NWR: Speaking of books....

M&M's_Maui

For those of you who read The Time Traveler's Wife, what about it did you love?  I just finished it and while it was ok and a good read, I didn't LOVE it.  (was really hoping I was gonna love it 'cause it has all of these glowing reviews)  I'll admit it was a great concept for a love story and there was good character development; but personally I didn't feel as if the author did a good enough job making me feel the love between Claire & Henry; at least not until the last 30 pages or so.So for those of you that did love it, would you mind sharing with me why you love it?  Was it because it was a great literary piece with an abundant amount of literary references?  (which I didn't get about 75% of them btw, haha)  Or am I little off on this one and you thought the author did a great job portraying their love story?  Not judging if it's the former...I'm really just curious. I kind of felt like all the reviews were portraying/marketing it as a great love story that transcends time but I felt more like I was reading a book for one of my college english courses (with all of these underlying tones and references)  I dunno.... I just wanted know your thoughts...TIA (& I hope I'm not offending anyone!)

lelekay

No worries, my best friend HATED the book after I made her read it based on my glowing rec! First of all, I don't really think of it as mainly a love story. (Though, I do agree that this is how the movie has been marketed.) I think if you go into it expecting a sweeping romance, you'll be disappointed. Yes, the romance between Henry and Clare is a big part of the book, but I don't think it's the POINT of the story.....just my opinion. I think of it as more a philosophical read....something to get you thinking. MH and I have talked at length about the implications of time travel (and, no, I'm not generally a sci-fi fan AT ALL, but I found the way it was presented in this book to be fascinating). This book brings up a lot in the way of destiny/fate as opposed to choice regarding your life's path.....something that I've always wondered and thought about. You certainly won't get any answers from this book (it is just a work of fiction, after all!), but I gets me thinking every time I re-read it. I do love the character development, too. I'm a big character person, as opposed to heavy plot. I feel like I know these people, and want to be their friends. Also, another (small) part of why I love it is that I live in Chicago. I know all of the places mentioned in the book, many of them very well. The descriptions are spot-on. And, I've met Audrey, and she's one of the most humble, sweet, intelligent people I've ever met. I just love talking to her.

lelekay

By the way, I haven't seen the movie yet.....I'm going this afternoon. I have absolutely ZERO hopes for it, though. The things that I love most about the book cannot (I don't think) be portrayed adequately on screen. This is a thought-provoking book, but I feel (already, based upon the previews) that the movie will focus only on the love/romance part of it, and miss the mark on the rest. We'll see, I suppose! I'm trying to have a good attitude about it!

mauidandy

I agree with Leah, the movie isn't going to be at all like the book and will probably focus on the love story part....but I read it when it first came out, before all of the hype and couldn't put it down. The story plot is just so amazing, how everything is interwoven and it blew my mind to think about how if this event never happened, then what would the present be like....and if the characters would have only done this, then maybe this wouldn't have happened. I don't know, I loved the entire plot...the characters, the time travel, everything.

M&M's_Maui

Thanks ladies!  That's what I was wondering about, whether people loved it for it's great literary piece or if they loved it 'cause it was great love story.  (And it isn't just the movie that's portraying it as a love story... on my book itself are these glowing reviews about it being a love story).  So yeah, as a literary piece it is a great book.  (There are great underlying tones and themes in the novel)  As a love story, it was just ok.I do like the character development and I also liked the fact that they're relationship wasn't glamorized - they did feel like real people.  I guess I was kind of feeling like aliblu; that their "love" felt more like "lust."  And even though he kept saying that they still have the freedom of choice in their lives, it's almost as if Claire had no choice but to love him... she's been obsessed with him since she was 6.  Thanks again for the discussion ladies!    You ladies rock!