The Time Traveler's Wife
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 2004 |
|
| Author | Audrey Niffenegger |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Romance, Science fiction |
| Publisher | MacAdam/Cage Publishing |
| Released | September 17, 2003 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback) |
| Pages | 518 |
| ISBN | ISBN 1-931561-64-8 |
The Time Traveler's Wife (ISBN 0-15-602943-X) is a novel by Audrey Niffenegger. It is an unconventional love story that centers on a man with a strange genetic disorder that causes him to unpredictably time-travel and his wife, an artist, who has to cope with his frequent absences and dangerous experiences. The book is rich in detail, with special attention given to the meals enjoyed by Henry and Clare, and the locations they visit.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
The novel tells the story of Henry DeTamble (born 1963) and his wife, Clare Abshire (born 1971). Henry has a very rare genetic disorder known as "Chrono-Impairment" that causes him to involuntarily travel through time. He is unable to control when he leaves, where he goes, or how long his trip will last. His destinations are tied to his subconscious, as Henry most often travels to places he has visited or will eventually visit. Certain things like stress can trigger time travel for Henry. It is described as being similar to epilepsy or a panic attack, though on brain imagery, his brain shows patterns similar to those who are schizophrenic. He uses running as a way of keeping calm and remaining in the present.
Henry cannot take anything with him into the future or the past. Even fillings in his teeth are left behind. He always "arrives" naked and must work hard while "away" to find clothing, shelter, and food without getting beaten up or arrested. He amasses a number of survival skills including pickpocketing, lock-picking, and expert fighting skills to allow him to get by without the bare necessities. He learns many of these skills from older versions of himself, either when the older self is time-travelling into his own past, or when his older and younger selves' time-travelling coincides.
Clare Abshire comes from a wealthy family, goes to Catholic school and then moves to Chicago to study art. She eventually becomes an artist, making paper and creating scultures from paper and wire frames.
Henry time travels into Clare's childhood many times, starting in 1977 when she is six years old. He gives her a list of the visits he will make when he visits her for the first time (in her past), then she writes these dates into a diary so she can expect his visits. As an adult, when all of the visits are through, she gives the list to him to return to her in her past. He visits her numerous times during her childhood and adolescence, and inadvertently reveals that they will be married in the future. His last visit takes place on her eighteenth birthday in 1989, and then they are separated for two years until they finally meet in real time for both of them.
When 20-year-old Clare meets up with 28-year-old Henry in 1991, he has never seen her before, although she has known him most of her life. Clare's past is still in Henry's future. Henry begins to experience the events in Clare's childhood at the same time that he experiences life with the adult Clare in the present. In the novel, the future cannot be changed, and many tragic events are foreshadowed in the past.
Clare and Henry get married, but have trouble conceiving a child because of his genetic disorder. After six miscarriages, Henry gives up and has a vasectomy. Later, a past version of Henry travels to the future and makes love to Clare and she becomes pregnant and carries the child to term. They have a daughter named Alba, who is diagnosed with the same disorder. Before she is born, Henry travels to the future and meets Alba at ten years old. Alba reveals to Henry that he is to die when she is five years old.
Shortly thereafter, Henry time-travels to Chicago on a very cold winter night, where he is unable to find shelter. He experiences hypothermia and develops frostbite. After returning to his 'present', his feet are amputated, while the story has stressed that his ability to run is his most important survival skill. It is not long before Henry time-travels into the middle of the Michigan woods during deer season and is fatally shot by Clare's brother. He returns to the present and dies in Clare’s arms.
Clare is devastated by Henry's passing, and feels unable to live her life without him. She finds a letter from Henry describing an experience he had with her in her future, when she is an old woman. Henry doesn't want Clare to wait for him, but he wants her to know that they will see each other again because love knows no boundaries and transcends time and death. Clare then lives to old age, and is visited by Henry for a final time.
[edit] Trivia
- After completing the book, Niffenegger dyed her hair red "as a way of saying goodbye to Clare" (who is a natural redhead). [1]
- The first time Clare meets Henry in "real time", he is working at the Newberry Library and she is looking for The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer by The Kelmscott Press. [1]
- In 1991, Niffenegger attended a Violent Femmes concert at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago. In the book, Henry and Clare have a date at this concert. [2]
- The book contains references to musicians such as Iggy Pop and The Beatles, and to poets such as Rainer Maria Rilke and Emily Dickinson.
- Few contemporary news events are referenced. An exception is the September 11, 2001 attacks, which happen soon after Alba's birth.
- UK sales were boosted in 2005 when Richard & Judy included The Time Traveler's Wife in their Book Club.
- A Thompson Turkey is eaten when Henry and Clare visit Clare's family in Michigan, at Christmas in 1991. This is not an invention of Niffenegger's, but is a real-world recipe for blackened turkey, invented by the writer Morton Thompson, a friend of Robert Benchley.
- Henry's birthday is June 16, also known as Bloomsday. It is the same date on which Joyce's novel Ulysses takes place (in 1904). Ulysses is concerned with two characters criss-crossing paths within the city of Dublin, as The Time Traveler's Wife is concerned with two characters criss-crossing paths in time.
- The book begins on Saturday, October 26 1991. In the motion picture Back to the Future, Doctor Emmett Brown's DeLorean first travels through time on Saturday, October 26 1985.
[edit] Movie
The rights to the book were bought by Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston's company Plan B in 2003.[3] As of March 2005, Gus Van Sant was in negotiations to direct The Time Traveler's Wife for New Line Cinema.[4][5] New Line said Brad Grey, who became the manager of Paramount Studios on March 1, 2005 will be the producer.[4] Jeremy Leven has written the screenplay.[4][5][6][7] The Chicago Sun-Times in February 2005 stated that "Brad Pitt...will definitely star in The Time Traveler's Wife."[8] But in August 2005, the Daily Star stated that Brad Pitt would no longer star in the movie.[9] As of November 2006, Robert Schwentke was decided to direct the movie, with Rachel McAdams in talks for the role of Clare.
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Flanagan, Mark (December 7, 2003) Audrey Niffenegger Interview About.com
- ^ Bond, Veronica (December 2003) An Interview with Audrey Niffenegger Bookslut
- ^ The Time Traveler's Wife. imdb. Retrieved on July 8, 2006.
- ^ a b c Foreman, Liza (March 17 2005). "hollywoodreporter.com". hollywoodreporter.com.
- ^ a b (March 18 2005) "Time For Something Sci-Fi". The Ottawa Sun. Pg. 29
- ^ Rickett, Joel (May 17 2006). "The Bookseller's Joel Rickett, at the Monaco Cinema & Literature International Forum". TheBookStandard.com.
- ^ Rickett, Joel (April 28 2006). "Talking film on the Riviera: US film studios are hungry for more books to adapt, and a thriving European co-production market also offersnew opportunities for agents. Joel reports from Monaco's annual books-to-film forum; book publishing and book fairs". The Bookseller 1 (5227): 18. ISSN 0006-7539. (Same article as TheBookStandard.com, different media outlet)
- ^ Foreman, Liza (February 8 2005). "Stella's Column". Chicago Sun-Times: 42.
- ^ (August 9 2005) "Kelly Offered Movie Role With Ex; The Goss With Katie Hind, Leigh Purves And Amy Watts". Daily Star: 15.
