Anyone read The Time Traveler's Wife? I just finished it and I've been thinking about it for days. I think I need to talk to some people who have read it.

What did you think about the novel. I also saw that they are making a movie from it.

Kim

I loved it. I love it when a talented writer does "genre fiction". I am a big fan of sci-fi and fantasy and those genres had a bad reputation for a long time. So called "serious" writer's wouldn't want to be tainted by dabbling in genre fiction. I' m glad that is changing.

I always was a sucker for time travel stories, but this was sweet and honest and sad. It was just beautiful.

And I dig the Violent Femmes, too. ;) It was fun to read something that was written by a woman around my age that I could be friends with.

I didn't know what to expect when I started reading it but boy was I sucked it.  What resonated throughout the novel for me was the sense of hopelessness the main character had about his future. He believed that it was set in stone because he had seen it from so many different angles. But could he have done anything to change his future (once he saw it)?

Kim

OMG I listened to this book on my Ipod, but I definately need to actually take the time to sit down and read it.  I was painting my den and BAWLING during the end.  Uhhh, and I just ended up confused.  I did the: " well what if this and what if that" thing when I was done.  Its going on the reminder list now. 

I have to admit that I couldn’t get into this particular novel. My reading tastes are varied, and my disliking a book doesn’t happen very often. I won’t come right out and say that I didn’t like The Time Traveler’s Wife; instead I will just say that it made me very uncomfortable. Uncomfortable enough, after the first few chapters, to start skimming and jumping around, just reading bits here and there to give me the gist of the plot.

It’s not that I don’t accept time travel as part of a storyline. But I did have a hard time accepting 24-year-old Henry visiting 5-year-old Henry. Traveling back in time is one thing, but a duality of existence just pushes me beyond all reason. Even harder to accept was the relationship between the two 15-year-old Henrys: It’s certainly not that sexual content bothers me, but this relationship verged on being incestuous and had the potential to be emotionally damaging to the real-world young Henry. I also wasn’t completely at ease with the Clare-Henry child/adult/romantic overlap. Just unappealing somehow. (I mean, come on, the older man--handily naked--and the little girl in the school uniform! Not even original.) Had these characters been more interesting, perhaps these situations would take on a different color, but I found both Clare and Henry (time travel aside) and their conversations to be bland. They just didn’t sparkle for me.

I loved this book!  I am a little leIery about the movie being made, don't know if it'll do the book justice.  I just thought this was such an original idea for a novel.

I thought I would like this book...everyone said I would!  Not only did I not like it and find it not very plausible, but I thought it bordered on pedophilia! 

I loved the book!  I don't know how the author kept everything straight while she was writing though!

I'm in the minority here and didn't like it! I soooo wanted to because everyone said they loved it but I just didn't like it. I was disappointed though I will probably watch the movie to see what that is like!

I read it for a book group... I enjoyed it more than I anticipated! There were some things that didn't jell for me, but I thought it was really readable.

I had no idea what to expect with this book. It was actually one of the only one's that I've listened to on audio. I thought for sure I was going to start getting confused, but this book was written so well, I couldn't put it down - so to speak.

I have to say this is one of my favorite books of all time. I laughed, I cried. I loved it. When I first downloaded the audio, I had no idea what the book was about. I read the write up of it and it didn't seem like something I'd have read. I decided to give it a shot and I'm so glad I did.

In my experience, this one is a love it or hate it book - there are very few people who fall in the middle of it. I absolutely adored it, I thought it was amazing, the storyline was so fascinating, and I SOBBED at the end.

I am just beginning it (on audio) and I got to the part where Claire sees him at the library and now I'm really confused.  Might have to rewind and start again from the beginning!

Robin,

I think as you progress, it becomes more clear - the sense of confusion at the beginning is the confusion that the main characters feel, I thought.

 Yeah, it took me a few chapters before I could figure out the library meeting, now I'm on track I think!   I listen to audiobooks mostly on my way to work on the weekends, so I've just listened to a large chunk of it in the past few days.  Very interesting and intricate.

I read this book twice and it just gets better in the second reading (and it seemed to help paint the picture for me to read it again).  I was just amazed by how the author was able to so tightly match the stories of the two main characters.  I cannot imagine the organization that it took to be able to tell this story in the way that she did.

- Tracy

The organization was something that amazed  me too.  I would imagine  that she would have to have a large chart with all of the dates and events to keep them straight.  It would have helped me lol!

I loved this book.  I know when I have  winner when I keep thinking about a book that I finished for a long time.  I did have a hard time getting into it.  I started to read it and thought I didn't like it.  I am so glad that I went back and gave it another chance. 

I did not think I was going to like it but enjoyed it very much.  The young Clare/Henry relationship made me a bit uneasy.  However, as the story unfolds I came to accept it.

Interestingly, there is a new TV series titled "Journeyman".  It is about a journalist that gets pulled into the past where he is supposed to set things right.  A subplot is slowly developing to explain how he got caught up in time traveling.

This was not my favorite book but I did enjoy it. I had it on my shelf for probably a year or more and I never did anything with it. Well, thats not completely true. I tried to read it but never got into it. Then I told a friend that and she said that if I gave it 50-75 pages then I'd be able to get into it. I'm glad I listened to her because in the end, I did enjoy it.

For anyone having a hard time getting into it I would suggest finding the chapter where Henry is in kindergarten (I think) or wherever it says it is his first time travel. Just skip all the other stuff and start there and try that out.

I really liked it, it wasn't something that I would normally pick up but I am glad I did.

I did find it just a tad slow and confusing at the beginning but stayed with it and absolutely loved it. One of the best books I've read this year. I have an unpostable copy with any order from my shelf if anyone is interested.

Taken.

This has to be one of my most favorite books.  I totally loved the story.  When I got the book I really thought that it would be horrible.  I think it's the kind of book that you either really enjoy it or hate it.  I gave it to my sister in law to read once I was done and she couldn't stand it.  They are making a movie from the book and I am terrified that they are going to do a HORRIBLE job.  Eric Bana is suppose to play Henry and Rachel McAdams is suppose to play Claire.  I think they are leaving a couple of characters out and changing some others.  I guess we'll see later this  year when the movie comes out.

I read The Time Traveler's Wife when it first came out in hardcover and immediately passed it along to my reader friends (this was before I discovered PBS!!!)  I found it to be a beautiful, intricately plotted and impeccably written love story.  It required all my attention to keep everything straight, and while I normally plow through books (how am I ever going to read EVERYTHING if I take too long?) I really savored this one.  I hope Audrey Niffenegger (what a fantastic name) is finishing a new one right now...

; - )