The Time Traveler's Wife

The Time Traveler's Wife By Audrey Niffenegger

The Time Traveler's Wife is the romantic story of Henry DeTamble and Clare Abshire, a couple whose love tolerates the agony of waiting. Audrey Niffenegger chronicles the tale from both partners, touching her audience with great emotion ranging from laughter to tears. The story reveals a complex and poignant relationship. I was very impressed with its originality and, at times, very sorrowful appeal. Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife enchants readers with sensational romance, exhilarating science fiction and refreshing humor.

The story takes place in a world where time traveling is not only possible, but is considered a curse because it is an uncontrollable disorder. The world of Clare and Henry is bizarre and overwhelming as well as moving and romantic. Despite the eccentricities of this world, however, I was captivated and found the possibilities very convincing. Niffenegger switches her first person view back and forth between Henry and Clare. This is a unique way of writing that grants the reader a seducing sense of intimacy. This constant switching was my favorite aspect of the book because I was able to appreciate the feelings and thoughts of both partners and favor neither of them.

Niffenegger's characters furnish the novel with the most crucial component, which is emotion. Henry DeTamble is a librarian who involuntarily travels to unpredictable times and places. He is the first person to possess his condition, which is called Chrono-Displacement Disorder. His favorite music is punk rock and he used to do drugs back when he was dating Ingrid, who he dumps the moment he meets Clare. Clare Abshire is an attractive artist whose life stays in sequential order. She has a typical family, unlike Henry's. When the two finally unite in the present, they are doomed to having a complicated and uncontrollable relationship. Although the bonds of their love are as strong as ever, Clare and Henry are continually seperated.

Henry first collides with Clare Abshire when she is six and he is thirty-six. This encounter makes it possible for Clare to know that she will meet Henry in the present. Fatalism like this is a very significant feature in the book. Clare is already in love with Henry, and it is not long before Henry is in love with Clare. Clare is twenty-three and Henry is thirty-one when they are married. Their marriage is perfect yet forever in danger because of Henry's disorder. They struggle to achieve conventional goals such as having children, friends, and steady jobs. The story dissolves with an ample amount of emotion.

The characters are alluring and the plot is magnificent. As I read the book, I was reminded of the book You Suck, written by Christopher Moore, simply because both told tales of couples struggling with very unconventional problems. (The couple in You Suck were vampires!) I recommend this book to any audience that enjoys romance and/or a little sci-fi. 536 pages.

Speak

Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson
Speak depicts the story of Melinda Sordino, a teenage girl enduring a tragic depression through her first year of high school. Because she is disowned by everyone around her, Melinda's tension and distress surmounts that of the usual high schooler. Everyone, including her old best friends, rejects Melinda because she called the cops at an end of summer party. Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak both depressed me and sparked my imagination with an engrossing, somber story.

The story takes place in a modern high school that accommodates a spectrum of various cliques, none of which admit Melinda, of course. The cliques range from preppy girls, who engage in every goodwill program that they possibly can, to girls who choose oddball religions and adorn themselves in peculiar outfits. A new girl at school attempts to make friends with Melinda, but Melinda's pessimism and sorrow drives the new girl away to become a part of the preppy clique.

Laurie Halse Anderson wrote the book using the first person view from Melinda. This technique places the audience where we may comprehend every emotion and thought produced during her depression. Anderson's representation of teenage unhappiness and constant misery is precise. This makes her story seem very authentic and believable, which are two qualities that are vital to the book's appeal.

The characters, such as Melinda's parents, her teachers, and her old friend, Rachel, were all portrayed in believable ways, also. Melinda's parents are frustrated with their daughter's behavior and confused because they are oblivious to the extent of her problems. This discouraging situation proves itself to be genuine in all aspects. Melinda's teachers bear convincing personalities, too, and some of their desriptions were very amusing. Melinda's old friend, Rachel, believably conveys distrust and anger in her dialogue.

Speak perfectly presents Melinda's intruiging and dismal struggle with depression. Anderson describes Melinda's tale in an absorbing and riveting manner, and I found myself locked in a page-turner and enthralled in the drama. I recommend this book especially to younger high schoolers, but anyone interested in melancholy stories will enjoy Speak.