Book Review: The Time Traveler's Wife

By: Alafair Turner

        The Time Traveler’s Wife comprises volumes more than a simply entertaining story. Crafted intricately, woven through decades, developed in theme and in plot, this novel is absolutely quality literature. The theme encompasses love and how it grows and develops through time, based on the twists and turns of life and communication between two individuals.

         The lead female character, Claire, lives a normal life outside of the fact that she is visited through out her childhood by her future husband, a time traveler. Henry suffered a severe car accident at a young age and from that point on jumped uncontrollably through the years, one moment in the present, the next, in his childhood bedroom. Various aspects of the story support this situation. Instead of making the novel science fiction, the author kept the
scientific side quiet and focused on the lives of Claire and Henry. Both characters are very evolved; their unique personalities remain realistic and relatable, so a reader can fall into the rhythm of the plot. The point of view switches between the two lead characters, so a reader feels like he or she is inside the mind of each. The distinction between first person narration of events and actions versus internal thoughts and feelings creates the contrast between what is shared by Claire and Henry, and what they keep to themselves. 

        Claire’s infinite and underlying sadness at the phenomenon that is her lover, his unexpected disappearances for hours or weeks at a time, the darkness that surrounds her fear and the unknown—all of this comprises her development as a character. We watch her grow from a small child to a grown adult—the years of her youth when she would run out to meet Henry in the clearing near her rural home, the nights of adolescence when she began to see him differently, the gap between their interactions when he’d travel to her past and when she finally found him in both of their presents.

        Henry is characterized by frustration with his condition, an eternal love for Claire, and fear about the future and how much time he has left. Readers see his perspective on the situation, his coincidental meeting with Claire at the Chicago Library through his later visits to her childhood, how time travel wears on him and puts him in impossible situations. As we learn more about his life, his past, and why he developed this condition, we are able to see why he clings to the stability that Claire provides, and goes on day after day to protect her, as he is unable to protect himself.

        Beyond the broader plot and theme elements of the play, the author’s style of writing is easy to follow (despite abrupt changes in setting), and the choice of words builds the novel and boosts its power. Overall, this book is one of the most profound I’ve ever read.