I picked this up at a library book sale last Saturday. I'd seen the movie a few months ago, and had heard good reviews of the book. Despite the length (over 500 pages), it was a quick read.
Henry DeTamble is an involuntarily time-traveling librarian with serious substance abuse problems. Clare Abshire is a beautiful paper artist with a sizable trust fund. They meet in the present and during Henry's sporadic voyages through time. They fall in love. They marry. They live. I enjoyed considering the fascinating and disturbing question of free will and fate in Henry and Clare's lives. But though I like a good love story, I wasn't terribly impressed by The Time Traveler's Wife.
Perhaps I've been spoiled by classic literature - it's hard to find a well-written love story to equal that of Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester. Maybe I am also spoiled by the good hearts and lives of my friends and family - it's hard to fall in love with characters who seem so selfish and shallow by comparison. This book left me dissatisfied, thinking, This is it? I may be young, but I know that there is more to life, and love, than this. There are also better-developed characters, more cogent plots, and better overall examples of writing in the literary universe. It's entertaining, but not great.
I think I'll go read some Dickens.
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