Book Review: The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

The Time Traveler's Wife is a non-traditional love story. Henry DeTamble is a Chicago librarian at the Newberry with what the author refers to as Chrono Displacement Disorder. This means that Henry randomly and without warning disappears and then resurfaces somewhere else in the past or the future. Where he ends up usually has some significance to his life. 

Henry first meets his wife Clare when he was 28 and she was 20, although Clare remembers him being a part of her life since she was 6.  The story basically follows the full lives of these two characters - how they end up together as well as manage to stay together.

The book alternates between Henry and Clare's point of view. At times this can be confusing to the reader because with the time travel aspect, the story tends to skip around a lot rather than following a steady progression. It becomes less of a distraction once you get farther into the novel though.

Even through all of this chaos, the plot surprisingly continues to develop and move forward.  The characters are well defined and have real, humanized flaws. Over the course of the story, you'll find them quite endearing - faults and all.

This is not my main reading genre. When I first began the story, I was just hoping I could get through it at my normal reading pace.  I was able to finish it in about a week, which isn't bad for a 500+ page work. The ending is a real tear jerker and had me crying my eyes out. I immediately began reading another book right afterwards to snap me out of the depressive funk. So consider yourself warned.

While this isn't the best book I have ever read, it's definitely one worth reading. The Time Traveler's Wife is just one of those profound pieces of fiction that's simply worthy of your time. Just be sure to stick with it even if you're initially confused. It will be well worth it by the time you conclude the novel.

Has anyone else read this book?