The Time Traveler's Wife

In this novel, and with a traveler of time who can't tell when and where he's going to disappear next, you'll have your fingers ready to turn the next page.

This is a story about a girl named Clare, who knew everything about her love, life, and future with Henry. Henry meets her in a library for the first time, but for Clare, it’s the nth time. This is because he suffers from a rare condition which pulls him into his past and future without any warning. As Henry grows older, the more he finds himself being taken to the past, finally revealing his encounters with Clare. This explains how Clare knew him even before they even met in the present-the here and now.

Usually, Henry travels a lot more into the past, which gives Clare a pretty good glimpse of her future life with him as old future Henry tells their story of how they will eventually meet, and all other things. But there are a few occasions when he travels into the future and when this happens, it’s mostly into the far future. They struggle to live a normal life, despite Henry’s unexpected disappearances.

(Spoiler Alert- this paragraph only) The one thing I love so much about this book is the ending. It closes with a heartbreaking event of hopefulness. Henry travels as far as a time when he no longer exists, finding an old woman one day while facing the lake, wearing a sweater- her name is Clare. It’s old Clare. Realizing his presence, she turns with joy to his direction, ready to take him into her arms. He describes this all to Clare before he reaches his death. His illustrated event will be the last encounter they will have with each other. Knowing this, Clare prepares for their meeting every single day. She wears a sweater, looks out at the lake from the same room as Henry portrayed. It’s a mix agony and hope of having to wait for a very specific moment- well pictured in your mind- you know will come, but with no knowledge of when.

After reading the book, it suddenly came into my mind why the title given by the author focused more on the wife, instead of the traveler himself. It made me wonder. In my own reflections, I decided that although the point of view shifted between the two of them all throughout, it’s the struggle of an ordinary person like Clare whom we can connect and relate a lot better with. It’s her life of having to live and love a very special person like Henry that makes the whole story interesting. Anyway, it’s for me to know and for you to find out.