The Time Traveler's Wife

This is another science fiction novel with little science and a lot of fiction, but a clever premise. Meet Henry. Henry is different. He has a genetic disorder, or at the least a genetic discrepancy, that will never show up on a 23andMe report. Henry has chrono-displacement disorder. His chronology genes, you know, the ones that keep us all grounded in the present, are messed up. The upshot is that he moves around randomly through time and space. He goes to his past, he goes to his future, he sees the future beyond his own death, he meets the woman he knows he will marry when she is only 8 years old. Hey, if you’re going to come up with a disorder of this nature, there is no reason not to go all the way.

Much of the book is, as the title suggests, about Clare, Henry’s wife, and their relationship. She has to live much of her life being visited by Henry, waiting for him when he disappears, and caring for him when he returns from his time/space jaunts. His disorder leads him to a lot of physical harm over the years and the chronology displacements take a toll. Overall the characters are interesting and well written. The plot twist does not get old as Niffenegger constantly adds new experiences and incidents that highlight unique aspects of the disorder. It helps that the book is narrated alternately by Henry and Clare. It also helps that this is a unique love story. In a way it is a tale of love conquering all, of the love of two people transcending time and space. When I first started this book, I thought it would get old fast, but it held my attention all the way to the end.