The Time Traveler’s Wife is Audrey Niffengger’s unorthodox tale of love dictated yet unbound by the flow of time. Its narrative alternates between two protagonists: Clare Abshire, an artist, and Henry DeTamble, a librarian who can’t control where or when he is in time. The book begins with Clare, age 20, meeting Henry, age 28, but their story had begun 14 years ago, when a 6 year old Clare meets a 36 year old Henry. Both knew the risks, yet they chose to be together. When they were together, they shared their joys and struggles. However, when parted by time, Henry struggled to survive and return to Clare while Clare could do nothing but wait.
The storyline is definitely unique from the other books I’ve read. To be honest, the whole time travelling concept was kind of hard to wrap my brain around. Also, knowing the age differences between Clare and Henry made some of the parts rather uncomfortable. Nonetheless, I really liked this book. By going back and forth from present to past or future, Niffenegger creates a sense of foreboding for the events to come. As I got farther into the book, I was caught up by a sense of dread since everything that will happen has already happened and there is no way to change it. Clare’s devotion to Henry throughout is admirable, though I find such commitment and reliance sort of scary. This book, like life, has its times of euphoric joy and also hopeless depression. Overall, I think it was an original and interesting read.
Comments