Reviews with content warning for Death - La mujer del viajero en el tiempo

I have reread this book so many times and it still manages to surprise me. It is so cleverly written, and the author manages to weave a complicated timeline together so effortlessly that it is really easy to follow and not get lost with it. Henry and Clare's love story is full of hardships, tragedy and loss but you still manage to see the love and hope shine through.

I absolutely love this book, but have knocked a star off for what I think to be some inappropriate thoughts/actions between the characters at questionable ages.

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adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-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? Yes

3.0

"...absence can be present, like a damaged nerve, like a dark bird..."

"It's hard being left behind... It's hard to be the one who stays... Why is love intensified by absence?"

I had a lot of feelings about this novel. I originally thought I would give this 4 or 5 stars because when I initially finished reading, the story evoked a lot of emotion for me and I felt so melancholic at the end of the novel. However, now that I've had some time to sit with it, I also have some critiques. First off, I loved the writing. It was emotional and really packed a punch. I also liked the format. The dual perspectives and multiple timelines were interesting but not overly confusing. I also really enjoyed how Henry and Clare's characters were not perfect and I found the fact that their flaws were not downplayed very refreshing. Now a few things of which I wasn't a huge fan. The scenes where older Henry visited young Clare made me cringe. It was very clear that Henry didn't want to cross any lines but every scene just felt a bit like grooming to me. I applaud the author for exploring the implications of that part of the plot but the scenes just didn't quite sit well with me. I also really disliked the representation of some of the side characters. It was written almost 20 years ago but having both Henry and Clare grow up with women of color as pseudo-mother figures felt incredibly tokenistic to me. It felt very much like the author was trying to have some kind of diverse representation but didn't know how to do that authentically. The last thing I really hated was Gomez. His character was the worst! And I still don't really understand what the purpose of his character was to begin with. It really feels like he was just there for me to hate. Overall, this book was just okay for me.

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