Discussion topics, etc.

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I just finished the book, WOW!!! It's a new favorite of mine. I think that Niffenegger writes beautifully, I love her style. It's so whimsical, yet down-to-earth at the same time. I love the simplicity of her descriptions of daily life and daily love; I thought Clare & Henry's romance was beautiful! I think it's even made me appreciate just dinner with my husband in a new way.

I think that the determinism vs. chaos discussion on pg. 76 is an excellent place to begin. So do you think Henry only has free will if he is operating in the present? That everything that he does is governed by this "present" self?

It's interesting that South Haven is kind of the place where Clare is raised to believe in god, and when she leaves it, her faith dissipates as well. I thought that in some ways that South Haven and her home there represented the conservative dutch wealth of West Michigan [in a fairly negative light as a whole, I thought]. I wonder if Niffenegger is from Michigan? It says she now lives in Chicago. But anyway, Clare is certainly painted as someone who completely outgrows her conservative roots at an early age- it's as though she never really belonged there. EX: I LOVED (and was shocked by) the scene in which she takes revenge on her date that beat her, burned her, and (forced her to perform fellaccio? pg. 95, not sure). My favorite (besides Henry kicking him in the balls) is when she takes her shirt off in the locker room and all of the girls there see her bruises and cheer & clap for her. I thought it was a great story of empowerment rather than the silence that typifies those kind of events in reality (especially in conservative environments).

In addition, Clare kind of blooms when she goes to Chicago. Her art gets very popular, she and Henry meet there and make their lives there... it fits them well as a couple. I may have wandered from the initial question, but those are some thoughts of mine.

Note: This next block contains spoilers if you have not finished the book!

Here's a question: Why can Henry do some things outside of his present intentionally- like go back and teach his young self to be a good pick-pocket, or grab winning lotto numbers- yet he can't go forward and move two feet to the right in that field to dodge a bullet? Does he have more power in the past than in the future?