The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger

This is one of those books that seems to be everywhere you look - in all the bookstores, mentioned in random publications, etc. So when I saw it at the library, I figured why not? and picked it up.

I'm glad I did. I found the story reasonably compelling and the characters interesting, although often pretentious; their emotional dilemmas were well-drawn, and though plenty of plot-holes abounded, they weren't obvious enough to derail the story for me. The premise was interesting (although not as original as mainstream lit seems to think), and reasonably well-executed.

Basic story intro: Henry is an involuntary time-traveler. His body will reset on a genetic level, and he'll find himself elsewhere in time: naked, sick, and not sure where or when he is until he can find a reference point. He meets Clare when he is 36 and she is 6; they are married when she is 22 and he 30. This book is the story of their lives, together as often as they can be, and trying to make a 'normal' life from one with very little chronological cohesion.

It took me a while to get past the writing style and into the story itself, though. And I don't mean the structure of the story - the flipping around in time didn't bug me, the *writing* did. It's overly simplistic in places, particularly from Clare's point of view; a little sophistication in the sentence structure wouldn't have hurt. And wouldn't have left me struggling through the start while I tried to get over the feeling that I was reading a ten-year-old's english composition homework. Albeit a ten-year-old with a very good vocabulary.

Also, the aforementioned plot-holes? Could've used a decent editor.

All in all, it was an enjoyable read, and well-worth the time, although not exceptional.