The Time Traveler's Wife

       What really amazes me about Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traverler's Wife? It's ability to make me feel. Every page, I feel rushes of feelings' pass me. It could be any feeling, really. One feeling I find myself feeling a lot is comfort. Near the end of the story, I feel empty. And sad. But I can't stop reading it. It's story and characters just hook me, so no matter how much I hurt from reading this story, I cannot stop.
     The Time Travele's Wife is about a man, Henry Detamble, and his girlfriend, then fiance, then wife, Clare Abshire. Henry, however, happens to be a time traveler. This could be awful, in the way that it causes him to be starnded alone in an unknown time, with no money and no clothes. (When he time travels, nothing not attached to his body can travel with him.) It can be awful because he gets beat up, arrested, and he steals. It's the only way to survive. But, it can also be good at times. It's not always so cold and brutal. Sometimes he travels to his own apartement, and visits his younger or older self. Not only this, but it brought Henry and Clare together. Although Henry is only 8 years older than Clare, he met her when she was 6, and he was 36. He time traveled from a time when they were married. Throughout Clares life, henry visted her. Until she was 18, and then they met in present time.
      As if the plot wasn't complicated enough, the distinction of the characters personalities is also something noticeable. After reading this book 3 times, I can easily describe Clare and Henry. Clare knows what she wants. So, she goes and does her best to get it. She is not mean about it, just a little forceful. She's also witty, but can be serious and solemn when she needs to be. Henry isn't as determined. Because he has watched certain aspects of his life multiple times, he knows how things go. So, he's not eager to make something happen a certain way. He already knows what will happen. Henry does what he thinks is best for other people and himself. He always wants to have a good time, but he knows he must take care of him self. It anything should happen to him, it could be a matter of life or death.
       Henry needs to be fit. As I said, if anything should happen to him, it could affect whether he lives. Because of his time traveling, he often finds himself in need of running, or escaping. How he adapted to his survival skills is really cool. At age 9, Henry was taught how to steal a wallet. He was taught by an older, middle aged Henry. Every morning, Henry runs. He runs because he knows he needs to stay fit. Henry also knows how to pick locks, and beat people up. All in order to save himself, and ensure that he is safe.
   When Clare is in her young twenties, and Henry is about 30, they marry. By marrying, the bind themselves together. Because they are married, Henry will always return to Clare. No matter how ofteb he time travels away from her. There life married is tough at first, but they make it work. This section of the novel is so different from the parts before it. Before, there was Henry, and there was Clare. Even when they were together, it seemed they were separate. Once they marry, a new feeling is involved. Not only does the author drag in an entire new aspect of the story, she drags in a new feeling as well. It really makes you wonder how many things one book can make you feel?
       Henry and Clare have a baby. However, what leads up to this is another tragedy in the story. Miscarriage. The couple has to deal with a multitude of stillborn babies before they get what they want. How they act, and Clare's determination to have a baby really makes you feel. Just like the following tragedies, it makes you feel sad, an empty. It makes you feel like curling up in your bed and crying. And because this is one of the first tragedies in the book, it's a shock. One moment, Clare is pregnant. Even though the reader is not a part of Henry and Clare's life, they feel like they are. So, the reader feels like everything is going in the right direction. Henry and Clare are happily married and they have a baby on the way. When BAM. Their first stillborn baby. Your first.
      All in all, I think you can conclude that The Time Traveler's Wife is a very emotional story. It makes you feel like you are a part of it, so you get the full impact of the many events.