Book Review: The Time Traveler’s Wife

Title: The Time Traveler’s Wife
Author: Audrey Niffenegger
Length: 528 pages
Genre: Romance

Plot Summary: Diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder known as Chrono-Impairment, Henry DeTamble involuntarily travels through time, disappearing without warning and reappearing naked in different eras of his own past and future. His chaotic existence takes a unexpected turn when he meets Clare Abshire in a Chicago library—a woman who has known and loved him her entire life, though he is meeting her for the very first time. As their non-linear relationship unfolds, Clare navigates a lifetime of waiting for Henry’s unpredictable appearances, while Henry struggles with the harrowing knowledge of future events he cannot change, testing the limits of their bond across the bounds of time.

Review: The novel is enjoyable enough in that it kept the page turning. I also appreciate the plausible gene research that goes into explaining time traveling. But my praise shall end there. Revered as one of the “best romance books” of all times, I honestly failed to see any romance. Quite a relief, actually, since I’m not a romance reader. But the fact is, I wasn’t rooting for our main couple at all. Beside some knowledge of French, Latin, and comments on music, our male protagonist lacks any true interest (unless you consider sex and drugs interests)… Our female protagonist seemingly is preoccupied with one single, passive activity: waiting. In short, we have very boring, one dimensional characters exploring the multi-dimensional concept of time. As for prose, Audrey has a few very nicely written passages, but the rest read like a first draft in need of editing.

Rating: 2/5