Loving beyond time
Amanda Alexander Staff Reporter
Issue date: 4/16/08 Section: Features
Many stories have been told about time travel; it's a popular, interesting and mysterious topic.
Some American favorites include movies like "Back to the Future," "Donnie Darko," "The Terminator," and recently the movie "Jumper." But all of these stories tend to focus on the person doing the time traveling, rather than the other people being affected by the person's travels.
If you ever wonder what happens to the people left behind, check out "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger.
The book is, at its core, a love story.
It begins with the first meeting and first date of Henry and Claire, the main characters.
The twist on the story is that Henry's first meeting with Claire is not Claire's first meeting with Henry.
She met him when she was 6; he came from the future and told her that she would be his wife.
Henry is supposed to be a new kind of human, like the people on the TV show "Heroes" who develop special powers but are still completely human in every way.
He has to hide his ability from people so they don't think he's crazy.
The problem is, when he time travels, he is unable to take anything with him, so when he goes forward or backward in time he always shows up naked. And let's face it, everybody notices a naked guy.
Unlike other cheesy time-telling stories (yes, I am referring to you, "The Butterfly Effect"), Niffenegger didn't waste half of the story making the protagonist try to go back and change things so his life could be perfect.
Henry is unable to change things that are going to happen; he simply lives.
Time is not a straight line; it is everywhere and all at once. Henry never discovers the purpose for his ability, but he learns to work with it.
Eventually he learns to pick pockets so he can get food and to steal clothes from people's houses so he doesn't have to run around in his birthday suit.
The book jumps around between Henry's present and Claire's past.
Henry of the future often shows up in her backyard, and they meet in secret. Claire keeps a chest of her father's extra clothes for him and brings him food from her home.
Some American favorites include movies like "Back to the Future," "Donnie Darko," "The Terminator," and recently the movie "Jumper." But all of these stories tend to focus on the person doing the time traveling, rather than the other people being affected by the person's travels.
If you ever wonder what happens to the people left behind, check out "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger.
The book is, at its core, a love story.
It begins with the first meeting and first date of Henry and Claire, the main characters.
The twist on the story is that Henry's first meeting with Claire is not Claire's first meeting with Henry.
She met him when she was 6; he came from the future and told her that she would be his wife.
Henry is supposed to be a new kind of human, like the people on the TV show "Heroes" who develop special powers but are still completely human in every way.
He has to hide his ability from people so they don't think he's crazy.
The problem is, when he time travels, he is unable to take anything with him, so when he goes forward or backward in time he always shows up naked. And let's face it, everybody notices a naked guy.
Unlike other cheesy time-telling stories (yes, I am referring to you, "The Butterfly Effect"), Niffenegger didn't waste half of the story making the protagonist try to go back and change things so his life could be perfect.
Henry is unable to change things that are going to happen; he simply lives.
Time is not a straight line; it is everywhere and all at once. Henry never discovers the purpose for his ability, but he learns to work with it.
Eventually he learns to pick pockets so he can get food and to steal clothes from people's houses so he doesn't have to run around in his birthday suit.
The book jumps around between Henry's present and Claire's past.
Henry of the future often shows up in her backyard, and they meet in secret. Claire keeps a chest of her father's extra clothes for him and brings him food from her home.
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