Fiction/ Science Fiction: The Time Traveler's Wife.

Title: The Time Traveler's Wife
Author: Audrey Niffenegger
Publisher: Harvest Books
Year: 2003
Pages: 536 pages
Rating: 5.

Is the past truly past and the future written in stone? Henry DeTamble knows. The opening chapter of The Time Traveler's Wife lays it all on the line: Henry is a time traveler who cannot control the when, where or how. Time pulls at him like the tides and only Clare Abshire, the woman destined to be his wife, can tie him to the present. Author Audrey Niffenegger takes these simple ground rules and creates a moving story of spectacular scope and humanity: one that is taut, logical, sensual, suspenseful, comic and tragic.

The logic...
of the story is unrelenting. Niffenegger sets down the rules of Henry's time traveling gifts early in the novel: Henry cannot control where he goes, backwards or forwards, cannot carry anything through time that is not a part of him, and cannot change time or, perhaps like most of us, has simply grown to accept his fate. The book never defies those rules, but carefully navigates among high and low notes to produce a fugue-like experience.

The devil...
is in the details. From the soft rustle of clothing to mealtime to sexual congress between man and wife, Niffenegger embues her moments with life and lust. It doesn't hurt that her protagonist constantly arrives naked in his adventures through time, or that constant exercise, good spousal sex and mood-enhancing drugs seem to anchor him in the present. Moving beyond the strictly physical, the joy the characters receive through conversation and experience creates what may seem to be an oxymoron: that of a spiritual sensuality, an atheist's consecration and joy in the feeling of being.

(Bonus: as a special treat to Chicagoans, Niffenegger, like a good Hollywood scout, uses some very picturesque Chicago locations. The observant reader will enjoy magnificent views of the Evanston beach, the University of Chicago, and a slightly anachronistic Magnificent Mile.)

Antici...
pation will be rewarded to the patient reader. Mysteries specific to Henry's travels through time pop up almost from page one, and the author keeps the suspense high until nearly the final word. How does she keep so many plates spinning at once? By acknowledging what most Hollywood blockbusters fail: that love is only the first step. Henry loves Clair; Clair loves Henry. But what happens when she takes him home to meet the family? Will he make it through their wedding? Will Henry learn to control or perhaps abuse his power? To answer these questions would spoil the pleasure of discovery, but it is enough to say that Niffenegger, like God, answers all questions, not always to the benefit of those who ask...

You'll find it funny...
(sometimes) that Henry cannot travel with the usual amenities, clothes included, so the timing of his arrivals and departures vacillates between the tragic and the comic. Those around him learn to tolerate it, but for everyone there is always a first time, and that time is not always linear. Henry must also occasionally assert himself against the elements and people who fail to respect CDPs (Chronologically Displaced Persons), especially when the only clothes he can manage to steal look like castoffs from a gay kindergarten teacher. Henry also has trouble with the authorities, who find that while they can catch him, they can never hold on to him long enough to get even his fingerprints.

The tragedy...
is that the book must end, but it acquits itself well. The Time Traveler's Wife is not "Quantum Leap", "Voyagers" or every other episode of "Star Trek", but is more closely related to Greek drama: we meet a powerful, mythical character cursed with mortal flaws. Henry is not always wise enough about his own condition to do the right thing. Clair, at first a little star-struck by the man whose sudden visits made her childhood a treat, finds in the inverse of his sudden departures a great sadness that is equal parts noble and selfish. Even a time traveler must grow older, and while he can travel to a past in which the living are dead, he knows he must return to a present in which fate is indeed written in stone.

Audience: 1) Chicagoans, 2) runners, 3) science fiction fans willing to look outside the boundaries of the Star Wars/Star Trek franchise, 4) fans of Magical Realism literature, and 5) anyone who has ever known love and loss.

Reviewed by: Matt Larsen.