The Time Traveler's Wife

By: Audrey Niffenegger

Narrated by: Fred Berman, Phoebe Strole

Clare and Henry have known each other since Clare was six and Henry was 36. They were married when Clare was 23 and Henry was 31. Impossible but true, because Henry is one of the first people diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder: periodically his genetic clock resets and he finds himself misplaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity from his life, past and future. His disappearances are spontaneous, his experiences unpredictable, alternately harrowing and amusing.

Clare and Henry's story unfolds from both points of view, depicting the effects of time travel on their marriage and their passionate love for each other. They attempt to live normal lives, pursuing familiar goals: steady jobs, good friends, children of their own. All of this is threatened by something they can neither prevent nor control, making their story intensely moving and entirely unforgettable.

©2003 Audrey Niffenegger; 2005 HighBridge Company (P)2003 BBC Audiobooks Ltd.

Critic reviews

• Alex Award Winner, 2004

"Highly original first novel....Niffenegger has written a soaring love story illuminated by dozens of finely observed details and scenes....It is a fair tribute to her skill and sensibility to say that the book leaves a reader with the impression of life's riches and strangeness rather than of easy thrills." (Publishers Weekly)

Forget the Movie!

This book is an absolutely MUST listen for anyone who loves a good love story with some flights of fantasy thrown in for good measure. The story is captivating, funny, poignant... and probable.

I saw the movie trailers for this story and thought about seeing the movie, but when I saw it available on Audible, I decided to give the book a listen first. Now I don't think I ever want to see the movie. I simply don't believe it could ever be as good as the performance given by Fred Berman and Phoebe Strole. Berman and Strole don't just narrate the story, they bring Henry and Claire to life and it is Henry and Claire telling their own story in their own voices.

I can't imagine a better way to tell this story than through these two voices, so well chosen and well suited to their characters. I can't imagine a better introduction to audible books!

Complex tale that hits you in the heart

I wasn't sure about this book at first. I really had no concept of how the plot could be held together. The story opens up on the slow side, in my opinion, but rapidly you are drawn into the work. At first you might be thinking the novel is about Henry but then you might change you mind as you get further. Knowledge is power and the shifting tides of time of this novel help you understand how power ebbs and flow with the seasons of life. I was surprised by how central sex was to this novel, of course it was handled tastefully, but the the author did not gloss over how relationships and emotions intertwine with the characters.

This book is more about the relationship between them than time travel. Time travel is a vehicle to bring poignant moments into focus. Indeed, time travel is the author's tool for cutting out the mundane and focusing on the interesting. There is not a science fiction novel -- this about about two people who find each other and grow. This is about love and despair and sacrifice. I think you should give it a read even if you are little shy about science fiction. It will be enjoyed, in my opinion, by those who have experience with relationships. It more of a coming of age novel than anything else. By the way, I hear there is a squeal in the works.

Robert and Laura

Well, well, well, I have been an avid reader of fantasy/sf since 1952 and I believed I had read the best and there was nothing that would capture and hold my attention again as stories and books did in my early years. I was captivated by the wonderful people and their lives. I was in love again while at the same time I was contemplating my own mortality. What a wonderful surprise
Thank you Miss Audrey

This is a must listen!

I listen to my audiobooks to help me fall asleep at night. With this book, I was fighting sleep and staying awake until 3:00 a.m. to hear more. Very well written, fast moving, an unpredictable and enjoyable read. This is one I'll listen to again and again! A big thank you to the author.

Not what I expected - VERY good though

If you take a look at my other reviews, you'll find that I generally read Sci-Fi and military fiction books. I grabbed this book based upon its title - without doing any research or reading any reviews about it. I have been utterly surprised. This book is soft sci-fi, we accept things because that is the way they are presented. Henry's time traveling is never fully explained, in my opinion, but it doesn't matter. This book is less about the time traveling and more about the effects of it and how it affects thelives and marriage of the two main characters. Well read, well written and I would buy it again even knowing that it wasn't in its strictest sense my preferred genre.

Clever and intriguing

I enjoyed this book overall. The time travel angle was unique and new and utterly believable. Clare and Henry were both people I liked for the most part and I truly enjoyed the literary references throughout the book. I agree with a previous reviewer that the use of the C word was jarring and took me out of the story each time I heard it.

I also struggled with the last quarter of the book. The very end was lovely and up lifting, but the last quarter before that was noticeably different in tone than the first 3/4 of the book and felt awkward and unnecessarily negative and dark.

Overall I enjoyed it and would recommend it - with a warning.

Wonderfully read audiobook!

This audiobook is outstanding. The performances of the readers are fabulous and the story is one of the most original I have encountered in quite some time. While some have complained about the less than joyous ending, I think it anchors the story and keeps it from becoming cliche and meaningless. The difficulties the characters encounter and overcome keep this book from being an assembly line faerie tale and boring, artificial chick-lit. If you like the work of A.S. Byatt or Iris Murdoch you should check this out.

Loved every minute of it

I could have listened to this book in one sitting if I had the time. The story was amazing and the narration excellent. The two narrators enhance the story telling and completely draw you into their characters.

Liked it with reservations

It was a fascinating story that kept my interest but the author liked to use a specific swear word that I really found offensive.

My first

I think it was probably really good but it was my first so I cant be sure yet. The biggest thing I didnt like about this book was the woman reader when she did male voices. She used an extremely monotone voice for the men. When Henry tells Clair he loves her it should have some emotion behind it. Not a fake drone. It was annoying.