The Time Traveler's Wife (Harvest Book)

Henry De Tamble, yakışıklı bir kütüphanecidir. "Chrono Displacement disorder" hastalığından muzdariptir. İradesi dışında, tetikleyici hiç bir sebep olmadan ortadan kaybolur ve zamanda yolculuk yapar; geçmişine ve geleceğine gider. Hayatının ayarsızlığı yüzünden ilişkileri de ayar tutmaz. Hastalığı bir yana,...more

Henry De Tamble, yakışıklı bir kütüphanecidir. "Chrono Displacement disorder" hastalığından muzdariptir. Ä°radesi dışında, tetikleyici hiç bir sebep olmadan ortadan kaybolur ve zamanda yolculuk yapar; geçmiÅŸine ve geleceÄŸine gider. Hayatının ayarsızlığı yüzünden iliÅŸkileri de ayar tutmaz. Hastalığı bir yana, annesini küçük yaÅŸta kaybetmiÅŸtir bir kazada. Babası, kazadan sonra kendini alkole vermiÅŸ oÄŸlundan uzaklaÅŸmıştır. Henry, ev özlemi ve güvenlik arayışı içinde olan fevri bir karakter. Claire, güzel bir heykeltıraÅŸ. Anlayışlı, sabırlı, nazik ve tatlı. Tanıştıklarında Claire 6, henry 36 yaşındadır. Ä°kisi gerçek zamanlarında tekrar karşılaşıncaya kadar Henry, Claire'i küçük bir çocuk, delikanlı ve yaÅŸlı bir adam olarak ziyaret eder. O'nun koruyucusu, sırdaşı, arkadaşı, sevgilisi ve sonunda kocası olur. Kitap, Henry ve Claire'in anlattığı bölümlerden oluÅŸuyor. Her bölümün başında kaç yaşında oldukları belirtiliyor. Evlendikleri ana kadar geçen sürede eÄŸlenceli, heyecanlı, ÅŸaşırtıcı, romantizmi abartanlar için öykünülecek bir hikaye anlatılır. Ä°lk buluÅŸma, aile ile tanışma, düğün töreni ile ilgili bölümler bittikten sonra, gerçekten aslında ikisinin neyle karşı karşıya olduÄŸunun farkına varırız. Hikaye acılaşır, acımasızlaşır. Sonun ne olduÄŸu apaçık bellidir. Ama bunun ne zaman olacağının belirsizliÄŸi derin bir umutsuzluk yaratır. Henry geçmiÅŸ ve gelecek arasında gelip giderken Claire için zaman durur sanki. Sorgulamadan okursanız son derece baÅŸarılı ve orjinal bir roman. Sorgulasanız da piÅŸman olmazsınız. Claire neden aşık olmuÅŸtur Henry'e, güzel, tatlı, nazik olmasının dışında Claire kimdir, mesleki kaygıları yok mudur. Bunların cevabı yok kitapta. Kadın adama aşık iÅŸte o kadar. Bunun baÅŸtan kabul edilmesi gerekiyor. Henry, gelecekteki karısını çocukken görüyor, annesini kendisi daha çok küçükken gidip görüyor. Kazayı yaşıyor. Peki tüm bunlar bu adamı nasıl etkiliyor? Yani tüm bunlara ÅŸahit olmamızın nedeni ne? Ä°ÅŸte orası belli deÄŸil. O kadar kusur kadı kızında da olur diyelim. Benim fikrim, kitap -2 sene önce çıkmasına raÄŸmen- bu senenin en orjinal kitaplarından biri olduÄŸudur.   hide

You know how Leonardo da Vinci could draft a rough, unfinished sketch, yet you could see every emotion in the subject's face, get a deep and full feeling of the mood of the entire piece? Few artists can achieve that, and it's rare in books as well. There's a certain sketchy moodiness-I would say this novel, some Lisa Tucker, Neil Gaiman's better works, and Sara Backer can create that melancholy...more

You know how Leonardo da Vinci could draft a rough, unfinished sketch, yet you could see every emotion in the subject's face, get a deep and full feeling of the mood of the entire piece? Few artists can achieve that, and it's rare in books as well. There's a certain sketchy moodiness-I would say this novel, some Lisa Tucker, Neil Gaiman's better works, and Sara Backer can create that melancholy lfetime's fullness out of a rough sketch. This book is more of a tearjerker than you might expect, so come equipped with Kleenex! The beginning was fun, intriguing, and surprisingly complex; the action let up a little in the middle as husband and wife began to try to have a child and the husband's "condition" began to seem tediously extrapolated, and I couldn't read the ending without crying at just about every page. But still, a talented debut! I am suprised a first-time writer could manage a plotline so complex (oh, and as a sidenote, this novel contains a veritable what's-what of places to visit in Chicago! GAWD it made me miss the delicious cuisine, world-class museums, and excellent bookstores!).   hide

There are pros and cons for THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE, the balance of which makes me hesitate to rate it more than three starts. The pros: it is well-written, with lyrical prose and smooth progression despite the chaotic nature of its premise. The concept of a person being unhinged in time is handled well, and Niffenegger manages to avoid all the potential paradoxical pitfalls that might...more

There are pros and cons for THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE, the balance of which makes me hesitate to rate it more than three starts. The pros: it is well-written, with lyrical prose and smooth progression despite the chaotic nature of its premise. The concept of a person being unhinged in time is handled well, and Niffenegger manages to avoid all the potential paradoxical pitfalls that might otherwise plague a story of time travel. The cons: like many modern fiction books, THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE shoots itself in the foot with the flippant inclusion of coarse language and graphic sexual content. It often attempts to use sex to illustrate expressions of love, only to fail when the scenes become excessively descriptive. Both of these things only serve to interrupt the otherwise beautiful flow of the writing style, bringing what could be a very touching book down to the level of what amounts to soft pornography. Overall, not a bad read, but also not worth all the hype and acclaim it seems to still be getting.   hide

Well, looks like I finally got around to reading this book. And I'm kind of wondering why I never bothered to before for this book truly is everything everyone described about it. It's romantic. It's a solid sciencie-fiction story. It's a full-on entertaining read. The story revolves around Henry and Clare, a husband and wife whose love story is unconventional due to Henry's time-traveling...more

Well, looks like I finally got around to reading this book. And I'm kind of wondering why I never bothered to before for this book truly is everything everyone described about it. It's romantic. It's a solid sciencie-fiction story. It's a full-on entertaining read. The story revolves around Henry and Clare, a husband and wife whose love story is unconventional due to Henry's time-traveling nature--a medical condition, of all things. It goes over their first meetings to the end of their romances. The writing is lovely and poetic--sometimes it gets rather flowerly, which may please some and repel others. But what really attached me to this story was the focus on the characters--this is a story about people. This is a modern classic. Loved it.   hide

This book combines time travel, usually the stuff of science fiction, with a love story. Henry DeTamble has a genetic disorder that causes him to involuntarily travel in time, usually to the past but occasionally to the future. The first time he does it he is five years old and he meets his twenty-four year old self at the Field Museum of Natural History in the middle of the night. Henry grows...more

This book combines time travel, usually the stuff of science fiction, with a love story. Henry DeTamble has a genetic disorder that causes him to involuntarily travel in time, usually to the past but occasionally to the future. The first time he does it he is five years old and he meets his twenty-four year old self at the Field Museum of Natural History in the middle of the night. Henry grows up, continuing to time travel but managing to graduate university and get a job as a librarian at the Newberry Library. When he is twenty-eight he meets Clare Abshire, a twenty year old art student who comes to the Newberry to do some research. Clare reacts strongly when she meets Henry because Clare has known him since she was six years old. Henry travelled back in time when he was 36 to meet Clare as a 6 year old in a clearing near her home and he continues to visit Clare up to the time she is 18. However, for the 28 year old Henry, Clare is a total stranger. He can tell by her reaction that she is someone important to him so they arrange to meet for dinner. This gives you some idea of the complexity of this book. The characters shift between the present time and their life together to their meetings in the past and sometimes occurrences in the future. It is important to read the passage headings which give the date and the characters’ ages so you are clear as to when the action takes place. I thought the story was unique and interesting. The main characters are well developed and the problems that result from Henry’s genetic disorder are believable if the disorder is believable. As a long time science fiction reader I don’t have any problem with believing in time travel and the concept of it resulting from a genetic disorder is a new and interesting twist. However, I think that if it was a genetic anomaly there would be more than one person exhibiting it and that does not seem to be the case (or at least it’s not the case until Henry can father a child). That’s one of my quibbles with this book. The other reservation I have about it is the way that Clare’s life seems to be predetermined. I felt like Clare had no real choices about her life and that is sad. Even at the end of the book Clare is waiting for something to happen because Henry told her it would. Nevertheless, I am glad I read the book and I will recommend it to others.   hide

Obviously the writers first novel, disconnected and poorly written with oddly inappropriate descriptive language and pedophile like under tones. Page after page of weird and irrelevant babble with sparse and sporadic almost funny one liners. A complete and utter waste of $15.00. I would NOT recommend it. The ending was horrible in and of itself, though, sadly enough, it was more impressive than...more

Obviously the writers first novel, disconnected and poorly written with oddly inappropriate descriptive language and pedophile like under tones. Page after page of weird and irrelevant babble with sparse and sporadic almost funny one liners. A complete and utter waste of $15.00. I would NOT recommend it. The ending was horrible in and of itself, though, sadly enough, it was more impressive than the rest of the book, which still isn't a compliment. I don't know... many upon many of people have read this book and absolutely adored it, I on the other hand am not convinced that we've read the same novel. I can only hope that another more experienced author takes the idea or concept, if you will, of 'The Time Travelers Wife' and produces something amazing. I believe that the inventive and mysterious storyline could turn out a fantastic piece of literary art, but unfortunately Audrey just didn't do it justice. I give this book a rating of one star.... and that is being generous.   hide

This is the best book I have ever read. I rarely cry at the end of a book, and when I do, it's usually silent tears. But holy crap. This book was so real (not in the sense that a person can have a genetic disorder that causes them to spontaneously time travel), but with emotions and life. It was absolutely amazing and beautiful. I sobbed! I sobbed for about an hour, so miserable, because...more

This is the best book I have ever read. I rarely cry at the end of a book, and when I do, it's usually silent tears. But holy crap. This book was so real (not in the sense that a person can have a genetic disorder that causes them to spontaneously time travel), but with emotions and life. It was absolutely amazing and beautiful. I sobbed! I sobbed for about an hour, so miserable, because of the ending and because I had finished the greatest book I have ever read. I didn't think I would like it. I normally don't go for romance or science fiction, but wow. This book really blew me away. To an extent, it changed my life. I value my boyfriend, and now, I can't wait until I graduate so I can start my life with him. This book is very personal to me now, and I'm eager to own a copy and re-read it. I've already told all of my friends that they have to read it. You, reader, must read it. Read it. It's beautiful. Excellent. But to be a little critical, this book IS hard to follow sometimes. The author, with each chapter, jumps to different points in time. Understand that she does this, though, because the book is about a man who spontaneously time-travels. I have heard from one friend who I suggested this book to that he "cringed at the writing style". It's a great book, but it largely depends on what your type is. Give it a shot, and don't put it down simply because you're a little confused - as you read on, it will make sense, and if you finish it, you'll probably want to read it again just to really put the story into perspective.   hide

I enjoyed this book; and as an aspiring librarian really enjoyed the main character's profession, except not much detail was provided. The implausibility of this time traveler holding down a regular job was covered in the book, although it's still hard to believe that someone frequently appearing naked in the stacks or disappearing at inopportune times would not put his job in jeopardy. Not even...more

I enjoyed this book; and as an aspiring librarian really enjoyed the main character's profession, except not much detail was provided. The implausibility of this time traveler holding down a regular job was covered in the book, although it's still hard to believe that someone frequently appearing naked in the stacks or disappearing at inopportune times would not put his job in jeopardy. Not even a warning or being written up? His boss was very lenient. Despite that, the book was fairly well written, although I thought it was way too long. 546 pages! Easily could have chopped out some pages or scenes that didn't contribute overall to the book's narrative. If someone was trying to conceive I would caution against reading the book right now. They too have troubles and have many miscarriages. Overall I found that it was quite interesting that typically Henry traveled to the past and rarely to the future. I would have like a slight amount more here in why, and when he did go to the future why was that different? After reading the book the characters lingered in my mind for days. yes, this book lingers. I recommend reading the book.   hide

I've heard many good things about this book, which made it even more disappointing. The main male character, Henry, felt like the author's masturbatory fantasy of what her ideal man would be rather than a realistic character. As I was reading the book, I was reminded over and over that the author is a female who apparently can't write male characters. I can't think of a single good thing about...more

I've heard many good things about this book, which made it even more disappointing. The main male character, Henry, felt like the author's masturbatory fantasy of what her ideal man would be rather than a realistic character. As I was reading the book, I was reminded over and over that the author is a female who apparently can't write male characters. I can't think of a single good thing about the book. I'm sure there are good things, but there are so many faults that they outweigh anything positive in my mind. The book dragged on and on - it could easily be compressed into half its current length. The supporting characters were painfully stereotypic - Clare's family's servants were taken straight out of Gone With The Wind, and so was Mrs. Kim. Clare turned psychotic in the middle of the book, with her seven miscarriages. Am I supposed to sympathize with her, or find that romantic? All I felt was annoyance and surprise that her husband didn't have as much as a single conversation with her about the reason she was so desperate to have a biologic child with him - yet more proof that all the characters shared a single mind - the author's. Leaving the best for last, here is a quote from page 97 - "Hmm. Never would of guessed." This woman is a professor who teaches writing, among other things, people. Words fail me.   hide