Alba DeTamble has never lived a life in order. Born with the same rare Chrono-Displacement Disorder as her father Henry, she slips unpredictably through decades, haunted by the secrets of a future she can witness but cannot change. As Alba strives to maintain a normal life with Zach, her safe, supportive anchor, she forms a tight-knit community of artists and activists who fight to take care of each other in an increasingly unstable world.
Niffenegger clearly wants to play with broadening the stakes of time travel, which in the first book were all about romance ... An 'In This House, We Believe' vibe suffuses the story, rendering it almost immediately dated ... People who loved The Time Traveler’s Wife loved it for Henry and Clare. What happens when the woman at the middle of the love story is kind of a jerk? The novel tries for two audiences—readers of contemporary women’s novels, and of science fiction. It may end up landing with neither.
A tale of time travel, yet one so despairingly stuck in this American moment that it never transcends it ... Structurally this is a more ambitious novel than The Time Traveler’s Wife, but less successful ... Too often this sprawling novel loses emotional pull and instead becomes — much like its vision of the future — a depressing mess.
Intriguing and difficult to pin down ... The structure lends itself well to one of the best aspects of the novel:the concept of memory ... Niffenegger paves the way for deeper, more meaningful reflections on memory and the importance of being present in your own life ... Fans of science fiction and Niffenegger’s previous novels are sure to enjoy the return of her incredibly vast and unconventional world-building. Though structurally confusing at times, Life Out of Order is ultimately a testament to the nuanced beauty of being alive in any timeline and the tangible belief that the only way to find our way through dystopia is together.
