Can I preface this review by saying that I very rarely cry in movies. Okay,maybe I did shed a tear in Titanic... and that sad mother child scene in Dumbo (how could you not?). But I have never ever cried reading a book - until now. That's the effect that The Time Traveller's Wife has - it draws you in, so much so that you connect with the characters highs and devastating lows.
Audrey Niffenegger's debut novel is, in a word, amazing. It follows the literal lifelong love between Henry and Clare. They met when Clare was six and Henry was thirty-six, and were married when Clare was twenty-two and Henry thirty. Henry suffers from a rare genetic disorder known as Chrono-Displacement. Without warning, Henry can disappear into thin air and materialise, naked and ravenous, at any point in his life, past, present or future.
The genre of the book has been hotly debated. In my opinion it is essentially a romance interwoven with confronting issues such as Henry's ex-girlfriends suicide; Clare's struggles to conceive and ultimately her many miscarriages; and a completely unexpected disfigurement. But despite the obstacles they are faced with, theirs is a love that literally stands the (many) tests of time. And the sci-fi element of time travel is utilised as a clever vehicle to present their long and complex story.
It is told from two points of view. We follow Clare's version of events in a natural progression from their first meeting as a child to the point where are finally in the same present and happily married. Henry's version jumps erratically from past to present to future to present to past... At some points in the story we are even presented with more than one Henry as his lifelines overlap.
Confusing? It could have quite easily been. Instead Niffenegger's clever narration keeps the storyline moving and Henry's uncontrollable sojourns help to piece together an enviable love story that spans a lifetime. If only we could all be so lucky.
