[14] The Time Traveler's Wife is not as concerned with the paradoxes of time travel as is traditional science fiction. ... And yet, the book is a page-turner, delicately crafted and psychologically sound. And I'm kind of afraid that will be changed or wiped out by what somebody else might do with it. She is 18 and he is 41, already married to her in his present. "[9], Reviewers have found The Time Traveler's Wife difficult to classify generically: some categorize it as science fiction, others as a romance. It is a … [9] As of March 2009, it had sold almost 1.5 million copies in the United States and 1 million in the United Kingdom. Both Henry and Clare know that without the ability to escape when he time travels, Henry will certainly die within his next few jumps. [15] When Henry DeTamble meets Clare Abshire in a Chicago library they both understand that he is a time traveler, but she knows much more about him as he has not yet been to the times and places where they have already met. A car accident puts Paige in a coma, and when she wakes up with severe memory loss, her husband Leo works to win her heart again. My heart is racing and I take a wild guess: "May 24, 1989?" [9] At that point, the novel had been sold to publishers in 15 countries. "[7] Several reviewers noted that time travel represents relationships in which couples cannot quite communicate with each other. An upstart television producer accepts the challenge of reviving a struggling morning show program with warring co-hosts. [31], BBC Audio published an audio book of The Time Traveler's Wife that was narrated by William Hope and Laurel Lefkow, described as "feisty readers" in one review. It is a … He searches out pharmaceuticals in the future that may be able to help control his time traveling. [30] In February 2014, Niffenegger estimated that the book "should be ready in 2018 or so". All of this is […] Instead, as critic Marc Mohan describes, the novel "uses time travel as a metaphor to explain how two people can feel as if they've known each other their entire lives". [13] Niffenegger herself is reluctant to label the novel, saying she "never thought of it as science fiction, even though it has a science-fiction premise". As Charlie Lee-Potter writes in The Independent, the novel is "an elegy to love and loss". [7][8] In 2002, she sent it unsolicited to the small, San Francisco-based publisher MacAdam/Cage, where it reached Anika Streitfeld. Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? On New Year's Eve 2006 Henry time travels into the middle of the Michigan woods in 1984 and is accidentally shot by Clare's brother, a scene foreshadowed earlier in the novel. B. Priestley's 1964 novel Man and Time: "Clock time is our bank manager, tax collector, police inspector; this inner time is our wife." The project … “The Time Traveler’s Wife is a Houdini box of a novel, filled with spring latches and trap doors. The 2006 Audible/HighBridge version is narrated by Fred Berman and Phoebe Strole and is 17:43 in length. Threatened by the potential murder of her father, she is pulled into a plot to assist her captor in a political assassination. [5] The work was finished in 2001. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. [42][43] When asked about the prospect of her novel being turned into a film, Niffenegger said, "I've got my little movie that runs in my head. [9] Although another publisher outbid them, Niffenegger selected MacAdam/Cage because they were so dedicated to her work. "[4] Other authors whom Niffenegger has cited as influencing the book include Richard Powers, David Foster Wallace, Henry James, and Dorothy Sayers. Actors Brad Pittand Jennifer Aniston started a bidding war among potential publishers by securing the film rights to … The novel, which has been classified as both science fiction and romance, examines the themes of love, loss, and free will. Get a sneak peek of the new version of this page. Henry then disappears and is back in bed with his new wife Claire, and they both laugh about a young Claire being jealous of herself. The Time Traveler's Wife is the debut novel by the American author Audrey Niffenegger, published in 2003. In particular, the novel uses time travel to explore miscommunication and distance in relationships, while also investigating deeper existential questions. [26] Amidon also criticized the novel's "overall clumsiness", writing that Niffenegger is "a ham-fisted stylist, long-winded and given to sudden eruptions of cliche". Filming began in September 2007 and the movie was released by Warner Bros. on 14 August 2009. He's looking marvelous, really happy. What is "The Time Traveler's Wife" about. [41] The adaptation was written by Bruce Joel Rubin and directed by Robert Schwentke, and stars Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana. [25] Stephen Amidon of The Times, however, questioned the selfishness of the central characters. My background is in punk music—I'd always pick the indie company over the giant corporation. True love, Niffenegger seems to be telling us, is timeless, and can survive even the worst circumstances. Heidi Darroch, "Temporally-challenged lovers". Henry begins time traveling at the age of five, jumping forward and backward relative to his own timeline. A woman is kidnapped by a stranger on a routine flight. If moviegoers aren't silently humming George Michael's "Father Figure" to themselves while the time traveler chats up the little girl, "The Time Traveler's Wife" just dodged the first bullet. J-26. She finds herself in love with two different men: Zach, a normal man, and Oliver, a musician and fellow time-traveler. [9][10] However, Niffenegger had acquired an agent by this time, and several publishing houses in New York City were interested in the novel. Once Henry and Clare's timelines converge "naturally" at the library—their first meeting in his chronology—Henry starts to travel to Clare's childhood and adolescence in South Haven, Michigan, beginning in 1977 when she is only six years old. While on a trip to Paris with his fiancée's family, a nostalgic screenwriter finds himself mysteriously going back to the 1920s every day at midnight. [24] Charles DeLint wrote in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction that one of Niffenegger's "greatest accomplishments" in the novel was her ability to convey the emotional growth of Clare and Henry in character arcs while at the same time alternating their perspectives. And so, by the time they actually meet in real time when he's 28 and she's 20, she has known him all her life and knows that she ends up marrying him. Clare is devastated by Henry's death. Marc Mohan, "Love and Other Disasters, Time shifts in a heartbeat in this novel relationship". The Time Traveler’s Wife is neither romance, nor science fiction, nor pure fantasy. They are sometimes together, sometimes not, on that day. The Time Traveler's (or Traveller's) Wife is undoubtedly a chick-flick. Do keep the tissues handy though. The couple does reunite when Clare is 82 years old and Henry is 43. Malcolm’s List,’ Zawe Ashton, Theo James and Ashley Park Join Cast, The Time Traveler's Wife HBO Series Teams Rose Leslie & Theo James, ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife’ TV Series at HBO Casts Theo James and Rose Leslie to Lead, The Best Time Travel Movies That Are Not Sci-Fi, The Most Fascinating Fantasy of the 2000s, MsMojo: Top 10 Rachel McAdams Performances. The debut novel has garnered several awards, including the British Book Award of 2006, and has reached the New York Times bestseller list, among others. As of March 2009, the novel has sold nearly 2.5 million copies in the United States and the United Kingdom. The Time Traveler's Wife is a drama, romance film starring Eric Bana, Rachel McAdams and Michelle Nolden. [2] She has said that she based Clare and Henry's romance on the "cerebral coupling" of Dorothy Sayers's characters Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane.[4]. Responding to comments from readers of early drafts of the manuscript, Niffenegger reorganized the narrative so that it largely followed Clare's timeline. When he is 43, during what is to be his last year of life, Henry time travels to a Chicago parking garage on a frigid winter night where he is unable to find shelter. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. The Time Traveler's Wife is the debut novel by the American author Audrey Niffenegger, published in 2003. "[7], Niffenegger began writing the novel in 1997; the last scene, in which an aged Clare is waiting for Henry, was written first, because it is the story's focal point. [18] Niffenegger, however, believes that the novel does not depict destiny but rather "randomness and meaninglessness". Over time they develop a close relationship. After spending the night together on the night of their college graduation Dexter and Emma are shown each year on the same date to see where they are in their lives. [29], On September 23, 2013 it was announced that a sequel to the novel is in the works. The story follows Henry DeTamble (Bana), a Chicago librarian with a paranormal genetic disorder that causes him to randomly time travel as he tries to build a romantic relationship with Clare Abshire (McAdams), who would become his wife. I am much more willful and headstrong. After many solitary years, she meets a man who complicates the eternal life she has settled into. You may be blocking important javascript components, check that main.js is loaded or the webpage won't work. [4] A December 2003 article in The Observer reported that although "a tiny minority of American reviewers" felt that the novel was "gimmicky", it was still "a publishing sensation". "[18] She points, for example, to the section of the book which describes the first time Clare and Henry make love. James Cowan, "Niffenegger's first book, and it's about time", The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Time Bending: An Interview with Audrey Niffenegger, "America's most wanted: The Time Traveler's Wife, written by an unknown author and launched by a tiny publisher, will be the must-read for 2004", "The Time-Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger", https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1xu2qs/i_am_audrey_niffenegger_artist_and_writer_of_the/, "Rose Leslie & Theo James To Star In 'The Time Traveler's Wife' HBO Series", "Musical Adaptation of The Time Traveler's Wife Sets Sights on U.K. [14] Henry has been compared to Billy Pilgrim of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five (1969). Drawing her central theme from this image, she says, "Henry is not only married to Clare; he's also married to time. When 20-year-old Clare meets 28-year-old Henry at the Newberry Library in 1991 at the beginning of the novel, he has never seen her before, although she has known him most of her life. Although it contains a timeline structure that is quite confusing for the viewers and disturbing scenes and language, the film earns the audience awe and tears by the story of two lovers who are victims of the unpredictable fate. For example, Henry has foreknowledge of the September 11 attacks but does nothing to try to prevent them. Henry scoops me up ... and swings me around. Also, Niffenegger explains that her "own natural inclination is to go small. [22] The success of The Time Traveler's Wife prompted almost every major publishing firm to attempt to acquire Niffenegger's second novel, Her Fearful Symmetry, which has been called "one of the most eagerly sought-after works in recent publishing history". "[3] She was intrigued by the title because "it immediately defined two people and their relationship to each other". [8] It was named the 2003 Amazon.com Book of the Year. A film version starring Rachel McAdams as Clare and Eric Bana as Henry was released in August 2009. The tale's central relationship came to Niffenegger suddenly and subsequently supplied the novel's title. [27] Despite appreciating the novel's premise, Amidon complained that the implications of Henry's time-traveling were poorly thought out. [39], HighBridge also produced an unabridged version in 2003, which is twelve hours long and narrated by Maggi-Meg Reed and Christopher Burns; their performance has been described as "sincere and passionate".[40]. [12] Michelle Griffin of The Age noted that although Henry "is custom-designed for the fantasy lives of bookish ladies", his flaws, particularly his "violent, argumentative, depressive" nature, make him a strong, well-rounded character. For the film adaptation, see. However a version of Henry from the past visits Clare one night and they make love; she subsequently gives birth to a daughter named Alba. Henry and Clare’s love affair zigs and zags across decades – at times touching, childish, sexy, tragic but always true. [2] In Niffenegger's view, the story is primarily about Henry and Clare's relationship and the struggles they endure. Misha Davenport, "Writer enjoys the ride". At one point, Henry helps Clare frighten and humiliate a boy who abused her. The sequel will focus on Henry and Clare's daughter Alba as an adult. Using alternating first-person perspectives, the novel tells the stories of Henry DeTamble (born 1963), a librarian at the Newberry Library in Chicago, and his wife, Clare Anne Abshire (born 1971), an artist who makes paper sculptures. 198 talking about this. After popular crime writer Scott Turow, whose wife is a friend of Niffenegger, endorsed it on The Today Show, the first print run of 15,000 sold out and 100,000 more copies were printed. I couldn't think of a way to make it a picture book because still pictures don't represent time very well, so I decided to write a novel. Aubrey Niffenegger’s debut novel The Time Traveler’s Wife (2003) was a runaway bestseller and adapted to a major film in 2009.Niffenegger wrote it while going through an emotionally distant and complicated relationship. (2009). Carey Harrison, "Love conquers all—even time—in this tale". A young woman with a mysterious past lands in Southport, North Carolina where her bond with a widower forces her to confront the dark secret that haunts her. the time traveler’s wife by Audrey Niffenegger ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 9, 2003 Mainstreamed time-travel romance, cleverly executed and tastefully furnished if occasionally overwrought: a first from fine newcomer Niffenegger. [46], In July 2018, HBO secured the rights to adapt the novel into a television series to be written by Steven Moffat. The film rights for The Time Traveler's Wife were optioned by Brad Pitt's production company Plan B Entertainment, in association with New Line Cinema, before the novel was even published. The interaction between Henry(Eric Bana) and Claire's pre-pubescent self is the film's litmus test. [2] The narrative was originally structured thematically. Was this review helpful to you? [2] Niffenegger said that its source was an epigraph to J. Judith Maas, "An uneven chronicle of a couple over time". The Time Traveler’s Wife is neither romance, nor science fiction, nor pure fantasy. View production, box office, & company info. The other ones are About Time (2013), in which she played the wife to Domhnall Gleeson 's character, Midnight in Paris (2011), in which she played the fiancée of Owen Wilson 's character, and Doctor Strange (2016), girlfriend of the title character. Is "The Time Traveler's Wife" based on a book? A romantic drama centered on two new lovers: Tyler, whose parents have split in the wake of his brother's suicide, and Ally, who lives each day to the fullest since witnessing her mother's murder. The Time Traveler's Wife depicts the effects of time travel on Henry and Clare's marriage and their passionate love for each other as the story unfolds from both points of view. The tale's central relationship came to N… I hear Henry whistling as he comes up the path through the garden, into the studio. A couple's relationship is put to the test when time travel is involved. She grew to love him during these trips. "Yes, oh, yes!" Busby's short story "If This Is Winnetka, You Must Be Judy" and the film Somewhere in Time (1980). He also seeks the advice of a geneticist, Dr. Kendrick. Niffenegger, who was frustrated in love when she began the novel, wrote the story as a metaphorfor her failed relationships. Bow", "To clarify: the theatrical rights belong to Warner, not me", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Time_Traveler%27s_Wife&oldid=1012003504, American fantasy novels adapted into films, Science fiction novels adapted into films, Short description is different from Wikidata, Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz work identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 14 March 2021, at 01:46. So I wrote down this title and after a while I started to think about it. [2] In Britain, the book received a boost from its choice as a Richard & Judy book club recommendation—nearly 45,000 copies were sold in one week. [50], In response to the announcement, Niffeneger revealed on Twitter she did not know about the project then clarified that the theatrical rights belonged to Warner Bros.[51], This article is about the novel. [5], She has said the story is a metaphor for her own failed love affairs and that "I had kind of got the idea that there's not going to be some fabulous perfect soulmate out there for me, so I'll just make him up. “Don't you think it's better to be extremely happy for a short while, even if you lose it, than to be just … Clare's downfall is her struggle to have a child. [17] Walter notes that there is a "quasi-religious sense" to the inevitability of Henry's and Clare's lives and deaths. Natasha Walter of The Guardian describes the story's attention to "the sense of slippage that you get in any relationship—that you could be living through a slightly different love story from the one your partner is experiencing. Much of this he learns from older versions of himself. [16] Reviewers have focused on love, loss, and time. "[21] Although Henry seemingly cannot alter the future, the characters do not become "cynical" and, according to Lee-Potter, the novel demonstrates that people can be changed through love. On one of his early visits (from Clare's perspective), Henry gives her a list of the dates he will appear and she writes them in a diary so she will remember to provide him with clothes and food when he arrives. "[4][6] She also drew on her parents' marriage for inspiration—her father spent the bulk of each week traveling. "[28] The Library Journal described the novel as "skillfully written with a blend of distinct characters and heartfelt emotions"; it recommended that public libraries purchase multiple copies of the book. However, his destinations are tied to his subconscious—he most often travels to places and times related to his own history. ", Search for "The Time Traveler's Wife" on Amazon.com, Title: [15] Science fiction writer Terence M. Green calls the novel a "timeslip romance". Time travel stories to which the novel has been compared include Jack Finney's Time and Again (1970) F.M. His decision to make his world a better place by getting a girlfriend turns out not to be as easy as you might think. We then see the couple move into their apartment in Chicago, and living the life of a young married couple. When he vanishes, where he goes, and how long his trips will last are beyond his control. At the age of 21, Tim discovers he can travel in time and change what happens and has happened in his own life. Audible.co.uk produced an unabridged version in 2008, also narrated by Hope and Lefkow. (People who feel this was not explained do not have the imagination needed to fully enjoy this film).The ageing of Eric Bana's character was seamless and it was easy to tell whether he was a younger or older version of Henry and Rachel McAdams brought out the inner frustrations of Claire's character with a great sensitivity showing the difficulties of the relationship.Overall, this film was not a let down to a lover of the book, I enjoyed it as an extension of the story of Henry and Claire and found the emotions real and well developed. Source was an epigraph to J sequel to the present and dies in Clare 's Alba... Trips will last are beyond his control disorder, which later comes to be as easy as you might.! To think about it critical of its melodramatic style, a small publishing firm located San. Of our life together. and meets his ten-year-old daughter on a routine flight an endorsement from and! 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