Yeah wasn't Clare the first person he met who knew him via time travel? So he wouldn't have been able to assume it's someone in connection with that?

He definitely couldn't choose where he travelled to. I can't remember what happened to him where he ended up losing his feet. You kinda know something is going to happen to his feet because the narration emphasises the importance of running to him. Foreshadows it.

I don't remember whether Alba can choose where to time travel to. Gosh I really must re-read it.

It's so sad when Henry turns up in the meadow and gets shot by Clare's father & brother. Didn't he then time travel back to the present and Clare had to see him with a gunshot wound to his stomach? I was in floods reading that. How awful knowing your number is up and being unable to prevent it. Just knowing you're going to die, but not sure how.

For example when the 5 years old Henry meets the I don't know how many years old Henry, let's say 30. Henry only lived this moment twice. Once when he was five and once when he was 30 and that's it. His life goes on, not backwards. His present persona is always the age he should be, he never changes ages, so he only lives a certain moment once. That certain moment may be in the year he's living or in the past or in the future but he never changes.

I don't know how better to put it, just think about it like a journey in space instead of time. Let's pretend that Henry visited places instead of moments. He normally lives in Leeds. At 5 he went and visited, I don't know, London. He met a lot of people there, the ones being on the streets at the time of his visit. At 30 he went and visited Dublin, and met the people there bla bla. He never changed, only the environment around him. Now follow the same reasoning with years instead of places. At 5 he went to say 1960 instead of his normal 1940 and met people there. As it happened one of those people was his normal self, the one normally developed, living in his normal time, the 24 years old one. That's how his 5 years old self met his 24 years old self, he just went visiting there. Then when he was 30 he went into another year, just visiting there. And so on. Sometimes he went visiting in an year way into the future, after his death, and that's why it may seem like he is alive and somehow still traveling.

I'd better stop now before becoming less and less clear. Anyway if there's only one thing you need to understand is the fact that history never repeats itself in that book. Henry himself never lives a certain moment twice at the same age. Once Henry died, he didn't time travel anymore. He did appear some years later but that was his younger self visiting those years. No one has ever seen a Henry more than 43 years old. Because he was no more.

Remember, Claire actually saw Henry when he was caught by her father and brother, only minutes before his being shot. And he looked completely normal, he had his legs !! Now we know that this couldn't have actually happened as Henry was legless by the time he died... Oh well. I actually cried on reading about those last few moments anyway

I'm even more confused now! So it is only twice then, which makes sense. I was wondering if his self from the past (obviously not his present self as he's dead ) kept popping into the present or reliving events from the past (after he dies). Thanks for explaining!

oh my gosh yes! I'm going to have to re-read that bit now to check if he does have his legs. Maybe that's why he got shot, because he couldn't move away fast enough? If he is described as having legs, well done you Kay for spotting it!!

I've just re-read the scene where Clare sees her dad and brother with Henry outside, and there's no mention of Henry's legs. He doesn't walk anywhere, just motions to Clare. This is the scene we're talking about, isn't it?

She sees him and her father and brother and all three walk behind a bush or something; he's definitely not shot in her presence, we are only told that she later went there and saw a pool of blood. I don't think the verb "walk" is actually mentioned however I always thought that he did have his legs because otherwise Claire would have known he will be left without his legs after a certain age and... I don't know, at least she would have told him that.

"“I heard my name” I say. He smiles at me. Silly girl, his smile says, and I look at Henry, to see if he will explain. Why did you call me, Henry? but he shakes his head and puts his finger to his lips, Shhh, don’t tell, Clare. He walks into the orchard and I want to see what they were looking at[...]
"

From what I gather, Clare can see only Henry's top half, his face certainly. Her brother has his back to Clare and the father walks towards her, preventing her from approaching Henry. Henry is obviously lying down, as at first she sees her father and brother looking at something, then they move and she sees Henry. It doesn't twig they were looking at Henry as she says she doesn't understand what they were looking at, as there wasn't anything there. She mentions 'he walks' back to the meadow, but think she's referring to her father.

Edited to say: I'm talking utter nonsense! Of course, she can see a man with them, then when her dad moves, she realises it's Henry.

I think the 'he' is Clare's father. That's how I read it anyway.

"I stop and look and there, by the orchard, there’s Daddy and Mark, in their bright orange hunting clothes, and there’s a man with them, they are all standing and looking at something but then they hear me and they turn and I see that the man is Henry."

It doesn't say anything about Henry lying down... plus if only Daddy and Mark would have been standing the quote should have said "they are both standing" instead of all.

When Claire tells Henry about that day:
“It was early. A day in the fall. Daddy and Mark were out deer hunting. I woke up; I thought I heard you calling me, and I ran out into the meadow, and you were there, and you and Daddy and Mark were all looking at something, but Daddy made me go back to the house, so I never saw what you were looking at.”

So they clearly weren't looking at Henry himself.

Oh yes! How bizarre it didn't twig as I was reading it. Because I know Henry's fate, think I assumed Henry must be lying down as he doesn't have legs and has been shot in the stomach.

I wonder if the author wrote it like this so's we wouldn't guess what happened to Henry's legs later on? And so we wouldn't guess he'd been fatally injured??

It's weird Henry's described as standing up as at the end he describes himself being 'slammed to the ground' and surely his wound would prevent him from standing (even if he could without aid?). You don't suppose, in her bleary state, Clare thought he was standing? omg it isn't a younger Henry standing and looking at his dying self is it? Or a younger Henry appearing just after his 43 yr old self has returned to the present??? (it'd explain why he doesn't know how he dies?).

the 'he' is definitely Clare's father as only he walks towards her. Henry is already in the orchard so wouldn't need to walk back to it

Was it a younger Henry looking at the blood stain on the ground left behind by his 43 yr old self that had by this point disappeared? Maybe they were trying to figure out what it was that had been shot. But then it makes me wonder what excuse a younger Henry gave for being on their land. Talk about confusing!

Of course, there were TWO Henry's at his death scene - the Henry who got shot, and a younger Henry (who may/may not have seen his future self injured).

It'll explain why he was standing and why Clare couldn't see what they were looking at as the dying Henry had by then disappeared.

Ooh Kay you're a genius pointing this out as I totally overlooked it. It's added more to my enjoyment of the book. I'm now wondering if:

a) Henry saw himself injured (and how awful to see your future death)
b) The injured Henry disappeared before his younger self materialised.

Having read the scene from Henry's perspective, he says:

"The sky is blank and I'm falling into the tall dry grass let it be quick and even as I try to be still the crack of a rifle sounds, far away, surely nothing to do with me but no: I am slammed to the ground, I look at my belly which has opened up like a pomegranate, a soup of entrails and blood cradled in the bowl of my body; it doesn't hurt at all that can't be right but I can only admire this cubist version of my insides someone is running all I want is to see Clare before before I am screaming her name Clare, Clare
and Clare leans over me crying, and Alba whispers, "Daddy...""

It seems he's in the meadow for a short time before he goes back to the present. I'm wondering if the person he heard running is his younger self? As he hasn't started calling Clare's name yet. Or it could be Clare's brother/father.

Another thing, why were Clare's father and brother out hunting so early?