Read this novel on my smartphone. My first experience of reading an ebook this way (used to read Harry Potter 1-4 on pocket PC, the Twilight series on desktop). Downloaded it years back (it was published in 2003), but it's only recently that I got the chance to read it. (I'm trying to make good use of my phone)
It's about a time-traveler named Henry, who goes back and forth in time and meet his wife, Clare. He meet her the first time when he is 41 and she was 6. They meet in the Clearing, the secret hiding place for young Clare. For her, she has known him since young, while for him, the first encounter only happens when he is 28 and she is 20. Whenever Henry time-travels, he can't bring to the world he's going and he also can't take anything back. He won't know where and when he is going. So every time he'll end up naked. Clare keeps clothes and food for Henry in the Clearing, as depicted in the book cover. In order to survive, he learns to pick locks & pockets, steals clothes, study the surrounding to determine date. [The plot summary can be found
here]
This is probably the most intriguing love story I've ever read. I felt like reading it non-stop till the end. It's difficult for me to put it down! Usually time-traveling is only found in science fiction. Whenever I thought about the only image I have is a sleek time-traveling machine. The author has done a great job in combining science fiction and love story. It's such a novel blend! Despite the confusing beginning (it took me a while to get it), the rest of the novel is clearly sequenced. Even though Henry is moving back and forth in time, the plot flows smoothly. The characters in the story are vividly described; I could "see" them in my mind - Gomez the chain-smoker who's in love with Clare; Ingrid, suicidal and broken after Henry left her; Richard, Henry's father, alcoholic, talented violinist, who couldn't get over his wife's death. It just feels so real! [There's a film based on this novel, will get it soon]
The ending of the story drove me to tears. It's Christmas. Henry knows his death is impending. He visits his friends before Christmas and tell them how much he loves and appreciates them. He and Clare invite their friends and family to their house for Christmas party. His feet are already amputated due to frostbite caused by the previous time-traveling, which left him exposed in the snow. When he goes to the Clearing again, he is not able to run away when Clare's father and brother shoot him (they are hunting and think he's an animal hiding in the grass). He comes back to the present and dies in the arms of Clare, surrounded by people he loves.
How does it feel like if you know when is your death? How about moving forward into the future and see your own death with your own eyes? If you know when you're going to die, what will you do? Spend all the money you have? I've visited many dying people in the hospitals and in their homes. All they wish is to have their loved ones around them, just like Henry. Nobody thought of their wealth, cars, houses (When we are healthy we want more of them, but before we die we don't think about them. Funny, isn't it?). Some even asked for forgiveness from others. They want to leave the world without any remorse and guilt. When we die, we don't get a chance to say sorry anymore.
Appreciate life while you're still having it!
