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Description
A dazzling novel in the most untraditional fashion, this is the remarkable story of Henry DeTamble, a dashing, adventuresome librarian who travels involuntarily through time, and Clare Abshire, an artist whose life takes a natural sequential course. Henry and Clare's passionate love affair... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis
Summary
Using alternating first-person perspectives, the novel tells the stories of Henry DeTamble (born 1963), a librarian at the Newberry Library in Chicago, and his wife, Clare Abshire (born 1971), an artist who makes paper sculptures. Henry has a rare genetic disorder, which comes to be known as... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)
Cast of Characters/Important People
- Clare Abshire DeTamble: Lead protagonist - an artist, wife to Henry.
- Henry DeTamble: Lead protagonist - time-traveling librarian and Clare's husband.
- Alba DeTamble: Clare and Henry's daughter. Also a time-traveler.
- Charisse: Clare's best friend, Gomez's wife. Also an artist.
- Gomez: Lawyer, husband to Charisse.
- Ingrid Carmichael: Henry's suicidal ex-girlfriend.
- Kimy: Henry's Korean landlady.
Memorable Quotes
-
“... And we laugh and laugh, and nothing can ever be sad, no one can ever be lost, or dead, or far away: right now we are here, and nothing can mar our perfection, or steal the joy of this perfect moment.”
-
“It’s dark now and I am very tired. I love you, always. Time is nothing.”
-
“There is only one page left to write on. I will fill it with words of only one syllable. I love. I have loved. I will love.”
-
“I hate to be where she is not, when she is not. And yet, I am always going.”
Henry deTamble -
“I wish for a moment that time would lift me out of this day, and into some more benign one. But then I feel guilty for wanting to avoid the sadness; dead people need us to remember them, even if it eats us, even if all we can do is say "I'm sorry" until it is as meaningless as air.”
Henry DeTamble -
“Long ago, men went to sea, and women waited for them, standing on the edge of the water, scanning the horizon for the tiny ship. Now I wait for Henry. He vanishes unwillingly, without warning. I wait for him. Each moment that I wait feels like a year, an eternity. Each moment is as slow and transparent as glass. Through each moment I can see infinite moments lined up, waiting. Why has he gone where I cannot follow?”
Clare Abshire -
“Why is love intensified by absence?”
Clare Abshire -
“Don't you think it's better to be extremely happy for a short while, even if you lose it, than to be just okay for your whole life?”
-
“I wanted someone to love who would stay: stay and be there, always.”
-
“It's hard being left behind. I wait for Henry, not knowing where he is, wondering if he's okay. It's hard to be the one who stays.”
Clare Abshire
First Sentence
CLARE: The library is cool and smells like carpet cleaner, although all I can see is marble.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Book 1
Man Out of Time
First date, one
A First Time For Everything
First date, two
Lessons in Survival
After the End
Christmas Eve, One (Always crashing in the same car)
Christmas Eve, Two
Eat or be Eaten
Christmas Eve, Three
Home is Anywhere you hang your Head
Birthday
Better Living Through Chemistry
Turning Point
Get Me to The Church On Time
Book 2
A Drop of Blood in a Bowl of Milk
Married Life
Library Science Fiction
A Very Small Shoe
One
Two
Intermezzo
New Year's Eve, One
Three
Four
Five
Six
Baby Dreams
Seven
Alba, An Introduction
Birthday
Secret
Nature Morte
Birthday
Secret
The Episode of the Monroe Street Parking Garage
Birthday
An Unpleasant Scene
The Episode of the Monroe Street Parking Garage
Fragments
Feet Dreams
What Goes Around Comes Around
Hours, If Not Days
New Year's Eve, Two
Book 3
A Treatise On Longing
Dissolution
Dasein
Renascence
Always Again
Experiencing Technical Difficulties
Authors & Contributors
- Audrey Niffenegger (Author)
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