Assessment of The Time Traveler's Wife

Since I put a posting about a book signing from the author of The Time Traveler's Wife, I thought I'd write a bit about my thoughts on this particular book. First off, the movie that came out didn't do so well in the box office. I heard it wasn't that good, but that's all second hand because I haven't seen it myself yet. I'm waiting for it to come out on Netflix. That said, movies based on books are never as good for me as the actual book. (Harry Potter, etc.) The movies might even be good, but not quite as rich in mental scenery as my imagination can create when reading the book.

There's been some controversy with the book, The Time Traveler's Wife because the main character, a 40-yr old man, visits his wife when she's 6 years old. The clincher in the controversy is that when the man time-travels, he's always naked. It's not his fault that he shows a 6-yr old girl his naked body, though. It's not this guy's choice to time travel. He can't predict when it's going to happen, and he can't choose where/when he'll go. But he always goes back in time with just his physical body (the rules are that contact, clothes, watches, can't go back in time...only him). So people are saying they won't read the book because of this naked episode between the 40 yr old and the 6 yr old. I don't agree with their condemnation of this scene. I definitely don't think it's a good reason not to read this book. And the scene is handled well, with the 40 yr old man running to try to cover himself. It's not like he's trying to be naked in front of a 6 yr old.

The book itself is one of my favorites. It has more depth than typical Chick-lit. I wouldn't even put it in that genre. I'd call it literary fiction. The time travelling aspect keeps the book moving fast, but it's filled with so much insight and character perspectives on how time travelling affects their lives. It's a great case into psychology. There are definitely parts of the book that are achingly sad, but there is profound hope in the end. I read this two years ago, and that year it was my favorite book I'd read. It's one book that I don't trade during book swaps or give away for my friends to read. I want to keep it on my bookshelf permanently.

Have you read this book? What did you think? What do you think of the controversy associated with it?