Here it is. I’ve finally managed to finish reading this book! And it was not easy!
Okay, don’t hate me. Or do… doesn’t matter either way. This book was dull! I saw so many good reviews for the book, saying it was sad and what not. But, honestly, I didn’t see the charm. The book may be sad, but it was sad for the sake of being sad. The author took the extremely complicated subject of time travel and made it seem dull. And of all the approaches to time travel, this one was the safest… the one where no matter what you do, you can’t change anything. Everything is set in stone and will happen the same way no matter what you change. I think that’s just a sad approach to life in general, not just time travel.
But, whatever the approach taken to time travel, nobody even tested this in the book. We are just supposed to believe Henry when he says that nothing ever changes even if he tries a hundred times. There was one instance when Clare almost tests this when she signs a sketch, which wasn’t supposed to be according to Henry. But alas, she chickens out and rips off the sign. And so the reader never finds out if what Henry said is in fact true.
The relationship between Henry and Clare was sort of creepy too. Clare is in love with Henry because he’s been around her forever. But this is when Henry is an adult in his 30s and Clare is a child. That is just creepy to me. And Henry is in love with Clare because she tells him she has known him forever. I don’t know if they were actually in love with each other’s present selves or just the version they were going to meet someday. But somehow, this is all supposed to be all romantic. A love that transcends time. But Clare was in this relationship much longer that Henry was. Even after Henry died, Clare remained in that relationship, waiting for some version of Henry to show up. Again, just odd.
We also get to see the process of Henry and Clare trying to have a baby, because Clare wants something normal in her life. This was again quite difficult for me to get. Did she mean couples who don’t have kids through natural conception are not normal? Why the obsession with having a kid the usual way? Couldn’t they try IVF or adoption? What’s so wrong with that? Not like they didn’t have enough money. They had a geneticist who was trying to treat Henry. Why not help with the kid? How many time should the reader have to read about Clare’s miscarriages, all because Clare wouldn’t let go.
And this brings me to the last point about the book—Alba. Alba is also a time traveler, because of Henry’s genes. But a female time traveler, who because of the book’s premise, can’t time travel with clothes, scares me. Being realistic, a female without clothes is in much more danger than a male is. I know it’s fiction, but it still bothered me.
Anyway, I am glad that I finished reading this awfully long book. But I will not recommend it to anyone.
My rating: ★★☆☆☆
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