Literary Imagination

Have you seen The Pagemaster? With MacCaulay Culkin (I had to google his name to spell check haha!)... well when I was little I loved the idea of getting so lost in a story that you're completely immersed in the action as you're reading it. This is why I will always prefer books over movies but I digress.

Amazon

The reason I bring this up is because I recently finished The Time Traveler's Wife and yes, it was good and definitely better than the movie. Don't get me wrong, I love Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana (especially Eric Bana) but, as always, so much was glossed over. I loved how the story is told by Henry and Claire so that you can really appreciate how they each deal with the situation. The novel is much more sexually explicitly, which I didn't expect but enjoyed nonetheless and the ending it much more endearing and not at all like the movie.

I found myself happily anticipating the time right before going to bed when I could continue reading and at about 540 pages, it took me awhile. I loved how Niffenegger thought out the concept and the science behind it (Dr. Kendrick and his genetics talk was way over my head but it's effective). But it's really about the loss of control and the question of fate that will linger after you finish reading. I'm sure we'd all like the chance to travel in time but the lack of control over that power will undoubtedly make it less appealing.When Henry travels to his childhood and sees the younger version of himself so happy and carefree with his parents and then you juxtapose it with the harsh reality he deals with as an adult, you feel his pain as much as he does.

I also appreciate how all the characters are so far from perfect and this love story reads as both endearing and sweet while also raw and tinged with the flaws all real relationships encompass. One particular sentiment that stood out to me was when Claire states that she secretly enjoyed her time alone when he was time traveling but that she always loved when he returned. I think that is a sentiment many women share despite not having a time-traveling partner!

Overall it's a novel story (no pun intended) and an enjoyable and also tearful read. I highly recommend it. Kudos to Niffenegger for writing such an amazing story although I'm a little envious that it's her FIRST novel.

also, a cute blog post I came across about dating a book worm. Enjoy! ;)

Have  you read the book? seen the movie? as you know, I'm always open to book recommendations.