The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

I'm a slow reader. So when a book has entangled me in its web, I usually sigh and set it aside many times in order to get on with my everyday living. I COULD NOT do this with The Time Traveler's Wife*. After reading just the prologue, I knew I was hooked. It's not only a great love story, it's a story that explores the deeper metaphysical meaning of life without ever getting preachy. It's a book with characters I began to care about within the first chapter and events that grabbed my attention in such a way that I had to read it from cover to cover immediately. If you have ever had the misfortune of being the one to wait or the one to go or helped anyone who's been in a similar situation, then this book will speak volumes to you.


*I kind of have a love / hate thing for the title. On one hand, it's completely appropriate. On the other hand, it sounds like it would have all the bad elements of SciFi and has the taint of Romance which usually sends me running. But it's very well written and captivating. And Mary-Ann, I too have a love/love thing for her name. ;>

Mary-Anne said...

Mary-Anne said... "Too much information? That's my middle name. "

I don't believe in too much information. When people cry out that I'm sharing too much, it usually just means they're repressed or bored. If they're repressed, then it's my duty help them become less so, right? And if they're bored... *evil laugh* as a wise woman once said, "only boring people get bored."

And Mary-Anne, you have a bad-ass middle name! (Mine's so common. I mean, Trouble... Who hasn't heard that as a middle name?)

Lake Allison said...

Lake Allison said... "I get those voices, too, non-fiction is hard. What I struggle with is: When is it an article, and when is it just a journal entry."

Hell yeah, sister! I'm always trying to understand the difference between what is merely me blathering on about something NO ONE (except maybe those near and dear and then sometimes not even) and what is actually publication worthy. Do I judge too much? Probably... How does one go about turning those damn censors off? Stupid voices!
I also get them with my fiction... But it's usually the more critical, "you'd better revise that at least 13 more times before you even show it to anyone" and the self-deprecating, "What, you think you can write? You have nothing original to say. That story is so like done. Nobody'll publish that, you shouldn't even bother."

Voices in my head

Miz Dagmar wrote:
"I think you can share as much as you are comfortable sharing. Personally, I haven't gotten bored yet. I did a smidge more sharing than I expected in my own blog, myself, recently. Perhaps now that we have a feel for who our readers are, we have gotten comfortable enuf to share. Kinda funny, really."

While I think part of it is getting a feel for my readers, for me at least, it's not the biggest part. I have trouble getting past my own internal voices... It's when I write about actual things that happen in my life, as opposed to stories and some random rants (though some of those tend to be more intricately woven into who I am than my voices are comfortable with), that these voices become particularly noisy. These are my voices:

1. The annoying cry-baby always whining, "WHY?" and "who cares?"
2. The angry teenager who scowls and stomps muttering, "it ain't none o' their business."
3. The proper one who sits with legs prudently crossed, sipping tea and saying delicately, "it is impolite to share such personal matters in mixed company*."
4. The cocky strutter with a puffed out chest who announces, "these peons should have to wait and pay for it like everyone else. I'm gonna be famous some day."
5. The lazy one yawns, "too much work."
6. The militaristic sergeant barking, "get your butt working on some REAL writing!"
7. Then there's a whole slew of others that sound like garbled wailings. They give me migraines.

But in the end, I just gotta laugh. Miz Dagmar said, "Kinda funny, really." Too true, too true.

* mixed meaning people I don't know as well as those I do.

Good Questions

Spinning Girl commented on my previous post and asked some good questions.

" Hmmm. I guess the obvious question would be, why is he in prison?"
The 'why' has to do with some forgery he did when he was much younger. He was foolish, then he left the state during his probationary period. I've known people who've done much worse who've never gotten caught. If he was there for violence or something else I personally will not tolerate, I would not be waiting for or writing to him.

"If I were in this situation, I most definitely could not tell my mother. She would never understand and would fear for my safety and my heart."
I've actually told my mother and my father and they're very concerned, but they like that we're getting to know each other by letters. Also, they're glad he's a guy. (The fact that I'm bisexual has never gone over very well with my Southern Baptist parents.) I think the fact that he's thousands of miles away helps. If he was in Illinois or even Indiana or Iowa, he'd be much easier to go visit and that might cause them more concern than being in Idaho.* My folks have always had the policy of letting me sort through my own messes, but being there for me during the fall out... and then preaching at me about the path I've chosen. They mean well and I love them for it.

"I suspect that most of the people in your life don't understand also? "
I don't think anybody truly understands, I don't even understand completely, but my closest friends are very supportive. It helps that my best friend met him and liked him.

Every relationship I've ever had, especially the romantic ones, have had an element of the strange. It's not a perfect situation, but what is? I have told him, once he's out if he lands himself back in jail or if he steals, lies or cheats we're through.

* Woo-hoo! I got all the 'I' states in this one!

I'm not one to wait but here I am

waiting by the phone. My love is to call today and I can't even leave the house because he can only use the landline. There's plenty for me to do here, I'm actually taking a break from vacuuming, so it's not as if I'm bored. Not that vacuuming is a thrill a minute or anything like that, but I'm keeping busy.

My problem is I have too much of an imagination. Once noon, when he was supposed to call, came and went, I started imagining all sorts of horrible things. It's a weird feeling. Usually, if anybody did this to me, I'd be like, "fuck 'im," and leave the house just to spite him; just to show him that I don't NEED to be waiting by the phone. I've got my own life and just 'cause I've been so kind as to allow him to be a part of it, doesn't mean he can abuse my time like this. If someone says they're going to call at a certain time and don't, then fuck 'em.

But this is different. He doesn't have control over his situation. He doesn't even have the most basic freedoms because he's in a state penitentiary in Idaho. I guess I haven't mentioned that. That's why he can't call just any ole time. That's why I'm worried about him and not angry... which seems somewhat backwards somehow. But the only other time he didn't call when he said he was going to was when the whole cellblock was on lock down. What worries me more is I didn't get a letter this week. For almost a year now, we've been writing each other every week. The only other time I didn't get a letter was when someone picked a fight with him and he ended up in solitary confinement for several days... no letters going out, no letters coming in. He sent off a letter as soon as he was free... not that he was actually free, just out of solitaire.

*sigh* so I wait.