as Clare's, again foreshadowing a huge gender bias imo. She sees Alba as her child, he seems to see her as an annoyance and an object.

I think this book would have been up to my alley if the end would show some kind of twist : Clare realising she's never been free, both of her 'destiny' and Henry. I think the theme would have been of great interest, and the book ends up being just problematic.

I also was annoyed about the racist stereotypes in the book, and the fact that no real character is important besides Henry haha...

Also I hated Gomez with all my heart.
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