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A review by bohoautumn
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
2.0
It's actually a very interesting premise, the whole time travelling as a very ordinary person thing. It's a romance first and foremost. Instead of feuding relatives or social constraints, the challenge for this romance is the protagonist's inability to stay put in the present.
My two mains issues with the novel are firstly the writing style. Some people read for a good story. If that's you, you might really like this. It is a clever tale and it's well-constructed. As far as story, it's (mostly) a page-turner. But if like me you read for a story and for the writing itself, this isn't that novel.
It's bland. Often journalistic. Superficial. There is no beauty or witticism in it. The dialogue is unimaginative and often cliched. Sometimes downright cheesy.
The second problem is the characterization. There is no depth. I wouldn't go so far to say that they are 2-dimensional, heck, I will go so far. When every voice runs into the next, and characters are defined by the simplest of traits, then yeah, shallow it is.
With these two very big problems, the romance left me feeling cold. There is plenty of lust, and subsequent sex, but little passion. Especially passion of feeling. I'm not convinced about their love. She seems to love him out of circumstance and time-travel steering, and he seems to love her for her beauty and as a tool to keep him connected to.... something. If you're a believer of Fate and that things are meant to be, you might like the author's take on the reason for this love affair, but it's unlikely you'll feel enamoured with Fate ever again!
For me, it's greatest success was making the concept of time-travel so believable, and putting it together so well that it doesn't become confusing.
My two mains issues with the novel are firstly the writing style. Some people read for a good story. If that's you, you might really like this. It is a clever tale and it's well-constructed. As far as story, it's (mostly) a page-turner. But if like me you read for a story and for the writing itself, this isn't that novel.
It's bland. Often journalistic. Superficial. There is no beauty or witticism in it. The dialogue is unimaginative and often cliched. Sometimes downright cheesy.
The second problem is the characterization. There is no depth. I wouldn't go so far to say that they are 2-dimensional, heck, I will go so far. When every voice runs into the next, and characters are defined by the simplest of traits, then yeah, shallow it is.
With these two very big problems, the romance left me feeling cold. There is plenty of lust, and subsequent sex, but little passion. Especially passion of feeling. I'm not convinced about their love. She seems to love him out of circumstance and time-travel steering, and he seems to love her for her beauty and as a tool to keep him connected to.... something. If you're a believer of Fate and that things are meant to be, you might like the author's take on the reason for this love affair, but it's unlikely you'll feel enamoured with Fate ever again!
For me, it's greatest success was making the concept of time-travel so believable, and putting it together so well that it doesn't become confusing.