Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Review by Saundra Kane
Readers who love experimental literature—this book is for you.
The hero of this book, Henry DeTamble, has—so our author explains it—a unique genetic flaw. Anxiety and emotion send Henry "time traveling"—not into a new culture or past history, but the history of his own life. At first this might not seem to be such a bad ailment. But when he lands in a different time, Henry comes out naked and confused. The book opens with his wife Clare. She wakes up and Henry is gone. She is familiar with his traveling; she has known Henry all her life. When she was just a little girl she met him and he told her she would some day be his wife. But some of his travels take him into danger, and she worries that one day he may not be able to return.
I found The Time Traveler’s Wife to be a fascinating and an original concept piece. It certainly makes the reader grateful for an ordinary a nervous stomach or rapid heart beat. And from a wife's perspective, a husband's outings to the 7-Eleven or the local tavern seem like nothing compared to time-traveling. I found this book and the vivid imagination of the author to be fascinating. I read Time Traveler's Wife with my regular book club, and many members said it was one of their favorite books the year. Some, however, found the time changes disorienting.
I recommend this to speculative fiction readers, as well as a general audience. Speculative and mainstream fans alike will enjoy the interesting concept of time traveling inside ones own life.
Post your comments, reactions and opinions of Time Traveler's Wife or this review.
Saundra Kane is a lifelong reader and booklover. She currently runs two online communities for fiction readers: Bestsellers & Literature and Mystery Discussion Forum.