Just Finished Reading: The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (FP: 2004) [518pp]

It was easy to be sceptical, at least at first. After all, no reasonable person could have believed him. When a clearly naked man, hiding in the undergrowth, asks you for some clothing and tells you he’s a time traveller how are you supposed to react? But she was polite and offered him a towel. Keeping her distance they exchanged pleasantries and then, with little warning, he vanished with a small ‘pop’. Now she simply questioned her sanity but she had made a promise and she’d keep it. She didn’t tell her family what had happened (who would believe her anyway?) and she put some of her father’s old clothes in a box in the bushes for when (or if?) he came back. Which he did – often. Despite the fact that the time traveller wouldn’t tell her much about the future (too dangerous he said) or about himself (ditto) she did pick up a few things along the way – like the fact that, in the future, they were married. More than a decade later Claire popped into a library to get some books for her thesis and there he was in the flesh (although fully clothed this time). Henry looked at her in bemusement. Whilst she had known him, seemingly, all of her life it was Henry’s first meeting in ‘real time’. Dating a time traveller wasn’t going to be easy, marrying and living with one was going to be more of an adventure than most people can handle but having a child with one was going to be hell – and that was only the start of it.

Looking back on it I think this was a quick impulse buy. I hadn’t seen the movie (still haven’t) so the only thing I can think of is that it looked ‘different’ and that I really liked time travel stories – which I do. So when I started it I wasn’t really sure what to expect. The blurb led me to expect something ‘original’ (which is good) and that it was an ‘old-fashioned love story’ which I’d probably disagree with – there was nothing ‘old-fashioned’ about this book. The main premise is, to say the least, odd. Henry is an involuntary time traveller. It’s a genetic defect that, under times of stress, result in him popping back (although sometimes, rarely, forward) in time. Sometimes it’s for minutes, other times for hours and occasionally for days at a time. Mostly he ends up in the same place but at different times, sometimes he goes somewhere completely new. Mostly when he comes back he’s just cold and hungry, other times he’s bloody and beaten from his encounters. But when he arrives at his destination he’s always naked. Nothing outside or alien to the body goes with him – even his teeth fillings (if he was stupid enough to have any) stay behind. Needless to say to survive such a lifestyle you need a particular mind-set and a particular skillset – from breaking and entering to mugging to being able to run (fast)!

I think the thing that most surprised me about this book was that, practically from the first page, it completely drags you into the narrative. The suspension of disbelief is totally complete. Although the idea of genetic defect time travel is, at least to me, nonsensical I just accepted it as part of the story and moved on. It’s one of the reasons I’ve decided to classify the book here as Fantasy rather than Sci-Fi (the blub just classifies it as ‘Fiction’) because the ‘science’ neither makes sense nor is particularly important. What is important is the story and the two main and several of the subsidiary characters. The main characters – Claire and Henry (the traveller) – are brilliantly drawn and I loved them both. They are complex, living breathing people who would be fascinating to know. I was deeply impressed with how they progressed through the novel, how they interacted with each other (it may not be an old-fashioned love story but it is a marvellous one) and how they coped (just in some cases) with the trials and tribulations of a very unusual relationship. Those of you prone to tears will need to keep a box of hankies nearby. This was one of those books that is literally difficult to put down but, at the same time, something you are desperate NOT to end. It was, in a word, brilliant and more than deserving for all the praise it received at the time. Most definitely one of the best books of the year and, therefore, mostly highly recommended. Apart from the inevitable emotionality contained within please note there is some sex (not particularly graphic), violence (ditto), drug use and swearing. There might also be the occasional glass of wine drunk and cigarette smoked – so be warned! Overall this will warm your heart (once the tears stop) and leave you a little misty-eyed and wistful for days afterwards.

New High Score (since records began 22nd October 2020)

Page count: 518pp [+48pp]   

Awards:

Sainsbury's Popular Fiction Award Best Novel

Arthur C. Clarke Award Best Book (nominee)

John W Campbell Memorial Award Best Novel (nominee)

The Richard and Judy Best Read of the Year Best Book (nominee)