(7/14/2010)
Since Henry was a boy, he has been different. He has what will be called “Chrono-Displacement Disorder.” This disorder causes him to travel through time; he can go forwards or backwards in time, but often finds himself returning to the same spots. One second he is at his work at the Newberry Library in Chicago and the next he is stark naked in a meadow in Michigan. The downside to Henry’s traveling is that nothing comes with him; he may end up somewhere dangerous, in the freezing snow or in the middle of traffic with no clothes and only himself to rely on.
Clare Abshire is also a special individual. When she was six years old a man appeared in her meadow claiming to have come from the future. At this age she is unsure about the man but over time and through many visits she realizes that Henry is her true love, the man who she would marry in the future. Henry is only eight years older than Clare but he first meets her when she is six and he is 36 in the meadow near her parent’s house. The two get to know each other during Clare’s adolescence with different versions of Henry sporadically popping in.
I loved this book; the author takes you back and forth through time showing you the perspectives of both the time traveler and the time traveler’s wife. As a reader you are able to fall in love with the characters as they struggle with the time they have with each other and see how they deal with it being ripped from them. It is a depiction of how love lasts through a life and how it grows with each challenge faced. Personally I enjoyed the book and recommend it, but there are some who would not like the book. It is especially not written for children or young teens because it is very mature and has some very mature themes throughout the entire book. If people are not comfortable with mature themes, (i.e. swearing, sexual intimacy, and crudeness) then this is not the book for them.