The Time Traveler's Wife Review

In an attempt to broaden my horizons, I decided that I should read more this year. Not only business section of the Post, friends’ blogs but also actual books. Crazy, I know. Anyways, I made it a goal to read at least six non-computer related books this year. The first of book I read was The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. It was recommended by a couple of friends so I eventually "borrowed" from one of them to read. Whether or not I return is up to various gods, including the god of laziness.

The Book was a very good read. It was not nearly as addictive as Brown's The Davinci Code but it was still tough to put down. At first the book is hard to follow because the story is told from the perspective of the two protagonists (Can a book have two protagonists? If not, then it's really up for debate which character is the protagonist. Can a book have a protagonist(s) without an antagonist(s)? Or can an antagonist(s) be an object i.e. time?. And the author switches the between the two very often. After the first fifteen pages or so you will get hang of it. The book actually starts out rather oddly (7 year old meets a naked man in his 30's from the future) but grows into a love story that endures many tests over "time".

I'm still working on my critic style (really I’m not) so I’m not going to go into the writer's style and her use of various literary tools in the book and whether or not they were used appropriately. But I'm going to tell you that she does a fantastic job telling a love story in a very unique way. The book also raises questions of fate.  Are events in our live pre-programmed and we are just acting accordingly or do we have free will and in effect shape our future? Although the plot is not as wild and crazy as some would like, the author weaves enough webs to keep you reading without getting confused. While the ending was a bit drawn out and the self pity of the one of the main characters was completely unnecessary, it is so superbly written that it will have you wanting to commit suicide if you were in his place. To close the book, the author does and excellent job of tying all the loose ends

If my review doesn't have you sold, just think it was "a Today Show book club selection" and "One of People’s top ten books of the year.

Now that I'm done with this book, I'm looking for the second one. Any suggestions?