Product Description

Audrey Niffenegger’s romantic novel The Time Traveler’s Wife tells the tender story of Henry and Clare, a married couple, whose relationship is as unique as is every love affair.

But, there is a twist. Clare meets Henry when she is 6 and he is 36 years of age; Henry meets Clare when he is 28 and she is 20. Bookclub-in-a-Box illustrates how Niffenegger takes the concept of time out of the linear sequence that we are familiar with, and turns it inside out and upside down. Niffienegger explores love both as a part of life and after. Because her story is free of the restraints of traditional time sequences, she is able to comment on love after life, on love as an eternal emotion and on-going state of being. Bookclub-in-a-Box explores the following:

- How Niffenegger portrays the boundaries of love, relationships and time.

- How the narrative structure and symbols highlight the circular nature of time and interconnected lives.

- Why this novel is often categorized as science fiction.

Every Bookclub-in-a-Box discussion guide includes complete coverage of the themes and symbols, writing style and interesting background information on the novel and the author. This guide is no exception.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #345539 in Books
• Published on: 2006-02-21
• Released on: 2006-02-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 77 pages

About the Author
Marilyn Herbert is the creator and director of "Bookclub-in-a-Box." A graduate of the University of Toronto, Canada and its Faculty of Education, Herbert has taught English language skills to students at all levels: elementary to college. Using her skills as an educator and speaker, Herbert launched the unique "Bookclub-in-a-Box" discussion guide series in 2002 and joined the world of contemporary literary criticism and interpretation in an unusual way. In addition, Herbert organizes and conducts literary presentations, conversations and workshops for private and public groups who share her passion for great books. Each guide in the series is a companion to an individual and specific novel intended to inform and entertain the reader, while simultaneously encouraging new ideas and perspectives about all aspects of the book, author, writing style and other features of interest. With these guides, Herbert takes her place as a virtual discussion leader in the many roo! ms where fiction is talked about and enjoyed.

Customer Reviews

Don't waste your money
This book is nothing more than character descriptions and plot summary. The author's idea of "analysis" involves questions such as, is it science fiction, or who would you cast in the movie version? The insights in this book are very low level and superficial, and sometimes even irrelevant. Here is an excerpt: "Time travel is what life is all about. While we are in the midst of the moment, we might possibly be aware of it, but in reality, we pass through it very quickly because we are busy. Once the moment is past, we relive it through memory. Time travel is a metaphorical link to the past, more so than to the future." In addition to being an inane insight, this "information" is not linked to any analysis relevant to the book. Instead, it is in a separate section in which the author treats the general concept of time travel.

Really, this is completely useless, even for a high school level reader. Plus, it is fairly expensive. Just save your money.

Not So Great
I wasn't impressed with this Bookclub-in-a-Box on the novel "The Time Traveler's Wife." It didn't really provide me with any new insights that I hadn't already figured out myself. I would not recommend this to anyone.

Great for book group discussion moderators
After reading "The Time Traveler's Wife" and thoroughly enjoying it & needing to prepare to lead a book group discussion on the novel, I decided to pick up this "Bookclub-in-a-Box" offering. I enjoyed the well organized & well written summaries & sections on literary devices, character/plot analysis and information regarding the author. I was able to gain new insight on the book & was well prepared for the discussion. This is not a "Cliff's Notes" type of book (though it does give away much of the plot, obviously). This is a great companion guide for book group discussion members and moderators.