This weekend my friend Andrew asked me why I don’t write book reviews on my blog since I seem to be reading a new book every time we talk. I honestly don’t know why I haven’t written more book reviews. I definitely have an opinion and I definitely love to read! So, here starts a new feature on my blog – book reviews.
The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger, has been sitting in my pile of “to-read” books for about two years. I originally purchased it some time in 2006 and started reading it, but for some reason I couldn’t get into it and it has been sitting on the bottom of my nightstand, dejected and dusty. My friend Alana recently told me that I absolutely must read it since it’s one of her favorite books. So, of course I had to do what she said, especially since she is a fellow English Literature B.A. like me! I sincerely thank her for making me read this book. I had been missing out!
It should be no surprise to anyone who knows me that I adore a good love story. The Time Traveler’s Wife is a great, enduring, amazing and fantastic love story. It is the story of two people – an artist named Clare and a time-traveler named Henry – who meet at different points in their life and begin a relationship that literally transcends time and space. Don’t let the science fiction portion of the story turn you off. Niffenegger craftily works it into the story in a way that is believable and very creative.
The general creativity of this novel is another attractive feature, after the basic love story itself. All the characters are original and interesting and their interactions provide true slices of human life. Niffenegger was also inventive with the actual telling of the story – told in alternating points of view/and time from Henry and Clare’s perspectives. There was nothing trite or common about the flow of the story, nor the ending. The prose was magical, well-written, and lyrical. To me, this novel is a modern masterpiece, and it now holds a place on my list of absolute favorites. I will be re-reading this book many times in the years to come.
***** stars
1 comment:
A friend of mine LOVED that book and got it for me as a gift. I just couldn't get into it, so back in the pile it went. Hearing that you had the same trouble with starting it, I will give it another try. Thanks!
Post a Comment