It's not often that a debut novel is as original, heart-warming and complex as this - Audrey Niffenegger has hit the literary jackpot with her first offering, and gained millions of fans in the process.
There are two main characters in this story - librarian Henry DeTamble and Clare, the girl/woman he loves throughout his life. What makes this novel so intriguing, is that Henry suffers from Chrono Displacement Disorder, which means he has the habit of time traveling without warning, to places or people in his past or future. In one such trip, when he is 36 years of age, he meets his wife Clare, who is 6 years old at the time. And given that you can't take anything back with you, Henry is unfortunately rather bare on this auspicious occasion - thank goodness he's married to Clare....
And so the story begins, and the reader is instantly caught up in the magic of this strange relationship which sees Clare constantly being left behind as Henry hurtles from the present to the past and/or future...
Of course, it is hard to get your head around the notion at first, and you could think yourself dizzy trying to imagine how it works - don't bother, just go with the flow, and be caught up in the wonderful experience . Part thumping big love story, part Science Fiction and Fantasy, this is a novel which cannot be pigeonholed, and should not be missed.
