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| The Time Traveler's Wife | 
 enlarge | Author: Audrey Niffenegger
Publisher: Harvest Books
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
Buy New: $2.01
You Save: $11.99 (86%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (1651 reviews)
Sales Rank: 751
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 560
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.3 x 1
ISBN: 015602943X
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780156029438
ASIN: 015602943X
Publication Date: May 27, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Wow... just Wow August 12, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I will start by admitting that I can be excessively critical of female writers. I often want them to transcend gender stereotypes and push their readers to think critically. I generally give free passes to those who are simply writing beach novels because they aren't claiming to be groundbreaking. However, I get the feeling that The Time Traveler's Wife was intended as an epic saga of love and loss amid a world that just doesn't understand. Gross. Audrey Niffenegger disappointed me on so many levels.
Let's look at the book from a distance (spoilers abound!). Imagine yourself at age six as a member of the opposite sex appears naked in your presence and urges you not to call the police or tell your parents. Why? Because this person is your soulmate and the two of you are destined to be together forever. Now, I don't know about you, but I watched a fair amount of children's programming as a child and the whole "don't talk to strangers, especially if they're naked" thing is drilled into you pretty hard. Yet, Claire pretty blindly believes Henry and anticipates his visits. But, as we're told, Henry is sexy and is remarkably forgiven quite often because of this. Also, he has no sense of humor and a wicked anger management problem.
But here's the part that really got me: Henry is dominant to the point of controlling (read: emotionally abusive). He tells Claire of their future marriage so early on in her life that she never really has the chance to experience other relationships. She sees all interaction beyond Henry as pointless and as a result, spends her life doing absolutely nothing. Way to make the title character as boring as possible, Ms. Niffenegger.
There were times that I imagined Niffenegger setting Claire up as an anti-hero. That maybe, just maybe, she is the epitome of what the reader should strive not to be and by the end she will have this profound realization that she let some magical disappearing man control her life even after he dies. She doesn't. But, lest we forget, Niffenegger often reminds us how brutally hot Henry is.
Moral of the Story: Denying yourself the freedom to make your own choices will ultimately cause you to have sex with your best friend's husband on the kitchen counter.
The End.
 Floored August 7, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
It took me about two days to read this one, and I must say I am blown away. I have read many, many books-this is by far one of the best. I understand why a few people may not enjoy it; however, I believe that everyone should give it a try (most of you wont walk away disappointed). Five stars.
Haunting yet relatable and warming August 4, 2008
This is the kind of book that stays with you....I finished it last night and can't get it out of my head this morning. It is a beautiful love story yet real (even though the guy's a time traveler). It is a clever story that will touch your heart and warm your soul. It was a little confusing at first, jumping around all the different periods in time, but once I got tha hang of it I was hooked - I couldn't put it down! I give the book four stars because although it touched me deeply, I was not moved to tears - I save five stars for those works of art that can squeeze a tear from my emotionally hardened self...LOL. I.E. - 'A Thousand Splendid Suns'. I highly recommend 'The Time Travelr's Wife' - Bravo Niffenegger!
 I gave it away and it wouldn't stay gone! August 4, 2008
2 out of 7 found this review helpful
I applaud all of you who gave this one star. I think, hands down, this is the worst book I've ever read. I was given this book by three different people. Each time, I passed it on, another copy was gifted to me.
I forget where it's located but there is a blog that states, "It was so bad, I threw it at the wall." Well, personally, I think the copy should be burned and the ashes mailed back to the author.
I thought the characters were flat and uninteresting. I also found the guy slightly creepy.
Please, don't waste your time!
Great Love Story August 1, 2008
I read this book a few years ago and absolutely loved it. The characters were easy to connect with and I felt a little empty after finishing the book because I cared about the characters so much. The story is very compelling and I found myself turning the pages to find out what happens next. The ending definitely did not disappoint. This book is a gem. Read it and then watch the movie when it comes out in December 2008 (starring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams).
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