THE CHILD IN TIME by Ian McEwan

Stephen Lewis, a children’s book author, is in the checkout line with his 3-year-old daughter, Kate, when she suddenly disappears—presumably abducted.  As you might expect, Stephen’s marriage to Julie starts to crumble and they separate.  In the meantime, his friend Charles, a well-known politician, and his wife, Thelma, a physicist, have moved out of the city.  Charles has abandoned his career in an attempt to reclaim his childhood by climbing up and down a tree barefoot.  Stephen now distances himself from his friend, who is clearly mentally ill, while Stephen’s only real responsibility is participating in the work of a committee that is preparing a report on raising children.  The plot obviously focuses on children, specifically a missing child and the grief that ensues, but the title also mentions time, which is Thelma’s specialty and what her husband is trying to reverse.  In fact, there is a momentary glimpse into the past in which Stephen witnesses a rendezvous between his parents before his birth.  This book perhaps invites a second reading, as one reviewer implied that possibly a rogue time traveler smuggled Kate into another time period.  Hmmm.  I don’t think I buy that, and of course I have no idea what the author intended.  The bottom line is that her grieving parents are trying to find their way without her.  And, as bleak as this novel is, the ending makes reading it worthwhile.