The Time Traveler's Wife By Audrey Niffenegger
Paperback: 518 pages
Publisher: Vintage; New edition edition (6 Jan 2005) Source: Bought
Rating;
It's dark now and I am very tired. I love you, always. Time is nothing."
An enchanting debut and a spellbinding tale of fate and belief in the bonds of love, The Time Traveler's Wife is destined to captivate readers for years to come.
I read the Time Traveler’s Wife some year back, maybe it wasn’t the right time, or maybe I just needed to wait a few years either way I'm glad that I had this random urge to re-read it without quite knowing why until now. (I’ll keep you guessing)
My Thoughts - Henry meets Clare when she is six and he 36. He know so much about her, her perfections her imperfection, scars like the cigarette mark that still lingers on her breast, a mark that is a mystery for him even now until much later in the book. At this age he’s with Clare wholly and completely yet he finds himself reliving her past to ensure their future. Gosh the novel is beautiful; Clare and Henry made me believe in love whilst I was reading their story. They make me want to find someone like Henry but someone that will always stay by my side and not keep me waiting all my life, but then he wouldn’t be Henry would he? And I am no Clare.
The patience that this woman has, this girl, this teenager, all sides to Clare are incredible but saddening. She waits for so long and I just don’t know how she keeps herself sane. I guess the thought of him returning to her is one of the reasons behind it.
It’s interesting how the chapters are played out, each mark the year and the age of Clare and Henry, since there is no telling where and when he Time Travels he gets in all kinds of tough situations. It’s through self defence that he has taught himself to pick- pocket, joyride cars, pick locks and steal food, the whole lot to survive!
There are parts of Henry that I didn’t like, his younger years when he is around 28 all the way to his late thirties includes him as he basically put it “fucking other women” he at least doesn’t hide from Clare that he was greatly promiscuous, you see he doesn’t meet Clare until he is 26 but Clare has known him for a life time. When she first comes across this 26 year old younger and arrogant selfish version of her darling sweet older Henry it takes some getting used to. He’s crude and yes selfish, he has hurt so many women, damaged a few along the way but Clare it seems helps him grow and mature, almost nurtures him. Her love moulds him and takes over and will eventually form him back to her Henry.
What a love story; I grew to love Henry (The older one) what I loved was how the author had managed to give each of them their own individual voice, no matter how old or young Clare and Henry were at that particular time, their ages were recognisable because the author had made them somehow completely different individuals. How she did it I have no idea, but it’s pretty damn amazing.
Yes the book does have some very dark elements and thankfully I am not one to shy away from reality, if anything when portrayed in a book beautifully in this case in its own twisted way I welcomed it. I accepted the tragedies that followed because a happy soppy ending seemed almost superficial. There is never truly a happy ending, life as much as we wish it is never going to be perfect, so like Henry and Clare we might as well make the best of what we have and learn to live with it.
A character that leaves me uncomfortable thinking of even now is Ingrid. Her story is a depressing and tragic one. A lot about her is left unsaid and I wish that I had gotten to know her better, to have understood her intentions more, to have given that young Henry a slap for breaking her the way he did and you know what the worst part is? I really don’t think that even many years later he cared, even when she hit rock bottom, he just didn't care. I really felt for her and it made me think for a second and question, does this mans love only reach as far as Clare, does he not have a heart for anyone else? But then I shake my head and think of the undeniable love and pain he shares for his beautiful mother, the love he craves from his father, the comrade and questionable friend he has found in Gomez and respect in Helen. Why not Ingrid I ask myself, who perhaps needed him most.
Charisse and Gomez and Helen are the closest to friends that Clare has. Helen I became very fond of although she wasn’t featured much in the book, the times she did appear, her strong vibrant personality glowed and her loyalty towards Clare was immense. Charisse made me think a little more, she was a good friend but perhaps weak? I read an interview where the interviewer asked the author if Charisse was either incredibly strong or just weak? Does it make her a strong women just because she is willing to put up with her man loving another women? Does the fact that he stands by her side when he would rush in another women's arms in a click make it okay? I have to admit I was weary of him from the beginning and I just didn’t know what to think of him, he obviously can’t be trusted and doesn’t take long towards the end to pounce when he gets the chance; I lost a huge amount of respect for him because of that little spectacle of his, because he unfortunately only proved me right.
There is so much more, things I dare not explain because I simply couldn’t take that away from you. Let me just say the ending in the movie is absurd and nothing like the actual ending. Yes the movie was fantastic, but if the ending was going to be so much further from the truth they should have scrapped the movie altogether, I was angry, still am when I think of it and question as to why they would even dare to make such a huge change.
At least I can say that the book stays true to it’s word, it features loss, love, anticipation, death and redemption. and endless waiting. The ending even now leaves me stumped, would I have wanted it any other way?... probably not because a part of me is a hopeless romantic, but to think of it realistically I can’t help but feel like she made a big mistake. I also feel that he shouldn’t have told her what he did so that she could have had the opportunity to be free, those words held her. A part of me feels that it was the the exact opposite of what he would have wanted, or maybe not, who knows what his intention behind those words really were.
What I cannot deny is the fragile beauty of this novel and the tremendous affect it had on me many years ago and continues to do so even now. A masterpiece in itself The Time Traveler's wife is something that can never be outdone or created ever again.
"Do you ever miss him? Every day. Every minute. Every minute, she says. Yes, it's that way, isn't it?"
"I'm at a loss because I am in love with a man who is standing before me with no memories of me at all.
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