Published October 13th, 2026 by Vintage
Literary Fiction, Science Ficiton, Time-Travel Fiction, Magical Realism
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ABOUT THE BOOK:
Two great loves. A world in chaos. And a life that never lands in order.
Alba DeTamble is a time traveler, slipping unpredictably through decades like her father before her. But the hardest thing she carries isn’t the burden of futures she can’t understand, or pasts she cannot change – it’s a secret: she is in love with two different people.
Each of them offers a different life. Zach lives in the present and can’t follow her when she disappears. Oliver can travel through time, just like she can.
As Alba careens from time to time, moving from the riot-torn Chicago streets of her present to the eerie, timeless Yellow House, and into the digital corridors of the Museum of Lost Souls and a flooded future London, she must face a question she can no longer avoid: how is it possible to love, and live a meaningful life, in an increasingly troubled, fractured world?
Intimate and expansive, Life Out of Order is a kaleidoscopic story of love, resilience and hope when time is running out.
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MY REVIEW:
The Time Traveler’s Wife immediately became one of my favourite books when I read it back in my twenties. So when I heard that Audrey Niffenegger was releasing a sequel that would focus on Clare and Henry’s daughter, Alba, I knew I HAD to read it. It was time to step back in this strange world where time travel is real and, for some people, life isn’t linear.
When I started this book I thought I was going to get a coming-of-age story about Alba and a glimpse of how Clare was doing all these years later. Instead I got a story about politics, AI and the end of the world. While we do see Alba grow and learn how to live her unusual life, that isn’t the main focus of the book. The story opens in 2022, when Alba is 21, but it isn’t the 2022 we remember. The world is in even greater turmoil and Alba and her friends are part of a group of political rebels. From the beginning, this was a confusing and crazy story and I had a fair few ‘wtf’ moments. There are also a Dickensian-level number of characters and it was hard to keep them straight. I struggled to get into the book at first, but as we shifted backwards and forwards through the years alongside Alba, the truth began to unfold and things did make a little more sense. I formed a strong connection to Alba and couldn’t put the book down. I went from being massively behind in the readalong to racing ahead and finishing the book ahead of time.
Imaginative, intelligent and cryptic, this is a kaleidoscopic story of epic proportions. A story of love, life, family, resilience, hope and time, Niffenegger explores some of the most important topics in the world today on these pages. But it was also a let down in many ways. It remained confusing, felt like she was trying to do too much, and there were lots of things that made me deeply uncomfortable. But there are some great things that will remain with me, including how well written many of the characters were. I loved Alba, even if I didn’t always agree with her actions, and it was great to read about Claire as an individual rather than simply part of a relationship with Henry. There are also some great new characters and others who will stay with you for all the wrong reasons, such as Isadora who is so unsettling.
Rating: ✮✮✮.5
Thank you to Vintage for my proof copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Audrey Niffenegger is a visual artist and writer who lives mostly in Chicago and occasionally in London. She has published six books, including the novels The Time Traveler’s Wife and Her Fearful Symmetry. She helped to found the Columbia College Chicago Center for Book and Paper Arts. Her art has been exhibited by Printworks Gallery in Chicago since 1986. She is a Professor in the Fiction Department of Columbia College. Her recent projects include a ballet, Raven Girl, in collaboration with Wayne McGregor for the Royal Opera House Ballet.
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Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxx
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