The Time Travelers Wife Meets Nelly

I finished The Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger and since I'm such a nice blogger I thought I would tell you all a little about it.

Yet, is it my place on a blog about the connections between music and literature to tell you that the book was a disappointment and the movie was, IMHO, a waste of time? No... that's not what this blog is about, so I won't tell you. :)

I will, however, tell you that the story has gotten into my bones. The concept of a man inexplicably traveling around in time and unable to hold on to even the most important things in life is a pretty powerful topic.

It's exciting and cataclysmic and sad and romantic all in the same moment.

And I have found The. Perfect. Song. for it.

There it was just waiting for me to find it and as diligent and reliable as I am... well... I don't want to brag.

The fact of the matter is that the song fits so well I thought it must have been written for the movie (I don't exactly follow the music scene very closely).  I was mistaken.

"I'm Like a Bird" by Nelly Furtado was actually released in 2001, well before The Time Traveler's Wife. (see... not very closely)

It just fits so well!

It's not that I wanna say goodbye
It's just that every time you try to tell me that you love me
Each and every single day I know
I'm going to have to eventually give you away
And though my love is rare
And though my love is true
Hey I'm just scared

Henry--"...let today be a normal day. Let me be normally befuddled, normally nervous; get me to the church on time, in time. Let me not startle anyone, especially myself. Let me get through our wedding day as best I can, with no special effects. Deliver Clare from unpleasant scenes. Amen."

I'm like a bird, I'll only fly away
I don't know where my soul is, I don't know where my home is
(and baby all I need for you to know is)
I'm like a bird, I'll only fly away

Clare--"Daddy says, "Let's get this show on the road," and knocks on the door of the room Henry is dressing in. Gomez sticks his head out and says, "Give us a minute." He throws me a look that makes my stomach clench and pulls his head in and shuts the door. I am walking toward the door when Gomez opens it again, and Henry appears, doing up his cuff links. He's wet, dirty, and unshaven. He looks about forty. But he's here, and he gives me a triumphant smile as he walks through the doors of the church and down the aisle."

What do you think? Nice fit? What would you choose?

Here's a YouTube video with a song by Josh Groban, (depending on how much you care, it might contain spoilers).





Book: Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Music: I'm Like a Bird by Nelly Furtado

Friday Wish-List

I've been hesitating putting this book up on the Friday Wish-List for fear you would all think me a hopelessly romantic sap and move on to bigger and better blogs--or just laugh shamelessly at me. The truth is I've been interested in reading The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger for a long time. I've just never gotten around to it.

Have you read it? Is it good?

A lot of people think so.

**I’m not quite sure how to even begin talking about this book. It’s quite possibly one of the most unique and beautiful love stories I have read, and one of the most haunting. I know most people cringe inwardly when they hear a love story praised, immediately picturing cloying schmaltz and cheap little romantic platitudes, but The Time Traveler’s Wife is anything but.-figgy

---

**Henry summarized his love for Clare in a letter to her after they've been for married for many years:

Clare, I want to tell you, again, I love you. Our love has been the thread through the labyrinth, the net under the high-wire walker, the only real thing in this strange life of mine that I could ever trust. Tonight I feel that my love for you has more density in this world than I do, myself: as though it could linger on after me and surround you, keep you, hold you.

Grab a copy of The Time Traveler's Wife and throw yourself headlong into their story. It's time well spent. This is a highly recommended read, and I know it will be a gift I'll offer generously to others on my holiday list this year.-W.R. Greer

---

**Every so often, a novel lands in my hands as if it fell from the sky -- a happy surprise of literary delights, a book which transports and transfixes me, an original story which creates its own world with what seems like effortless artistry.
Audrey Niffenegger's remarkable debut, The Time Traveler's Wife, is just such a novel. -January Magazine

Admittedly I'm a sap for love stories but not sex stories (HUGE difference). So when I run across a book that might actually deliver it almost always ends up on my wish-list. This is one of them.

Maybe I'll check it out at the library next time I'm down there.

Book: The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger