Warning: Spoilers ahead.
I picked up this lovely book for two reasons: the first being that I love reading about the philosophy of time travel, while the second is that I had seen the movie and had wanted to read the story behind it. I was not disappointed with this book.
I found that this was a beautiful and intellectual read. Each chapter was dated with the ages of both Clare and Henry, something that made following their complex story very useful. Henry is a time traveler which makes his personal time line all over the place (or Wibbly Wobbly for Dr. Who fans). Clare had a much more linear time line, but because of the nature of her husband it made things also a bit "wibbly wobbly" for her.
Clare was the waiter. She waits. All throughout her life she has been waiting for Henry. As a little girl she would wait for the days he would show up in her family's field. When Clare was an adult and finally with the man she loved most she was still waiting, only this time it was much worse. As a child Henry would enter her life at random intervals, but as an adult he was leaving her life. Clare would just sit there waiting every day, and like many wives out there she worries about his safety. Some times he's gone for ten minutes but other times he is gone for days; some times he would come back safely, and other times he would be broken and beaten.
In some aspects Clare loving Henry enough to spend so much of her time waiting for him shows the depth of her love and makes it that much more beautiful; however, in other ways it just makes me sad for Clare. Some could say she wasted her life waiting for him. This aspect of her life is shown with her friend Gomez. Gomez could be considered a waiter as well. Even though he was dating her best friend it is revealed that Gomez has always loved Clare and that he is waiting for something to happen to Henry so that he may end up with Clare. The two had intimate relations twice. The first was when Clair was 18 waiting for Henry to enter her life and the second was when Henry died. Both times she regretted what she had done and simply went on with waiting. Clair was 35 when Henry died, and though it would have been morally wrong to have a relationship with her best friend's husband it could have been a whole life she would have lived. Instead it is revealed that Clare spent the rest of her life waiting for the day Henry would pop into her life again. This was not what Henry wanted for her, and he would have been horrified to find out she had spent her life this way.
Henry is the time traveler. Though Henry is able to experience the impossible he truly dislikes his condition. All Henry wants is a normal life. He wants to spend his life with the woman he loved, the child they raised, and a job he enjoys. Henry's condition does have some perks though. Being able to see into the future allows them to be financially sound. With this money they are able to buy the house of their dreams and more importantly a studio for Clare's art.
Before Clare Henry had a very toxic lifestyle. He did drugs, drank in excess, and partied hard. I wonder if this was just a part of his personality or if it was a result of his time traveling condition. Henry is forced to watch his mother die over and over, steal, get beaten up, and many other terrible things. Despite all of this he had a good life because of the stability and love Clare supplied. If Henry had what he wanted and was not gifted/cursed with this time traveling phenomenon then he would never have met Clare. Would he have drank himself to death without Clare? Would the two of them had a perfectly normal life without each other, or would they have still found one another?
Henry knew that he was making Clare spend her life waiting, and he hated that. His one wish for her was for her to have a good life. The movie ended on a much happier note with her being surprised when Henry would randomly show up... the book on the other hand had a much more bitter sweet ending. Henry's mistake was telling Clare that there was one more time they'd see each other; when she was old and grey. Without knowing this Clare may have lived her life past Henry, maybe even remarried. I doubt this, but you never truly know. It was that fact that they would see each other again that ruined her. She
knew he would come so she did what she'd always done. She waited. Henry had told her that he would see her sitting in a chair with a cup of tea, so when Clare grew older she would sit every day waiting for him. She would sit in her chair with her tea knowing that if she did this eventually Henry would find her like that.
Overall this was a very beautiful book. One thing I loved was that it did not just show all the happy sides of a romance but the tough times. Clare and Henry fought and argued, and there were some times that Clare was happy Henry was gone. These moments made their romance all the more real to me and despite all that happens I am a fan of the Henry and Clare relationship.
This book covered heavy themes: parenthood, miscarriage, and life after death are a few of these strong themes. Despite these powerful messages I would have to say that the main theme for the book is waiting. Not only is Clare spending her life waiting for Henry but other major characters are waiting as well. Henry waits to return to his own time, Gomez waits for Clare, and even Alba waits for the times she knows she will run across her father while they both time travel. This book was a beautiful story and had many sorrowful moments, but perhaps this is because it mirrors life and life is full of these moments. If you want a long, complex story with beautiful yet bittersweet moments then this is the book for you. I give it 8.5/10.
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