19 September, 2005

The Time Traveller's Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)

I had heard this book mentioned by others many times before reading it myself, but didn't know much about it. While it involves time travel, I wouldn't class it as science fiction. It's a love story, a tale that muses on connections and destiny, and the intricate ways in which we tie our lives to other people's.
Henry has a genetic disorder which causes him to uncontrollably travel in time, generally to important moments in his past or future. He spends time with his younger self, glimpses his future home, and when he is in his early twenties, he meets Clare, who says she has known him her entire life. When Henry is in his forties, he travels back in time and begins to regularly meet with Clare, who is six years old.
The Time Traveller's Wife charts Henry and Clare's relationship over the years, and it's a beautiful and very moving story. I felt so intimately connected to these characters, and the ending was rather heart-rending. A four out of five book - I loved it.

1 comment:

JillWrites said...

Me too. Don't you love it when you feel like the characters are really in your life...and then hate it when you realize that they're not?