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The Time Traveler's Wife (Paperback) (平装)
by Audrey Niffenegger
| Category:
Love story, Time travel, fiction |
| Market price: ¥ 158.00
MSL price:
¥ 148.00
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| Stock:
In Stock |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
Audrey Niffenegger's novel is a vivid exploration of love that can survive anything. |
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AllReviews |
1 2   | Total 2 pages 15 items |
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Judy Wagner (MSL quote), Corona del Mar, CA USA
<>
This novel is not Sci-Fi although it is often referred to as such. This is literary fiction and a truly original and gripping love story. You'll find it hard to put down once you start reading.
I've heard that the publishers had trouble marketing this book at first because they didn't know how to categorize it. It's Literary Fiction with the interesting twist of believable time travel and a love story that will touch your heart and leave you in tears.
The only thing I can think of to compare it to is the movie "Somewhere in Time". If you liked the movie, this book is a must read.
If you're looking for fantasy and wizards, this is not the book for you.
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-23 00:00>
Audrey Niffenegger has taken Jack Finney's "Time and Again" and enhanced it with David Jerrold's "The Man Who Folded Himself" to create something that I believe is totally new. In literature this is a rare achievement, and Niffenegger must be given credit and recognition for original thought.
Her central character is a time traveler as a result of a genetic disorder. The reader must not look for science in her plot: time travel is just a vehicle to explore human emotions and motivations beyond anything in human experience. Suspension of disbelief comes with extraordinary language and tangible emotion rather than a plausible scientific explanation.
"The Time Traveler's Wife" is essentially a love story that tests love and dedication beyond anything from Shakespeare. Worlds are created and remade constantly, almost dizzyingly, as the central character flips between past, present and future, bringing with him bitterness and joy and damnable foreknowledge, and an absolute determination to preserve free will. Time travel without bifurcating universes would preclude free will, so Niffenegger turns this paradox into deeply moving emotions. The reader knows what is inevitable but keeps searching between the lines for salvation.
The book is disorienting at first, and many will put it down, but the story does come together to become manageable in the mind and is very worthy of a re-read once the structure is understood. I was constantly astounded by Niffenegger's skill: her ability to maintain continuity in a very, very complex intersection of timelines and dates, and to do all of this in first-person recollections using beautiful language that seems natural and organic. Matheson's "Bid Time Return" (Somewhere in Time) generated similar emotions, but Niffenegger takes it so much further. Stick with this book. It is truly unique.
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B Wookiee (MSL quote), San Antonio, TX
<2007-01-23 00:00>
"The Time Traveler's Wife" is the best book I've read this year.
Niffenegger masterfully weaves together a time travel story with a romance. Her two lead characters, Henry and Clare are two of the most beautiful, realistic HUMAN characters I have ever read. They show the reader the true definition of unconditional love. They're accepting of eachother and their relationship is loving and complex. Their romance is moving in the same way as the two lovers is "The Notebook" (the movie, not the book).
Despite the unchronological ordering of the scenes throughout the novel, The Time Traveler's Wife is a continous mystery and it unravels sensibly and beautifully.
Read this book!
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J. Gardner (MSL quote), Maryland
<2007-01-23 00:00>
I've a copy of this one in my bedside table because every now and then I like to get it out and read a few pages, because it makes me feel good.
I smile at this book because its essentially a stream of consciousness story told by two lovers who are very honest with their emotions and each other. Neffenegger's writing achieves a sense of honesty and depth that I enjoy very much, but have a difficult time finding in the modern bookstore. Its quite an achievement, I think, to have set a story with this high level of personal realism within a plot that is entirely implausible.
In another sense, however, the constant separations and disappearances are a very powerful tool to explore the threads, power, and pain of love. I would have enjoyed these two wonderful characters regardless of the context.
Neffenegger's portrayal of love and what it means to her was very well done. I'd be inclined to read anything else she'd written, expecting the same high quality.
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Melissa Daniels (MSL quote), West Chester, Ohio
<2007-01-23 00:00>
I have been reading since I was 4 years old and am now going on 30. This is by far the best book I have ever read. I will definitly go back over and over again.
The love between Henry and Clare and all they go through is so complex and wonderful that I never wanted to put the book down, I was late getting back from lunch every day that I was reading it. Niffenegger knew what she was doing when she wrote about their love.
Warning: Ending Ruiner: I was so upset at the end when Henry dies that I cried, I mean I cried like a frecking 2 year old and couldnt stop even after the book was done. Why did he have to die, I was so upset that I just couldnt belive he died. Clare waited and waited for so long for him, and I just cried for her because he doesnt come to see her like he does Alba but I knew he would see her at her end.
I just loved this book I cant say enough about it. I recommended it to about a dozen of my friends and 5 of them are reading it right now. I would love to see a story about Alba and her life.
I give this book 10 stars! A definate read, a definitely enjoyable book. |
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Mollie (MSL quote), Hampton, VA
<2007-01-23 00:00>
I bought this book on a whim, having never heard of it. It was the best impulse purchase I have ever made. Not only was the book compelling and rich with emotion, but it restored my faith in modern American fiction. If you have not read this tale of real romance in an unreal setting, you are doing yourself a disservice. For those of you who are sick of the hype surrounding Dan Brown and Nicolas Sparks, and are looking for something more literary, this is a book for you.
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A reader (MSL quote), Louisville, KY
<2007-01-23 00:00>
In The Time Traveler's Wife, Clare and Henry endure a unique relationship. Sometimes they are married. Sometimes they are not. Sometimes Clare is a little girl and Henry is an middle-aged man. Sometimes they are the same age. Sometimes Clare remembers their long history together, while for Henry it is as if he has only just met her.
These two people have the typical relationship except for one aspect: Henry has an unusually disease-spontaneous time travel.
One moment they will be sitting at the dinner table and the next moment Henry has simply vanished. He has traveled somewhere else in his lifetime. Clare will finish her meal and wait for him to come back. Later he will return, sometimes in good health, sometimes shaken from the dangers of traveling through time.
Is this novel a love story or science fiction story? It's a normal romance except for one thing: Clare endures Henry's chronal infirmity with nomality. She lives through his time travel episodes as if it were something more well-known like an epileptic fit. A true love exists between them.
What a beautiful love story and a heartbreaking tale. Definitely a must read. Despite a lot of time traveling, I didn't feel mixed up at all. The author, Audrey Niffenegger, does a great job of keeping the reader on track.
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A reader (MSL quote), Seattle, WA
<2007-01-23 00:00>
I bought this book wondering if it was my type of book...
While the first part of the book was slow, I kept at it(only afer putting it down to read another book) because I'd heard such great reviews and the premise seemed intriguing. The story picked up toward the middle and I found myself actually getting into it, but then it got tedious and long, every painstaking detail that was laid out didn't add anything at all to the overall story. I got the sense that the author was trying to make some kind of page quota or something with all the "filler".
The book overall was a bit cliche and though written in a unique way it had some predictable moments. I was able to overcome some of that and enjoy the read for what it was. I've had a lot of time on my hands this summer so I read all the way through to the end, but my life is no different beause of it. I am someone who doesn't like to part with my books but I will probably sell this at my next garage sale. That being said, I was touched by the ending and did, in fact, shed a tear, but you have to know I'm a real softy and will cry at anything, even if it is super-cheesy.
While I do feel the author has such great potential-strong voice, interesting prose (though who am I to judge), this book did not challenge me at all and I feel like the love story was too mushy. Several other reviewers have made comments about all the sex and while I wasn't offended by the sex I certainly didn't understand its place in the story, like a lot of other details it just seemed thrown together. With more plot development and better editing I feel like this could have been a winner. On a side note, I would have liked to see more of the sci-fi aspect (even though I'm not a sci-fi reader). I felt that the reader deserved to have some, even a little, resolution about the time-travel aspect of things, so in a sense, even going into it knowing this was a "love" story I still felt a bit cheated.
Haven't written many reviews, as obvious by my ill thought out review here, but to get a sense of comparison of books I have truly enjoyed, a few of my favorites are: Ann MacDonald's "Fall On Your Knees" and "The Way the Crow Flies" , Barbara Kingsolver's "Poisonwood Bible" (but NOT "Pigs in Heaven"), Janet Fitch's "White Oleander", Rohinton Mistry's "A Fine Balance". Mostly I enjoyed these books because of the brilliant prose, depth of characters and plot development.
A few books I give thumbs down to that seemed to get rave reviews are: The Lovely Bones (needed more character development), The Kite Runner (not well written--if you want good books about India read anything by Rohinton Mistry), and The Secret Life of Bees (just boring, couldn't relate).
To sum it up...if you like stories about love and romance (i.e. Message in a Bottle, though by no means am I comparing this book to that awful one-this one is one hundred times better in writing) and don't want to have to think too much, or mind wading through insipid details then you will probably enjoy "The Time Traveler's Wife". If you're looking to be completely moved and inspired, you may want to look further.
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Simone Simpson (MSL quote), Abilene, Texas USA
<2007-01-23 00:00>
When I was initially told about this book I was skeptical. It didn't sound like my cup of tea at all... I'm glad Matthew knew me well enough to insist upon my reading it.
Amazing. Audrey Niffenegger grabs you by heart and mind and takes you on an impossible journey that seems in all entirety quite possible. The love between the two characters is not only realistic, but the depth of real that is realized is something more than many of us will ever understand and I must give accolade to an author who can capture such a relationship in a book.
Science fiction readers will be tickled with the possibilities, romance readers will be swept off their feet, and conspiracy theorists will run with the concepts available in the book. You, the reader, will be glad you read this book. |
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The New Yorker (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-23 00:00>
Spirited . . . Niffenegger plays ingeniously in her temporal hall of mirrors. |
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1 2 | Total 2 pages 15 items |
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