So charming and romantic. I very much enjoyed this book, it was terrific in many ways. First as a well-crafted narrative that uses disjunction of time in a clever, but not overly confusing, way. Second because the characters were just enchanting (although I would have liked to hear more about Clare’s artwork) - I was glad that Henry was not painted as some sort of saint, but was painted with a much more human brush. Thirdly as a philosophical treatise on free will and fate - which is perhaps inevitable given the plot, but still there was just enough of a trace of that stuff without it getting tiresome.

My favorite way to think of this book is: suppose that you take the time travel out of the narrative, and just follow Henry and Clare for the duration of their life as adults. Does that make the ending any more sad or less touching? Turning back to the book as it is, should we feel sorry for these two, or do they in fact luck out, because of that last scene? If any of us had the choice to become “chronologically displaced persons”, with all the wonders and risks that entails, would we do it? Unclear. But fascinating!