The Time Traveler's Wife
The
Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger is not a romance novel although there
are elements of romance in the book. Just so the romance addicts are aware
of this before running to get a copy.
This book is the story about Henry, a man whose genetic clock is constantly re-setting itself. Which effectively means that he is constantly travelling through time without any control over when this happens, when he goes to, or how to stop it.
This book is told in the first person perspective, however it is very unusual as it is told in the first person perspective of both Henry and Clare. At first I thought that this was going to be very confusing however it was excellently done with the reader clearly shown whenever the perspective changes and also what year Henry was in and how old he and (when appropriate) Clare are. This in itself is very helpful as when Henry travels into the past it is not in any sort of order and the young Clare sees him at different ages, older and younger and then back again and again.
The novel begins with a short description by both characters as to what it is like to the traveler and what it is like to be the person left behind.
The story then truly begins with Henry meeting Clare for the first time. Or at least it is his first meeting with her, Clare has known him since she was a child, he just has not met her yet...
Henry realises that he must have met Clare at some time when he travelled into the past, only for him it has not happened yet. Clare knows that Henry travels through time and quickly fills him in on their history, or at least as much as she knows of it. For when she knew Henry he had been very mysterious about the future, never telling Clare too much.
The first part of the book focuses on Clare's meeting Henry on many occasions in her past and Henry's discovery that he was moving about in time and the effects it had on his life and his family. Throughout this part of the book little mysteries are left up in the air ready to be explained later. The reader is left to wonder at what was troubling Henry in the years surrounding the turn of the century and what it was that the child Clare missed seeing when she came across Henry and her father and brother late one night. Little mysteries that only time will explain.
Separated by two years when Henry did not come to visit her Clare knows that one day she will meet him again and that they are destined to marry. Henry had told her so. But now she has found him again she has trouble reconciling the older Henry that she knew in the past with the younger Henry who is now in her present.
They make their lives together, marry and have hopes of starting a family. But constantly separating them is Henry's departures into the past, or on occasion the future. Certain things trigger his departures, the television and stress, but there is no set pattern to his trips through time and although his doctor does believe him (after proof) he is the first guinea pig in the experiments to discover what is wrong with him and how to stop it.
As the story plays out all the mysteries of the past are explained in this novel that neatly ties up the loose ends in a way that few modern novels ever do.
I have to say that this is one of the most original novels I have ever read for so many different reasons. The idea of someone travelling through time in such a way is original and well thought out. The perspectives of two characters told in the first person is (as far as I know) unique and excellently handled.
Filled with both humour and sadness, this novel made me laugh out loud with an abundance of humour, mainly from the fact that whenever Henry travels in time it is only him that goes - nothing else - including clothes. However it also drew tears from me, something that few books ever do, particularly towards the end when as a reader you can see what is going to happen and even as you realise that Henry and Clare know what awaits them you cannot but hope that somehow they can cheat fate.
This novel is a story of a love that appears predestined as Clare and Henry are brought together by whatever fate controls him but also torn apart by the same force.
Truly original and a book I am sure I will be raving about in years to come.
RATING : 
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