anymotion

This is a book with a gimmick that, to my amazement, managed to almost always be bigger than just that. For this, I credit Niffenegger's artful ordering of the story and the fact that she created bold three-dimensional characters. If I could rate a 3.5, I would! Towards the middle though, the book did drag - the reader already knows what is going to happen and the story was just marking time. For about 150 pages, I had much more fun considering the implications of Henry's style of time travel than I did reading the book. What's most impressive in this book is that Niffenegger created this theme, managed to keep all the pieces organized, and made everything make sense without spending lots of time explaining the nuances of her theme. However, I didn't find the meat of the story - the romance - very compelling. Clare's love for Henry is a child's crush because she knows they'll get married, and when Henry meets Clare in his present, it's just because she already knows they will marry. This is thought-provoking in a 'what came first, the chicken or the egg' sort of way, but loving someone because you know you're supposed to isn't very romantic. If this story is about love, then it fails, but if it's about waiting and longing and determinism vs. free will, then it succeeds. Themes: time travel, love, free will vs. determinism, waiting, longing, family, time

2022-11-14 16:55