The Time Traveler's Wife

Since its publication in 2003, The Time Traveler’s Wife has challenged the confines of genre. It is a fusion of postmodernism, speculative fiction, and romance.

The premise—that a man can move around in time—is fantastical. We see this when Henry visits himself as a child. Or when Clare has sex with a time-traveling Henry while the present day Henry sleeps beside her. These events require the reader to put their sense of reality aside to accept the book’s version of what’s real.

The novel takes place in the real world, rather than an exotic one, and can therefore be classified as low fantasy. Elements of the otherworldly merge with the everyday: Though Henry is a time traveler, he exists in a familiar setting. He works at a library to support himself, goes to bars, and, other than time traveling, is very much human.

The novel is speculative. According to Derrick Craigie of Southern New Hampshire University, speculative fiction “‘incorporates elements where the author is creating their own history (and) lore […] ‘Something that is recognizable to us in terms of society or a culture or a history but is created within their imagination.’” (“What Does Speculative Fiction Mean?” snhu.edu.)

The Time Traveler’s Wife has elements of science fiction. In science fiction, narratives are “based on [the] impact of actual, imagined, or potential science, usually set in the future or on other planets.” (“Literary Genres.” Cde.ca.gov.) Henry’s ability to travel in time is a science fiction trope. We also see fictional science when he consults with the geneticist Dr. Kendrick. We eventually learn that Kendrick has discovered an anomalous genetic sequence that enables Henry to travel in time. Kendrick is able to recreate the genetic composition in lab mice, and successfully manages to make these mice time travel. The novel’s realistic setting distances it from other, more otherworldly examples of science fiction.

At the center of the novel is Henry and Clare’s relationship and love. This also makes the work a romance. One feature of the romance genre is that the “main plot centers around individuals falling in love and struggling to make the relationship work;” another is that “lovers who risk and struggle for each other and their relationship are rewarded with emotional justice and unconditional love” (“About the Romance Genre.” RWA.org). The novel checks off both of these boxes. While the ending is not overly optimistic due to Henry’s death, it illustrates that love can transcend loss. Henry and Clare are briefly reunited and rewarded for their commitment to each other.

Structural elements in the narrative add to the challenge of how the book should be categorized. The switch between narrative voices and temporal discontinuity intentionally disorient the reader. The fragmented and disjointed structure reflects a postmodernist style.