“Time is the substance from which I am made. Time is a river which carries me along, but I am the river; it is a tiger that devours me, but I am the tiger; it is a fire that consumes me, but I am the fire.”
Chapter 1
Stephen Lewis, a successful children’s book author, is haunted by the sudden disappearance of his three-year-old daughter, Kate, during a routine supermarket trip. The event shatters his marriage to Julie, plunging them both into grief. Stephen struggles to maintain his career while grappling with guilt and despair.
Chapter 2
Stephen’s friend Charles Darke, a former politician, has retreated to the countryside, embracing an eccentric, childlike existence. His wife, Thelma, a physicist, provides intellectual comfort to Stephen. Meanwhile, Julie withdraws completely, leaving Stephen to navigate his sorrow alone.
Chapter 3
Flashbacks reveal Stephen and Julie’s happier past, contrasting sharply with their fractured present. Stephen becomes increasingly obsessed with time, memory, and the nature of loss. He begins noticing strange temporal distortions, blurring the line between past and present.
Chapter 4
Charles’s mental state deteriorates further, culminating in a tragic regression into childhood before his death. Stephen attends the funeral, where Thelma shares her theories on time and parallel realities, offering a philosophical perspective on grief.
Chapter 5
Stephen, now isolated, drifts through life in a haze. He revisits old memories of Kate, imagining alternate realities where she never disappeared. The government’s authoritarian policies on childcare and education serve as a dystopian backdrop, amplifying his sense of helplessness.
Chapter 6
Julie unexpectedly returns, pregnant with their second child. The reunion is bittersweet—while hope flickers, the shadow of Kate’s absence remains. Stephen grapples with the possibility of renewal amid enduring sorrow.
Chapter 7
As Julie’s pregnancy progresses, Stephen reflects on fatherhood, time, and the fragility of human connections. The novel ends ambiguously, with Stephen still wrestling with loss but tentatively embracing the future.
Key ideas
- The psychological impact of losing a child and the disintegration of a marriage.
- The fluidity of time and memory, blurring past and present.
- Dystopian societal structures amplifying personal despair.
- The tension between scientific and emotional understandings of time.
- The possibility of renewal amid enduring grief.
Notable Adaptations
| Year | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | The Child in Time (TV film) | Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, adapted for BBC One. |
Who should read this book?
- Readers interested in psychological explorations of grief and loss.
- Fans of literary fiction with philosophical undertones.
- Those who appreciate dystopian elements woven into personal narratives.