2 of 11

Write now Article Tools

We have a magazine in the library that is designed primarily for members of Reader's Groups (it's called New Books Mag). I like to have a look in it too because it gives snippets from books and some book reviews by members of the public. This is usually the place where I spot something that sounds interesting ~ a book to seek out and read in full. This is how I found The Time Traveler's Wife, by the wonderfully named Audrey Niffenegger.

THE PLOT.

Essentially the story combines a love story with the concept of time travel. Sounds quite weird and is a little, but it is actually a rather good tale about the effect of Chrono-Displacement Disorder on a marriage. The key characters are Claire (an art student) and Henry (a Librarian) DeTamble, a couple who met, fell in love and got married. Sounds simple enough at this stage doesn't it?

The problems start because Henry has the oddly named illness I mentioned above ~ a disorder which means he can travel through time and that his body clock "resets" itself from time to time. Throughout their marriage Claire ages normally, while Henry's age progresses in a rather unorthodox manner! He pops off at random moments to random time zones and places, leaving his poor family wondering where and when he is.

It is funny at times (Henry arrives at his destinations stark naked) and very moving at others (his experiences leave him traumatized), yet it is always unpredictable and strangely believable.and Henry works in a library like me!

WHAT I THOUGHT.

While I enjoyed this book I did find certain aspects of it a little disturbing. When Henry meets Claire he falls in love and begins to travel back to times during her childhood to "mould" her into the woman he is going to marry. When Claire first meets Henry, she already knows him because he has appeared intermittently throughout her life. I just found the way he knows he will marry her and grooms her a little odd and not quite healthy.
Conversely, at this meeting Henry hasn't met Claire yet, even though she knows everything about him ~ he is "calm, clothed, younger than I have ever seen him" (remember he is always naked after his time slips). Henry wonders what he has promised Claire in the past and knows that it was one of his future (or was it past) selves that has met this "astoundingly beautiful amber-haired tall slim girl" somewhere and someWHEN! Claire thinks how odd it is and is "at a loss because I am in love with a man who is standing before me with no memories of me at all. Everything

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Book reviews: The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffeneger?
We want to hear your view. Write now!