The Time Traveler's Wife

In true fashion, when I found out this was going to be a movie, I borrowed this book from a friend to quickly read before I watch the movie.

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This is a book about Clare and Henry. Clare is visited throughout her life by a man. She is intrigued by him and over time falls in love with him, even though he is in his 30's and 40's and she is in her teens. Henry, the man, has a faulty gene which causes him to time travel. He is unable to control when it happens or where he is going. For Henry, it started at an early age and he has learned to adapt.

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This story is told in first person through Clare and Henry. It is a love story and a story about the human condition. I found it to be a tad confusing at times. Each section tells the time and date and age of both Henry and Clare, and was not always in chronological order. Often I would find myself paging back to see if Henry had traveled or if I was in the present time. The times that Henry and Clare made love read more like a soft porn and really seemed out of place. Also there were times when Henry met himself and I found that hard to reconcile. I guess it was hard to wrap my mind around the fact that time was not linear...and how one could be in the same time both young and old. Also, there was an overwhelming feeling of predestination that seemed, well, depressing.

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I wasn't a big fan, and this is one case where I think the movie may be better than the book. It was a book where I kept reading, knowing how it was going end, yet finding myself hoping that the author would take a different route. It had the feel of a Nicolas Sparks book and I think if you like his books, you would like this one.

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I give this one 2 out of 5 stars.