Audrey Niffenegger’s debut novel is
quite an achievement. Neither a straightforward romance, nor a conventional
narrative, The Time Traveler’s Wife gives the sci-fi standard of time
travel a literary treatment set to a (mostly) new wave sound track. The story
revolves around the two narrators, Henry a sort of postmodern librarian, and
Clare, the artist whom Henry loves and marries. Such a relationship by itself
has many of the ingredients for a romance novel for those who don’t read
romance. But through the element of time travel, Niffenegger introduces
philosophical, scientific, and ethical elements to the story, making for a
complex and intriguing read.

Henry suffers from a hitherto
unknown genetic condition, Chrono Displacement Disorder (CDD), which causes him
to be flung, unpredictably and unceremoniously, into the past or future. On
these occasions Henry ‘arrives’ naked and usually hungry, and must survive
until his inevitable return, equally unpredictably, back to real time. He often
visits his wife-to-be, Clare; the first such visit occurs, at the beginning of
the book when Clare is six and Henry thirty six. He also visits himself, his
deceased mother, his father’s landlady who is a childhood confidante, and a
series of random places that have no connection to his life whatsoever. If the
visits to familiar people and places cause future complications, and they do, the
random visits are fraught with danger. A naked man with an unbelievable story
is a desperate man, and Henry resorts to desperate means to survive until his
inevitable return to real time. Niffenegger helpfully heads each section of the
book with enough detail to orientate the reader, but you have to read
attentively to keep up. The early episodes raise questions that are only
resolved by reading on, and it is in the latter half of the book that the
details of the plot come together.

The Time Traveler’s Wife can
be read as a tale of the struggle of love to triumph over adversity, albeit
that the adversity in this case involves a little more than the complicated
feelings of lovers. Chrono Impairment Disorder is not your ordinary vale of
tears. Niffenegger attempts an explanation of its genetic basis, speculating,
through Henry, about its similarity to epilepsy. Henry enlists the help of a
genetic scientist, Kendrick, to have his condition scientifically investigated.
An unlikely series of events leads to Kendrick’s replication of the disorder in
mice, and a trial of yet to be developed medication. Such a cavalier treatment
of science is useful as a literary device, but is stretched to the limit in
this account.

In a story that has its fair share
of elements of the bizarre, love provides the motive force that drives the
narrative and keeps the reader engaged. Love, for Niffenegger, is full blooded,
passionate, and potentially destructive. Henry’s father despairs for his late
wife Annette to the extent that he sacrifices his musical talents to alcohol.
Ingrid, a former girlfriend, is forever consumed by anger after Henry leaves
her for Clare. And Clare and Henry’s mutual commitment is total. From the
description of their first real time meeting until Niffenegger’s last
description of the couple the reader both fears for their future and wills them
to find happiness. It is a tribute to the power of Niffenegger’s writing that
despite the complexities of the plot, the poignant moments of the latter half
of the novel are truly moving and memorable.

For the philosophically minded the
book presents its own set of challenges. Henry’s foreknowledge of events,
gained from his visits to the future, presents a dilemma in terms of whether to
attempt to influence fate. His adventures into the past and future are limited
to his real time cultural experience, suggesting that even in the case of such
a haphazard disorder as CDD we are bound, as Heidegger would have it, within
the experiences of our own history and culture. Similarly, the ethical
framework that informs the story is an extension of the ethics of everyday
life, even if the problems it presents are new.

There are other pleasing elements
to The Time Traveler’s Wife. Many of the minor characters are engaging
in their own right, and there are a number of interesting subplots. There are
accounts of family dynamics, concerts, papermaking and the pleasures of
reading. It is not hard to see where these aspects of the story arise from
Niffenegger’s own work as an artist, printer and writing teacher. They add a
richness to what is already an accomplished work.

The Time Traveler’s Wife is
a highly imaginative and original work, which, once you get to grips with the
improbability of Henry’s disorder, becomes a compelling read. Niffenegger
rewards your reading with nicely observed scenarios, credible reflections on
the part of both narrators, and an engrossing narrative. The author delivers on
the promise of the novel to provide a nuanced and absorbing account of a
complex life. In the end the problems faced by Henry and Clare are not all
dissimilar to those faced by all of us: the certainty of death, the problem of
free will, and the hope that in relationships with others we might find
sufficient fulfillment to make our lives meaningful.

© 2005
Tony O’Brien