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)

purposeless review

So, it does seem somewhat pointless to write a review about a book that so many others have already written about. My hope is that other people will also write purposeless reviews, so that if their taste seems to match mine, I can follow their recommendations.

Time Traveler's Wife is really a love story, in fact, awfully similar to the original "Love Story," with some time traveling literary license. Problem for me is, the characters are somewhat unbelievable, and the story is way too long. I say this despite the fact that I live on audiobooks, and happily devour 100 hour sagas on a regular basis. This one is purposeless at times, with rare artsy descriptions and digressions that are annoying and seem completely separate from the rest of the narrative. Other than these, the author's main descriptive power seems to be in the endless insider naming of streets and bars in Chicago, most of which are mispronounced by the narrators. In fact, this is also a major downpoint to the book; audible and other publishers are making millions on these books, but the narrators can't seem to garner enough effort to actually investigate words they're unfamiliar with. Street names, along with words like "tra-PEE-zoid" and "vi-CO-din" appear with alarming regularity, and are distracting from the listen. Otherwise, it was ok, but I am confused by the rave reviews.

I could have used a sunnier ending..

I know every book cannot be all smiles and joy. This one had a lot of happiness, but a lot of sadness mixed in. I was honestly baffled by the complex nature of his time traveling, but it was one of the most beautiful books I have ever read.

Excellent narration for a fine story

The narration on this is excellent - with the reader getting the voices for each of the unique characters exactly right. I loved hearing this book and I'm certain I would not have been able to slog through it were I reading it.

I'm a 40 y/o, over-educated woman who lives in a major US city.

One of my all time favorite books

Beautiful love story and the narration is fantastic bringing all thw characters to life. Highly recommended

Story Great, narration by Phoebe Strole not

I really enjoyed the book but Phoebe Strole's narration was quite confusing to work out who was speaking. A little deeper voice for Henry would have been great.
Fred Berman was excellent.

My absolute favorite!

this is a "must listen" for anyone who loves this book or Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana's movie rendition. Both narrators (Fred Berman and Phoebe Strole) are perfect at conveying their characters (as I imagine their nuances in my mind's eye)... making me laugh and cry... Highly recommended.

great listen

i enjoyed the book. it was stupendous! i will look for mo books like this 😍

Listen you should like

I love this book. Listen to it multiple times a year.
It's as good as the movie if not better.

good read, easy to follow even with time travel.

Narrators are very good. The story is easy to follow even with the time travel concept. Well written. I appreciate that the intimate scenes are not too descriptive. We are given just enough to use our imagination. I recommend this book if you're using it like I do. I have an hour drive to work and then an hour back home again. This book filled the time nicely.

Good Story, Irritating Narration

Any additional comments?

When reading the part of a young girl, the narrator uses a ridiculous parody of a child's voice. Please just read the part in a normal voice! We get that it's a kid already!!