Audrey Niffenegger's book The Time Traveler's Wife sat on my bookshelf for quite some time before I was finally inspired to pick it up. Despite hearing many laudatory reviews from reliable sources, I must admit that my interest finally piqued when I heard they were making it into a movie. There's something genuinely satisfying about watching a film that has been adapted from a novel you know well, and I figured this was a good opportunity to enjoy that experience.
The Time Traveler's Wife tells of the unconventional relationship between two lovers, one of whom (Henry) is a time traveller. He introduces himself to his *future* wife, Clare, when she is a small child and he a grown man. Clare introduces herself to Henry when he is twenty-eight and she twenty. Confused yet? Actually, this book is not at all confusing, and flows quite nicely. Normally I'm not one for maudlin love stories, but this one is very well written and not half as sentimental as the film version's previews make it out to be. That Niffenegger was able to construct such a bouncy narrative and leave it virtually hole-free is truly an admirable feat. I admire authors who use their imaginations to transcend reality in a classy way and create an authentic setting in which things like time travel seem delightfully plausible instead of unbearably cheesy.
That said, I really don't have much else to say about this novel. It is an engaging story and a beautiful meditation on how true love is ultimately timeless. Look for a review of the movie soon. I'm not expecting it to be half as good as the book, but I'm curious - and I like to look at Eric Bana.
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