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A review by thomas_ryan04
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This novel has a storyline with so much potential - a science-fiction/romance crossover following the love story of time traveller, Henry DeTamble and his wife, Clare Abshire, who Henry met when she was just six (the moral issues here are vast, granted). However, I feel like the potential the storyline harnesses isn't exercised to its maximum potential.
There are some really good points about the book, and the last one hundred or so pages, in particular, had me gripped. Once you get your head around the complex concept of time travelling, it becomes easy to track when Henry is off time travelling and when he's in the 'present'. The dual first-person narration from Henry and Clare is enjoyable - it's interesting to see both their views towards their relationship, which is characterised by long periods apart in their early days as well as desire and passion throughout. The development of the novel is at its best in the early days of Henry's time travelling and towards the end of the book - there is where I was gripped the most and where I felt most connected to the characters.
This leads me onto some of the problems: ultimately, the middle of the book lacked much character development at all. As soon as Clare and Henry meet "in the present", they seem to click straight away despite the fact Henry said he wouldn't remember her when they met. For a 520-page book (which is way too long, and could easily have been shortened to 400 pages), you'd expect better character development and no massive gaping holes in the plotline. Another gripe of mine is the sex - the GRAPHIC sex which left nothing to the imagination. I understand desire and passion was at the centre of the couple's relationships and a few sex scenes dotted throughout would have done no harm - but Niffenegger seemed obsessed with giving every detail, of every sexual encounter, from start to finish. I also had to check the publication date of the book sometimes - 2003?! - there's definitely a few too many characters who seem to have been crafted in the 20th century when authors 'got away' with cultural stereotypes a bit more (Kimy's broken phonetic speech, anyone?!).
Overall, the concept was great - yet it could have been executed better. There was some good points, but also some bad points. Yet, the last 100 pages had me gripped - which makes me question what rating is best for this book. An (above) average 3.75 stars for The Time Traveler's Wife.
There are some really good points about the book, and the last one hundred or so pages, in particular, had me gripped. Once you get your head around the complex concept of time travelling, it becomes easy to track when Henry is off time travelling and when he's in the 'present'. The dual first-person narration from Henry and Clare is enjoyable - it's interesting to see both their views towards their relationship, which is characterised by long periods apart in their early days as well as desire and passion throughout. The development of the novel is at its best in the early days of Henry's time travelling and towards the end of the book - there is where I was gripped the most and where I felt most connected to the characters.
This leads me onto some of the problems: ultimately, the middle of the book lacked much character development at all. As soon as Clare and Henry meet "in the present", they seem to click straight away despite the fact Henry said he wouldn't remember her when they met. For a 520-page book (which is way too long, and could easily have been shortened to 400 pages), you'd expect better character development and no massive gaping holes in the plotline. Another gripe of mine is the sex - the GRAPHIC sex which left nothing to the imagination. I understand desire and passion was at the centre of the couple's relationships and a few sex scenes dotted throughout would have done no harm - but Niffenegger seemed obsessed with giving every detail, of every sexual encounter, from start to finish. I also had to check the publication date of the book sometimes - 2003?! - there's definitely a few too many characters who seem to have been crafted in the 20th century when authors 'got away' with cultural stereotypes a bit more (Kimy's broken phonetic speech, anyone?!).
Overall, the concept was great - yet it could have been executed better. There was some good points, but also some bad points. Yet, the last 100 pages had me gripped - which makes me question what rating is best for this book. An (above) average 3.75 stars for The Time Traveler's Wife.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, and Violence