Sunday, December 11, 2011

The Time Traveler's WifeThe Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is truly one of the best books I have read in a long time. I couldn't put it down! I was hesitant to read it because the movie just looked so ridiculous--it made it look like Henry was just a randomly disappearing guy. I would NOT put up with that in a marriage. But, I listened to the advise of a good friend, who is also an avid reader, and as it turns out, in the book, Henry actually had a present life.

Because of Henry's time traveling ability, much of Clare's past is actually Henry's future, which is an interesting way to learn about the characters. It is also interesting to watch Henry grow as a man because of his relationship with Clare.

**Spoiler Alert**

I should warn readers, though: I cried. A ton. Big, heaving sobs. I am a book crier, though. Things that in real life, I would just say, alright, let's move on, just stab me though the chest in books. There are moments of absolute tenderness in this book that make your heart melt.  Juxtaposed to this is the terror of Henry's end. The reader sees snippets of this through both Henry's and Clare's eyes, but it doesn't become clear what actually happens for a long time.  And when Henry looses his feet, I totally broke down, because so much of his life depended on his ability to literally run.  All-in-all, I found this to be an incredibly well-written, moving story.

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Saturday, December 3, 2011

The ChosenThe Chosen by Chaim Potok
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Technically, I listened to this book. Recently, I have found that I don't enjoying listening to books as much as I once did. I can read faster than I can listen. So, with this book, as with many others that I've listened to, I felt that there were a number of places that I just wanted to move through. That the characters took a long time getting around to saying what they were going to say. At the same time, this was a really beautifully written story, and I surprised myself by being moved to tears in the final scene with Danny, Reuven, and Danny's father.

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