The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
I am a fast reader. I always have been. But it’s been a long time since I devoured a book this fast. When I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it and wondering when I could get back to it. We went to our friends’ house out of town over the weekend, and I brought it with me.
Finally I finished it off last night, and it is really a great story.
A couple of days ago, I was trying to explain the premise of this book to my husband, Eric.
“It’s about this guy who time travels involuntarily,” I told him.
I went on to explain that this makes everything circular for him. In his 30s and 40s, Henry spends a lot of time going back and visiting his wife as a child, which means that she knows him intimately (literally) before they even meet in any sort of normal timeline. So when they do meet, she scares the crap out of him by knowing everything about him.
Then, when they’re later married, she spends a lot of her time waiting for him, as he time travels.
Eric looked at me and said, “So it’s Sci-Fi.”
No way. I don’t read Sci-Fi.
“No, it’s definitely Sci-Fi,” he said. “It’s about time travel.”
So I guess we’re classifying this book as Science Fiction. But it reads like a really heartfelt story about two people whose relationship is, shall we say, unconventional. But something about their unique arrangement makes their love much more meaningful and deep.
One thing I really like about the book is that it doesn’t romanticize the characters. They get mad at each other, they get distracted and frustrated and have very painful periods in their life. But altogether, it makes things mean more to them.
I totally recommend this book. If you like Sci-Fi, it might be a little wimpy for you, but if you like sort of sweet, but not overly romanticized love stories, it’s going to be a refreshing change from what you’ve been reading.