The Time Traveler's Wife
by Audrey Niffenegger
★ Top 10 book of 2003 · #9 on Best Books of 2003
Audrey Niffenegger's debut tells the story of Clare, an art student, and Henry, an adventuresome librarian. They have known each other since Clare was six and Henry was thirty-six, and were married when Clare was twenty.
Best for: Readers who like love stories with a time-travel twist.
The Time Traveler's Wife is #9 on BookWard's Best Books of 2003, out of 52 2003 books that cleared our data bar.
What The Time Traveler's Wife is about
Henry DeTamble is a librarian in Chicago with a rare genetic condition that throws him through time without warning, usually when he is under stress. He can take nothing with him, and he always arrives with no clothes. Clare Abshire is an artist who makes paper sculptures. She has known Henry since she was six, when he began visiting her childhood in Michigan. For Henry, they meet for the first time years later at the library.
Told in alternating voices, Audrey Niffenegger's 2003 debut follows a marriage shaped by waiting, absence, and the question of whether anything can be changed. It sits between science fiction and romance, and it was written as a metaphor for the author's failed relationships. Readers who like love stories with a bittersweet edge will find a lot to hold on to.
The Time Traveler's Wife on the Best Books of 2003
The Time Traveler's Wife came out in 2003. Of the 52 books first published in 2003 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #9 on our Best Books of 2003 list.
Why it made the list: 585 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4 out of 5 (57 ratings); 24 are reading it right now. The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 2003 list
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Mark Haddon, #7
- The Tale of Despereaux Kate DiCamillo, #8
- How to Train Your Dragon Cressida Cowell, #10
- We Need to Talk About Kevin Lionel Shriver, #11
See all Best Books of 2003 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 2002 Best Books of 2004.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 475 want to read it, 24 are reading it now and 86 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 4 out of 5 from 57 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 85 | 55% |
| Reader love | 48 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 71 | 20% |
Questions about The Time Traveler's Wife
When was The Time Traveler's Wife published?
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger was first published in 2003.
Was The Time Traveler's Wife one of the best books of 2003?
The Time Traveler's Wife is #9 on BookWard's Best Books of 2003, out of 52 2003 books that cleared our data bar. 585 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4 out of 5 (57 ratings); 24 are reading it right now.
Why is The Time Traveler's Wife on the Best Books of 2003 list?
585 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4 out of 5 (57 ratings); 24 are reading it right now.
More of the best books of 2003
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix J. K. Rowling, #1
- Into the Wild Erin Hunter, #2
- The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini, #3
- Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! Mo Willems, #4
- A Short History of Nearly Everything Bill Bryson, #5
- The Da Vinci Code Dan Brown, #6
See the full Best Books of 2003, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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