Audrey Niffenegger, Life Out of Order

About: A sequel to The Time Traveler’s Wife that follows the lives of Henry’s wife, Clare, their daughter, Alba, and a large cast of acquaintances in an increasingly dystopian world.

Verdict: Well. I had very much been looking forward to this sequel, and I am correspondingly very disappointed. The Time Traveler’s Wife is a beautiful book that explores the effects of involuntary time travel on a romance experienced largely out of order. This sequel is about—too much. The existence of Chrono-Displacement Disorder has now been revealed to the world, and while time travel is an important element of this sequel, its logistical and moral implications are no longer the focus. Instead, we follow Alba's romantic relationships and musical development, Clare's life post-Henry, various acquaintances who we are told matter to the story but who don't seem to, Chicago politics and political riots and climate change and AI and—I kid you not—the end of the world. I’m left shaking my head, wondering what prompted the author to do this.

Publication: 2026 · 548 pages
Rating: 3 stars