Time Traveler’s Wife

Have you ever read a book or seen a movie that just sticks with you? You feel as if it’s permanently altered your life in someway…well at least for a couple days then it’s back to normal. Haha. I just finished reading The Time Traveler’s Wife and have to say that I’ve added it to my list of favorite books. I am amazed at how many great books are the first ones written by the author. This is the author’s first book (AND it got made into a movie…wasn’t she lucky?!?) and Lovely Bones as well as Twilight were all firsts for their authors as well (and got made into movies! Dang…I need to write a book!).

I LOVED The Time Traveler’s Wife. I was tempted not to bother reading it as the title really turned me off. But I watched Cougar Town and love it and that has probably the worst title ever so at this point I know that titles don’t mean much! I love books that jump around, have many different points of view, and have deeper meaning. This is one of those books. I am also glad that I read it after the movie came out as I had seen posters for the movie so I could picture the movie characters in my head while I read it (unlike Twilight where I pictured a much more beautiful cast for the vampires). I thought the casting they did for both Henry and Clare were great!

This is one of those few books that I know I will read again. There are just so many details and so many chances to really become attached to the characters that it’s one of those where you can probably discover something new each time you read it. After finishing the book I’m left with mixed feelings towards the idea of time travel (I know it sounds like some sci-fi thing but I promise it’s not!!!). Would I time travel if I could???

In my personal debate of this issue I’ve decided that if I could travel to the PAST I would. I would love to go back and get married to Zach all over again, hold Kye again for the first time, sit around Nana’s kitchen talking with her. I’d love to get to SEE myself do all of these things and I think being able to do that would create an even greater appreciation for such moments. I would not, however, want to travel to the future. Sure, I thought of the advantages: it’d be awesome to know if our next house has a pool (as I could quit ragging Zach about it) and it’d be even better to know if at least ONE of my next three babies will be a girl! But do I want to know when I die? Do I want to know if something horrible is going to happen to someone I love? I don’t think I do.

On the one hand knowing about my own death (or other horrible events) would be useful. I’d better appreciate each moment if I knew when they would be gone. I guess part of me thinks if I’m doomed to die in some kind of accident or a situation where we wouldn’t have any warning then it’d probably be good to know so I can say my proper goodbyes and such. If I get cancer or some other long-suffering illness then why find out? I’ll have plenty of time to say goodbyes and prepare myself to meet the Lord so I’d rather live my life without having a date looming over head.

That’s one of the things I really loved about the book (and that bothered Zach about the movie). Henry could time travel to the past or to the future but he couldn’t do anything to prevent or change it in any way. No matter what he did the outcome would be the same. Zach was annoyed by this because he insisted that he’d find a way to change it but I embraced the concept and really appreciated both Henry’s and Clare’s outlooks on the situation.

Overall, it’s a sad depressing story. To me (I guess I’m warped) those kinds are always the best! You heart goes out to every character but especially to Clare. To spend your life waiting on someone would be so difficult. To only get to have them for moments in your youth and to cherish such moments but then to realize as you age that those moments you cherished in your youth were moments being taken from your present is so sad. It’s like she NEVER got him 100% and never got to truly just live her life in the moment and enjoy it. I think we’re all pretty blessed to get to live in the present everyday! And to be able to have free will in situations…Clare never felt like she had free will. She knew her future so even if that would be the outcome anyway her choices would automatically fall in line with the ones that she knew she’d be making. Kinda takes the fun out of things ya know?

There are all kinds of cliche sayings about living in the moment, how today is tomorrow’s yesterday, etc, etc. I never give them much thought in my life and just kinda keep on going through. After reading this book I have stopped to really think about TODAY and how special it really is. How something crazy could happen tomorrow and it’ll make me wish so badly I could come back to today. How I look at Kye and wish, already, at times that I could go back and hold him sweetly in my lap without him wiggling or nurse him or change his diaper without a struggle. And how in a few months I’ll look back and miss the now with Kye; his babbling, his long naps, his non-walking state. We really do need to cherish today and enjoy each precious second of it.

I watched the movie the other night and it was just okay. Wasn’t the worst book-to-movie ever but wasn’t the best either. I hated the ending as the book’s was MUCH better and I also wish they would have been able to include more details to things. I think if you didn’t read the book and you saw the movie you’d be left with many gaps that need to be filled in. Zach didn’t like it much as he felt like there wasn’t a big storyline. It’s a book about life and I love those kind but I think guys need a little more meat to their stories 😉

Anyone else read it? See the movie? If you do let me know your thoughts! I tried not to give much away so if you haven’t read it I totally recommend it!