The Time Traveler’s Wife: Pg 448-End!

Captain Spazzmataz Thoughts:

• 449- Does Henry die of hypothermia? How unsatisfying that would be.
• 453- White at 43. Sounds like the dream.
• 454- Well, you are dying. So it makes sense for them to think this.
• 455- Nell!
• 457- Of course this would happen. If you mention how it would be the worst thing ever at the beginning of the book, it’s going to happen at the end.
• 461- This is going to be interesting. Why didn’t Henry tell someone at work a long time ago? I know he maybe couldn’t have right away, but once Kendrick got involved, I don’t think it would have been that outrageous.
• 468- This seems like an extreme abuse of power. I know that Henry is just trying to let Alba have the best outcome in her future, but Clare did not want it. And Henry used the information of his soon coming death to manipulate her into letting him give Alba’s DNA to Kendrick.
• 469- I am confused. Did he get shot? Did Clare’s father and brother see him?
• 475- It must be awful to watch your dead feet and realize they aren’t coming back to life.
• 477- Harsh. To learn from your own self that your father is dead seems like it would be a big slap in the face.
• 487- This is really sad to me. Henry has to teach Clare to cook before he dies. It’s such a regular, daily task that he took on and now she has to take it over because he won’t be there much longer.
• 494- This is terrifying.
• 500- Even though I don’t really like Henry, I am still sad that he is sad. I want him to find a cure for his time travel, I want him to see Alba grow up and help with her travels. Especially knowing that so soon the disease will have a name and be more widely known.
• 503- I still don’t really understand why Gomez is casually invited to everything. It’s strange to me.
• 512- I feel so sad for Clare. What an awful experience.
• 518- I don’t think I would want to leave a letter to my loved ones when I die. I guess in this case, since Henry knew exactly when he would die, but other than that, it just seems too difficult.
• 521- How dare he tell her this. I don’t like it at all. He set rules for himself to not reveal the future, but now that he is dead he feels as though he can disregard those rules because he doesn’t have to deal with the consequences. Classic Henry. This is why he is an unlikable character.
• 523- Gross Gomez. Mind your own business.
• 524- I think this was a bit uncalled for. I don’t think it was necessary at all in the wrapping up of the story, and it makes the characters even more unlikable. How incomprehensibly selfish of Gomez, and I know Clare is grieving or whatever, but it has been a year and a half and maybe she should be a little more aware of what is happening.
• 529- Alba is the best character. She is so cute and sweet and I love her.
• 536- So Clare just waits every day for Henry to return? If he hadn’t told her this, she could maybe be doing something. She could maybe live her life like a normal person.

Final Thoughts:

For all that the characters are truly awful, I did enjoy this book. I am slightly confused why Henry started to show signs of age so quickly, but I guess that can be easily explained away by the disease. Other than that, I thought the author did a great job of tackling such a tricky and interweaving timeline of events. Nothing was too terribly confusing and it all did wind up being somewhat relevant to the story. Even though this story is set in present time, I feel like it had sort of a antique feel to it. Maybe because of the language, or something else, but the whole book seemed to have an “old soul” in a way. I liked it. All in all, I’d give it a 4 out of 5 stars. I know that this was made into a movie and I am interested to see how they tackle the enormous amount of background and the shifting of time.

The Time Traveler’s Wife, SK5

A mere 1,000 years later… I bring you my notes!

⁃ p. 384: It has been 1,000 pages of pregnancy trauma, and now, boom? Just, baby?

⁃ p. 385: I keep saying the name Alba out loud, and I don’t think I actually enjoy the first/last name combo. I am, however, intrigued by future travel Henry. Two future Henry moments so soon together.

⁃ p. 387: So much is happening on this page! I thought only one Henry age was strange at the start of this chapter. What is happening? I love smart, art critic Alba though.

⁃ p. 398: Why does Gomez call Clare kitten? It feels kind of gross.

⁃ p. 403: This makes child birth seem maximumly horrifying.

⁃ p. 410: I like this. It’s nice knowing Clare has some life beyond Henry.

⁃ p. 414: Borders!

⁃ p. 430: Would Clare have gone to school in Chicago if Henry hadn’t said they meet there?

⁃ p. 431: Ugh, but we already know about Gomez. I hate love-triangles in books, though I’m not sure this counts as a triangle since Gomez obviously has no chance.

⁃ p. 434: I’m sorry, what? Charisse and Gomez were already together?! And we’re just always worried about how Henry will feel?

⁃ p. 436: To be honest, I don’t think Clare needs either Gomez or Henry.

⁃ p. 440: Charisse is kind of right though. Opera is silly.

⁃ p. 442: This so perplexing. Then why be with Gomez at all?

⁃ p. 445: I love that Alba gets a more pleasant time travel experience with a teacher. It seems way nicer than Henry’s experience.

I feel like this must be a good book because I took a several months break from reading it, but I still remember what was going on. I also, still, don’t particularly like any of the characters, but I am oddly invested in their story, which also seems pretty like a good indicator of quality.

It’ll be interesting to see where we go in this final section. Like you said, there are somethings that will obviously have to be addressed, but it doesn’t seem overly predictable at this point.

The Time Traveler’s Wife, SK4

And now, for some Super Koala thoughts:

⁃ p. 304: I guess I still don’t understand why Henry isn’t more open about time travel. Like, he doesn’t have to tell everyone, but the necessary people in his daily life could know. (His boss for example.)

⁃ p. 305: So, something is definitely going to happen with Henry and this cage?

⁃ p. 309: Future time traveling Henry!

⁃ p. 312: I had to look up Dasein. Here’s the quick Google definition: (in Hegelianism) existence or determinate being; (in existentialism) human existence

⁃ p. 317: I don’t like this discussion about Down syndrome for Colin, as though he’s in some way not as good now. Also, why is Dr. Kendrick being so vicious?

⁃ p. 326: I would please be liking a wonderful vegetarian eggroll.

⁃ p. 330: Stuff like this always hurts me. There are so many babies that could be given a home without the risk of time travel and further harm to Clare’s mental state.

⁃ p. 333: Wait, is this first moment real or a dream? Poor Clare.

⁃ p. 334: This page makes me realize that I’m expecting a bad ending for this book. I guess I was assuming that the reason we don’t see Henry after age 43 is because something tragic happens. Now it could be because he just no longer time travels.

⁃ p. 343: Blast from the past. On this day/time in our lives, we were in Uncle George’s living room.

⁃ p. 349: Yes! Let’s adopt!

⁃ p. 350: WHAT. Is Henry doing?

⁃ p. 361: I feel sad for Clare. This is starting to seem dangerous.

⁃ p. 367: I feel like keeping this a secret from Clare is bad practice

⁃ p. 370: This is uncomfortable. And not exactly okay.

⁃ p. 377: This is all so traumatizing. I don’t understand why Clare is subjecting herself to all this sad. Plus, why does she want a baby who time travels and is at risk of all the dangers that Henry is?

This section makes me insides so tense and uncomfortable. Like you said in your blurb, I imagine I can attribute that to the quality writing, but it makes me feel all tightly wound to read.

I am feeling very curious about where exactly we’re going on in the story. I feel like a lot of plot threads are being pulled as we jump from phase to phase of the story. I also have to say that I didn’t particularly like either of our characters in this segment, but I still think they are well crafted.

The Time Traveler’s Wife, SK3

Super Koala Thoughts!

⁃ p. 234: I love Kimy meeting Clare. She seems delightful.

⁃ p. 237: Crows are gorgeous. Go team Clare.

⁃ p. 244: I would also not want to hang out with Ingrid. But Celia seems … fun? Reckless? Slightly hateful?

⁃ p. 251: What if instead of whatever nefarious task Henry is up to, Henry and Gomez go set the mom’s boyfriend on fire?

⁃ p. 255: It doesn’t seem like a great sign that so many of Henry’s former girlfriends dislike him so much.

⁃ p. 256: What. Is. Kiwi Jelly?!?

⁃ p. 263: I imagine Clare will be terrifically excited to see future hair Henry. I am so very stressed about their wedding though. With this much foreshadowing, it feels mostly doomed.

⁃ p. 270: I had to look up this hair. It is much different than I pictured based on the book description.

⁃ p. 272: But of course Henry is time traveling. Stressed.

⁃ p. 273: Wait. What? Which Henry is which right now?

⁃ p. 276: I kind of hate this idea that Clare married future Henry. It kind of fits with the idea that she’s always waiting for a Henry she’ll never have with her in the present. Future Henry is always coming to save the day, but Clare has to exist on a daily basis with present Henry.

⁃ p. 278: What is this persistent weirdness with Gomez and Clare? Is he jealous? … Ben also gets the Gomez vibe, in case any audience readers were missing it.

⁃ p. 289: I fully support Henry’s lottery plan. Time travel has to have some advantage somewhere.

⁃ p. 294: I always forget people can just hire movers. Do they tell people they won the lottery?

⁃ p. 297: Aha! Gomez suspicions confirmed!

⁃ p. 302: Hm. We end on an interesting clue about the book’s future. I have been wondering where it was going.

I enjoyed this section! I’m kind of glad we’re done with the wedding, which obviously was going to cause a lot of hullabaloo in the plot, and now onto the main conflict. The wedding caused me an initial amount of stress (I hate when it feels like everything is about to go wrong), but it actually wasn’t that bad. As I mentioned in my notes, I just kind of hate that future Henry comes into Clare’s life so much.

I’m really interested by the increased focus on Gomez and Clare. It seems like we’ve had too many details about it for it not to end up being pretty important. However, I’ll be really displeased if we end up in some sort of love-triangle focus. Young adult literature has made me loathe a love-triangle, and it has been very nice reading an adult book.

The Time Traveler’s Wife, SK2

The Thoughts of Super Koala:

⁃ p. 166: Aha! We get some scope of Henry’s time travel powers. Sickness? Symptoms?

⁃ p. 169: What does one even do with 24 rooms?

⁃ p. 177: I’m so sad for Sharon. She doesn’t think her own fiancé is nice?

⁃ p. 184: This Christmas dinner seems terribly laborious. But none of them seem to have anything else to do.

⁃ p. 187: Etta seems like the real MVP.

⁃ p. 194: I’m definitely sensing some impending time travel drama. Why don’t they just tell people? Why does it have to be a secret? It’s not like it’s Henry’s fault. And they could eventually prove it like they do to Gomez.

⁃ p. 200: I very much enjoy Alicia and Henry as pool sharks. They should be a duo.

⁃ p. 203: It is so nice that we have the actual best dad.

⁃ p. 226: It’s so hateful for his dad to act like Henry doesn’t deserve to speak about his mom.

While I have gathered no additional enthusiasm toward Henry and Clare’s relationship, I am still enjoying this book. It feels like it’s a quick read without feeling like an entirely fluffy piece of writing. Even with taking my time to add notes, I find I finish my reading very quickly.

I do find the timeline of the book kind of strange. It’s slightly unsettled in my brain. For some reason, it feels like everything should be set more in the 50s and 60s, instead of being in the 90s and 00s. Do you get an older atmosphere as well? I can’t pinpoint exactly what is giving me that feeling. I’m still enjoying it regardless; I just keep being surprised at the time everything is taking place.

The Time Traveler’s Wife: Pg 163-227

Captain Spazzmataz Thoughts:

• 163- Geez Claire. He probably hates being in the car because his mom tragically died there! Have some sympathy!
• 167- So if he can go about fifty years in either direction, that means he can go to years pre-birth.
• 170- I forgot that Clare’s father and brother have seen Henry before. This seems tricky.
• 176- I feel like this is a very serious conversation for two complete strangers.
• 179- They had La Croix in 1991? I had no idea.
• 187- If Henry knows that watching TV makes him time travel, why would he risk doing it at Clare’s family home. Again, seems like a risky move.
• 189- I like Alicia. She’s spunky
• 196- Well that’s pretty lucky. His future self can reassure him that everything is okay.
• 219- I don’t understand why Henry and his dad are so unfriendly toward each other. I’m glad we are finally getting a story line with the two of them.
• 220- So Mrs. Kim knows. Does anybody else know?
• 225- Okay. Now I feel kind of bad for Henry’s dad. Sure, he did this to himself, but he seems so sad.

I was not as engaged in this section of the book. The Christmas chapter was very long, and it had a more slow paced feel to it. I appreciated all of the development with Clare’s family, but I think it could have been broken up a bit. Maybe if I had read that chapter right after the beginning section, then it would have seemed like a nice break after all of the jumping back and forth. However, since it was the first chapter I read after taking a bit of a break, it felt very monotonous.

I’m still enjoying the book overall. It is a very interesting story. I am intrigued to see how this development of some of Clare’s family and friends knowing about Henry previously will develop. Alicia is definitely my favorite character so far.

The Time Traveler’s Wife, SK1

A log of Super Koala thoughts:

⁃ p. X: If I’m understanding the details, Henry is a librarian and Clare makes paper for a living? That sounds exquisite. I’m enjoying the descriptions in the prologue very much and how they create this tone of earnest longing. If I’m teaching advanced English next year, this could be a good snippet for tone practice. (I should make a note of this somewhere.) ((Do I need a new notebook?!)) (((I don’t. Calm down.)))

⁃ p. 11: How does Henry have any idea how old he is if he’s always flitting through time? And how many Henry’s are there in this theoretical time line?

⁃ p. 19: I suppose keeping Winnie the Pooh on your shelf cancels out the tragedy of keeping Naked Lunch.

⁃ p. 21: At this point, I also think the mechanics of time travel seem a little blurry in the story (I peaked at your notes.) I’ve read a book with a similar time travel concept before, and I feel like you just have to nod and roll with it. If you think about it too much, it starts to fall apart.

⁃ p. 27: Does Henry always return to his life? How terribly unfortunate that he has to be naked. And why? If his body transports, why wouldn’t the items on his body also transport?

⁃ p. 30: I’m confused by this Henry meeting Henry phenomena. How would this work in the timeline of Harry’s life, if 5 year old him remembers meeting him? Is 5 year ild Henry also traveling into the past? What happens to real time when Henry is time-traveling? Do his parents know he’s gone?

⁃ p. 40: As I am not six, I don’t know if I buy this explanation for why Henry can’t keep the items directly on his person when he time travels. Especially if it’s involuntary and the clothes are made out of organic materials, like cotton.

⁃ p. 49: Henry with Henry is definitely the most boggling part. I wonder how long he travels for at a time. Does he really need to know how to steal and and make weapons? It doesn’t seem like he’s gone for terribly long…

⁃ p. 55: So can Henry go to the future then?

⁃ p. 71: I’m not sure how I feel about all this Henry visiting Clare. I know the book is their love story, but it seems like Henry’s presence would have had a huge impact on Clare’s whole life. She never really got to be an independent person without him. Whereas, Henry got to do whatsoever he pleased until he was 28, forming a solidified, independent identity.

⁃ p. 78: So Clare is also aware of this potential lack of independent identity.

⁃ p. 97: I’m exceptionally comfortable with murdering Jason. If only Clare hadn’t come along. The future doesn’t need him.

⁃ p. 108: I feel like I’m not paying enough attention to the details of this book. Like the dates and the chapter titles. I predict I’ll want to go back through them.

⁃ p. 110: Can Henry go beyond his birth?

⁃ p. 114: What a horrifically horrifying death…

⁃ p. 132: I am made deeply unhappy by the concept of a skin book.

⁃ p. 144: So it’s not always such a short visit in time.

⁃ p. 146: And another clue about time passage when Henry is away!

⁃ p. 159: Henry is definitely Clare’s bad news.

⁃ p. 161: I don’t love that it’s Clare’s job to help Henry be a decent person. That’s far different than him helping her conjugate verbs or learn algebra.

So far I’m really enjoying this book. I admittedly don’t super love any of the characters yet, but the writing is very lovely. Everything feels kind of decadent in my brain, but also sepia toned. It’s like when I watched The Theory of Everything or Little Women. The new one anyway.

My favorite part about the book has been the pacing. A love story is typically not my favorite, but I like the wisp of a mystery that surrounds it. I think it has been a very intriguing read, though I do get a touch confused with the mechanics of time travel.

Little to Note

From the bar stool of Captain Spazzmataz:

I have had a pretty lackluster week filled with homework, practicing, and dog park times. I just fed Lenard because Corrie is gone for the weekend, and watching him eat his dinner is probably the most exciting thing I’ve done.

Oh! Something exciting to note, I finally finished all of the Harry Potter books! Now when I come home for winter break, we can watch all of the movies. I am also very happy to be reading not the Harry Potter books after spending all summer trying to get through them. I finished them on Saturday, and now I am about halfway through Sing, Unburied, Sing, and when I started to read, it took me a second to grasp that I wasn’t reading Harry Potter. The writing style is so different, and I had to re-read the first paragraph a couple of times to get my brain to realize that there are other forms of narrative.

Another semi exciting thing that I did this week was make cool ranch Doritos mozzarella sticks in the air fryer. I wish I would have taken a picture of them, because they were delicious. It was super easy and they only took 6 minutes in the air fryer. I am going to be very sad when I am no longer in a home with an air fryer. It makes cooking so much more enjoyable.

I will end my post with some photos of Churro, and hopefully I will have something more exciting to report next week. Today, she decided to destroy one of her toys, which is quite odd for her.

Until next time,

Captain Spazzmataz

The Joy Luck Club: Many Weeks Later

Captain Spazzmataz Thoughts:

• P. 87 – TeeHee. She deserved it.
• P. 91 – Well that is kind of terrifying. I am glad that we aren’t known for performing the best torture.
• P. 94 – I feel like it would be extremely frustrating to explain chess to a seven year old.
• P. 95 – Man, there are a lot of gruesome names for chess tactics.
• P. 100 – I like the image of the apartment having tiger eyes.

I liked this section. It was more interesting for some reason. I guess because the past few chapters were told from the old ladies’ points of view and this one was from one of the daughters.

Sickly Super Koala Thoughts:

• p. 87 – These malignant gates sound very intense.  Malignant is just such a great descriptor.
• p. 89 – Waverly’s mom is obviously a boss.  Also, I kind of love the name Waverly.
• p. 90 – “Golden teeth” is a sneaky description.  It sounds fancy, but you know its got to be super gross.
• p. 94 – I can’t even imagine the difficulty of learning chess from an instruction book.  Go those kids.
• p. 95 – This adorably reminds me of the Pixar chess short.
• p. 97 – Momma Jong just roasted the brothers! Also, Bobby needs to calm it down.
• p. 100 – Man, Momma Jong is rough.  I don’t know how I would feel if my parents called me “this girl.”

So far, I really like Waverly’s portion of the story.  The intense place of pressure and pride that she comes from is so different from my own childhood experiences, as I am obviously not a child chess champion.  I’m definitely interested in the progression of this story arc, especially as it continues into their adult lives.

The Joy Luck Club: Labor Day Reading

Captain Spazzmataz Thoughts:

• P. 67 – Man, these mothers are so depressing. It is horrible that she doesn’t think she is noticed by anyone. It’s so sad that they have gone though such troubles in their life and now they are so far removed from modern life that they can’t connect with anyone.
• P. 70 – Wow. Really? “A girl can never ask, only listen.” That is just horrible. How could anyone live like that!?
• P. 71 – Do her sisters really not have names, or does she just not care to say them?
• P. 72 – How do they expect a four year old to stand perfectly still and not play?
• P. 73 – What! They get to take afternoon naps! So jealous.
• P. 75 – I think that is kind of cruel making a bird get your fish for you.
• P. 78 – Has nobody on her boat noticed that she is missing!?
• P. 83 – I don’t really understand what happened in these last few pages. It was really strange, but I am glad that her family did care that she was missing and that they found her again.

Super Koala Thoughts:

• p. 67 – It’s such a sad beginning, the obvious disconnect between the mothers and daughters.
• p. 71 – Her sisters don’t get real names?  They’re like the things from the Dr. Seuss book.
• p. 72 – I’m so curious as to what a mooncake tastes like.  The combination of bean paste and egg yolk doesn’t strike me as something sweet, but they’re always used as a treat in this book.
• p. 74 – The old ladies hitting each other with fans is a hilarious image.
• p. 75 – The shrimpies!
• p. 76 – Using the bird is such a sad yet ingenious way of fishing.
• p. 78 – What a horrifying event for a little girl! Or anyone.
• p. 81 – And to think, I thought the yin and yang concept was cool when I was younger.
• p. 82 – Say whaaaat.

I feel like my comments on this book are fairly boring because I like it so much.  I don’t have any complaints, I just want to keep reading it.