A Love Story Across Time Itself

The concept of this novel truly stands on its own. It is brilliantly original, outstandingly complex, while also managing to be relatable in so many ways. I found it hard at times to believe that it is Audrey Niffenegger's first novel! This story follows lovers Clare Abshire and Henry DeTamble all across time. Henry, being a time traveler, lives a very complicated life; at times he doesn't know where or when he is, as he cannot control his time-traveling escapades. In his endeavors he meets his future wife, Clare -- as a child. As Clare lives her life like the rest of us -- in chronological order of events -- Henry jumps from place to place, time to time, before being spit back out into his present. This story truly is, as the Chicago Tribune put it, "A soaring celebration of the victory of love over time," as Clare and Henry learn to deal with the latter's disappearances, the former's miscarriages, and everything in between. Just as heartfelt as it is heartbreaking, their story may very well endure time in this wonderfully written novel (my only drawback is the amount of unneeded sexual description/scenes).

Some of my favorite quotes from this novel:

"Absence can be present, like a damaged nerve, like a dark bird."

"Everything seems simple until you think about it. Why is love intensified by absence?"

"It's living up to being happy that's the most difficult part."

"When we met I was wrecked, blasted, and damned, and I am slowly pulling myself together because I can see that you are a human being and I would like to be one, too."

"Very few people meet their soulmates at age six. So you gotta pass the time somehow."

"My apartment is basically a couch, an armchair, and about four thousand books."

"Now I wonder if it means that the future is a place, or like a place, that I could go to; that is go to in some other way than just getting older."

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