h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

by lostbagpuss999
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Posting 3


THE TIME TRAVELERS WIFE - AUDREY NIFFENEGGER


This is a beguiling book, almost from the first page I found it totally absorbing, the main characters are very well written and I liked them enormously - so much so that I cried at the end, mainly because I didn’t want the book to finish.
Basically this is a love story but is far from being run of the mill boy meets girl. For a start boy meets girl when he is thirty-six and she six, and that is the problem, in fact he is a man who has a genetic fault which causes him to go backwards and forwards in time . This is not, however a Sci-Fi novel and he cannot do wonderful things, in fact the whole process is very painful both physically and mentally for him and what makes the mental strain is the fact that he cannot change anything either in the past or the future. The fact that he travels through time is treated as a medical disorder so we don’t get into the realms of Sci-Fi and aliens which is what keeps this book grounded and believable.
In the beginning the story has a cosiness and a warmth but as the story unwinds little patches of darkness start to manifest themselves and the whole tenor changes you find yourself worrying about them, he for his physical wellbeing as sometimes the situations he finds himself in when he leaves the present are less than ideal, violence sometimes befalls him, she for her mental well being as their life together progresses. Also darkness gathers around what seems to be an idyllic family life and gradually, gradually you feel more for them as characters
The thing that keeps the story shining is undoubtedly the love that Henry and Clare have for each other and the way they deal with the situation.
The way it is written is also unusual - chapters are headed with the ages of Henry and Clare which enables the reader to keep track of the chronology and also is narrated by one or the other of them, sounds tricky and maybe messy but is not at all, it all falls into place very naturally.
I would recommend this book highly.

I would also recommend this book unreservedly. Even the second time I read it (within a year), I cried. Its a moving love story, an interesting twist on time travel and the potential hard wiring of the brain.

The characters are warmly and sympathetically written, but Henry as a younger man has all the flaws you would expect to find in a single man unaware that his destiny has or hasn't been already designed for him (meeting Claire - depending on how you look at it).

It takes concentration to keep with the time changes, but it is well worth it I promise - a lovely, warm and moving book. Do it - you'll enjoy it!!

Ljx

i agree - this book has stayed with me and i am sure i could read it again which doesnt happen for me with many modern books