The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

This is a romance for people who don’t like romances. I really did not expect much when I started reading this, but my thanks go to Matt for recommending it. I really love epic stories that span lifetimes such as the Wind-Up Bird Chronicle or Kavalier and Clay, so this was right up my alley. This is the kind of book that you hold off on finishing because you don’t want to leave the characters and you’re sad that you will never experience this book for the first time again.

The Traveler’s Wife is the story of Henry and Claire. Henry has chrono-displacement disorder, which means that he time travels, but unfortunately has no control over where he lands. He keeps visiting his wife as a child and teen. The story unfolds in fragments and the pieces fall into place later. Throughout the book, you root for them to be together “in real time,” as it were. The book is told through both Henry and Claire’s eyes.
The characters are believable and very likeable. Henry is seen as a bit of a misfit rebel and Claire seems to be the stabilizing force in his life. I don’t want to say too much for those who haven’t read it, but I am really sorry that I took a dim, dismissive view of this book before actually reading it.