The Time Traveler's Wife

I was desperately in need for a feel-good/fun, girly and quick book and my Back Mountain library had this available. I had seen the movie a while ago, but the 500+ page novel seemed sure to offer more heart.

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Genre: Fiction, Romance, Sci-Fi
Publication Date: 2003
Setting: Chicago, 1970s-early 2000s

The charming story about a man, Henry, who lives out of time, and his romance with Clare. Clare meets Henry when she is a young girl, and grows up knowing him. But Henry doesn't meet Clare until he is in his 20s. So who fell in love first? What are the emotional/social implications of a young girl falling for an older man? Of course when Henry meets Clare (when they are both in their 20s) he doesn't have a difficult time falling for her (even though he hasn't yet experienced the history she has with him). Theirs is romance that feeds my love for science fiction.

This book also gets a little deep, as questions about destiny and free will arise. If Henry from the future is meeting young Clare (and they are married), does Clare really have a say in the matter? Can you change the future or is it all pre-determined? And if it is, by who? So far as I know, time travel does not exist and I won't hurt my head trying to think about it too much (or about future Henry and present Henry in bed together, a scene that was not well explained). As well as the predicament of conceiving/pregnancy and genetic testing - would you want your child to have a disorder? would you try to treat them as a child? or wait until they are old enough to make their own decision?

The most interesting theme I found was the loneliness in the relationship - Clare sometimes enjoys when Henry is away in time, but is very happy when he returns. Sometimes you want the other person gone (or better said: you want time to be alone/independent) but that doesn't mean you don't miss or enjoy having them around.

Finished reading: Monday, August 10, 2015

DD's Rating: A-
Another book I read in under 24 hours, which I enjoyed. I wish the author would've taken the issue of genetic testing a little further, to have a real debate, but this is supposed to be chick-lit. Full points for the exploration of free will and determinism. I also find it interesting that, for the most part, the chronology of "present" follows Clare's, although the book is narrated from both perspectives. I guess it is so the novel is as "current" as possible.

Next read: Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan