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catrinageorgia's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-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
3.75
heyitstessbridges's review against another edition
4.0
I love books about time travel and I enjoyed reading this book. I had watched the movie years ago, so I thought this might be a book worth reading. I loved how the book had more details about the story than the movie.
darian2515's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
hyunc456's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
mels6320's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book although part of me just ached when it was over at all of the sadness that the characters in the book went through. Yes, there were times of joy when they finally conceived or when Henry got to see Alba later in life during one of his future time travels. But there was so much pain in that life - pain for Henry knowing his time was short, pain for Claire knowing that the man she loved would leave her so often for short periods of time and then too early forever, pain for Alba that her father was gone and that she could see glimpses of him when she eventually began to travel too. I was glad that Alba seemed to enjoy her ability since Henry seemed to have so many issues with his. The imagination of the author was amazing as she intricately twisted all of these lives together in multiple times and places: everyone from the main characters to the small ones were connected someway and somehow. I would highly recommend this book! I caught parts of the movie on a flight recently but did not get to watch the whole thing or pay attention very well, but I'm considering trying to watch it again sometime now that I finished the book so I can compare.
bethanechol's review against another edition
4.0
Book 4 of Summer '09
So... I'm slightly ashamed to have read this. And to have liked it so much. It's chick lit, it really is, and every time I see a preview for the movie (which appears to majorly amp up the chick-flickiness even above and beyond the book), I cringe a little that I used this for my mass summer of literariness, since it hardly seems to belong in the literature category.
But... it was fun! A lot of fun. Really, really, really fun. It was sweet and suspenseful and had a take on time travel that was really unique to me (and I do love a good time travel story), so I sped through it in about two or three days. The main problem with it is, the ending of the book doesn't really fit the interesting promise of the beginning. The beginning really hooks you: the premise is genuinely interesting, the characters seem interesting, and the time-traveling premise is just built for some really great suspenseful foreshadowing... but then by the time you get toward the end of their lives together, it just feels sad and sappy and there's been so much foreshadowing that you already know exactly what's going to happen and it's all just playing out. While I've never read or seen The Notebook, that's how it feels to me toward the end. Which is really a shame, cause the beginning was really very interesting.
Anyway, it's really a shame that I'm giving this 4 stars while giving poor Charlotte Bronte only 3... basically what happened is I was in the mood for a nice, sugary treat that I could gobble up really quickly but has no nutritional value whatsoever (the Little Debbie of literature), and so enjoyed it infinitely more than the complex, fiber-filled salad that I was served initially.
Anyway: it's a good book, just not good literature. A terribly excellent diversion. And don't think that just because I criticized the sappy ending means I didn't tear up during it... it's a well done sappy ending, at least.
Though watch out for the sex scenes: they try to be sexy, but they're just awkward. Shudder.
4 down... probably no more than 2 to go. Sigh.
So... I'm slightly ashamed to have read this. And to have liked it so much. It's chick lit, it really is, and every time I see a preview for the movie (which appears to majorly amp up the chick-flickiness even above and beyond the book), I cringe a little that I used this for my mass summer of literariness, since it hardly seems to belong in the literature category.
But... it was fun! A lot of fun. Really, really, really fun. It was sweet and suspenseful and had a take on time travel that was really unique to me (and I do love a good time travel story), so I sped through it in about two or three days. The main problem with it is, the ending of the book doesn't really fit the interesting promise of the beginning. The beginning really hooks you: the premise is genuinely interesting, the characters seem interesting, and the time-traveling premise is just built for some really great suspenseful foreshadowing... but then by the time you get toward the end of their lives together, it just feels sad and sappy and there's been so much foreshadowing that you already know exactly what's going to happen and it's all just playing out. While I've never read or seen The Notebook, that's how it feels to me toward the end. Which is really a shame, cause the beginning was really very interesting.
Anyway, it's really a shame that I'm giving this 4 stars while giving poor Charlotte Bronte only 3... basically what happened is I was in the mood for a nice, sugary treat that I could gobble up really quickly but has no nutritional value whatsoever (the Little Debbie of literature), and so enjoyed it infinitely more than the complex, fiber-filled salad that I was served initially.
Anyway: it's a good book, just not good literature. A terribly excellent diversion. And don't think that just because I criticized the sappy ending means I didn't tear up during it... it's a well done sappy ending, at least.
Though watch out for the sex scenes: they try to be sexy, but they're just awkward. Shudder.
4 down... probably no more than 2 to go. Sigh.
markalkman's review against another edition
4.0
I think I've seen the movie three or four times, but it's been a while. Finally reading the book reminded me of all the amazing things that happened in this one of a kind story. I love how Audrey Niffenegger set everything up, I love how everything fits together like pieces of a puzzle falling into place. I fell in love with both Henry & Clare all over again, I fell in love with their love and how it was so definitely meant to be. Henry meeting Clare for the first time when he was 28 and she 20 - Clare having known him since she was six... I laughed with them? I cried with them, they were absolutely perfect together. There were quite a few surpises, bits of the story that never made it into the movie, that totally made this a book worth reading even though I'd already known the story by heart. I loved it. Definitely have to watch the movie again someday soon, I kept picturing Henry and Clare as Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams.
nip's review against another edition
Too weird in terms of the relationship between Claire as a child and Henry as an adult. Uncomfortable scenes describing her sexually or as desirable while underage