Book Review : The Time traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger***** I spied one of the girls reading this in the staff room and was intrigued by the title, it sounded reasonably sci-fi enough for my tastes. Is it sci-fi then ? Well yes, the story of man who repeatedly time travels, albeit in a fairly narrow frame of reference, is certainly sf. It is sf in a broader sence of the genre though, TTTW explores in depth the issues of love and loss that Heinlein looked at in his epic Time Enough For Love. Henry is the time traveller, he travels in time, usually backwards on the outward trip, sans clothing, and often appears in front of Clare, his wife to be. Niffenegger writes a disjointed love story that is deeply moving and quite believable. The emotional states of the two main characters as they get to know each other in different times are well thought out. Their hopes and fears are quite different from those of normal couples, Clare worries about Henry whenever he vanishes, Henry ponders over the wisdom of telling people about events that he has witnessed but have not yet come to pass in the normal time frame. I thought early on in the novel that 500+ pages were going to get a bit stale, but Niffenegger carries the story beautifully. I don't want to give too much away, but there are clues earlier in the book which relate to the last events that happen to Henry and Clare, you find out what happens to them, then you have to read on for the why and wherefore. TTTW is a great novel, believable, written with tenderness, love and wry humour. It explores love and loss and the worry we all experience when a loved one is absent. It isn't hard core sci-fi, but it isn't just a romantic novel either, it is though, quite wonderful.