Humans are social creatures. Regardless of how we manage, control or even deny, we do need some relationships. And relationships come with baggage; they make us stronger, weaker, more vulnerable, exposed, safe. Until now, I think those baggage are paradoxes Well, maybe it's not the right word, but happiness in a relationship comes together with heartbreak and sorrow, especially when the loved ones are taken away from us.
So, from this book, I have many unanswered questions, and I assume it's the case with most people.
- Do you want to have the chance to know who your soulmate/companion in life is?
- Are you going to go through that relationship even though you know it will bring you tremendous heartbreaks besides happiness?
- Do you want to have knowledge about when you are going to go?
- Do you want to have knowledge about when your loved ones would go?
The Time Traveller's Wife is not a romance, I think. At least not the overly sweet, meaningless and irritating romance. It's based on a simple idea, but the author manages to craft out a thoughtful story based on the relationship of two people. It is heartbreaking, and there are many times when you can feel the helplessness of the characters.
Henry (well played by Eric Bana in the movie adaptation) suffers from Chrono-Impairment Disorder (fictional medical condition) that causes him to involuntarily travels through time after a freak accident that killed his mother. He doesn't have control in his time travel, so he has to make do with what he can, acquiring skills to pick locks pickpockets because he would arrive in whatever time not being able to carry anything, not even the clothes on his back. He also can't control how long he will stay.
The meeting with the female protagonist Claire is an interesting time jump haywire itself, with the rest of the book telling stories about the challenge that they face with this condition. It includes their struggle to conceive because the babies get the father's genetics that causes them to time travel away from the safety of the mother's womb (I wonder if there are crime investigations somewhere that involve abandoned fetuses?)
Personally, I think there is a troublesome situation with Claire.
I am not a fan that she insists on trying to conceive, I do understand her motivations, but it doesn't make me agree with it. Being Henry, it must be devastating, especially when he knows the challenge of being a time traveler for a kid, especially a girl.
This is the quote from Henry:
"When I am out there, in time, I am inverted, changed into a desperate version of myself. I become a thief, a vagrant, an animal who runs and hides. I startle old women and amaze children. I am a trick, an illusion of the highest order, so incredible that I am actually true."
It also doesn't help that there are too many times when Claire is frustrated with... Henry's inability to stop being what he is? I get that, her frustration and reasoning are well documented. Still, she gets the memo since she was a kid.
When Henry gets into the wrong end of the time travel that makes him suffer frostbite and amputation, that adds to my previous point. He basically sees the end coming, he has lost a very significant capability to survive his time travels, and it is something he would never wish to his child.
But other than that, I find this book touching and thought-provoking. I watched the movie before knowing it's a book adaptation, and there are pro and cons from both.
Rating 4 lottery winnings out of 5 futures.
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