How To Stop Time by Matt Haig

Book Review Dec 04, 2023

My review

4/5 stars

This book has a really interesting premise - the idea that someone can age slowly through history isn't a new one, but the way this is executed felt fresh.

The author uses one man's life to tell a vague story of history for the last 400 years, and a very vivid story of how one man took that long to figure out the true meaning of life.

The story was emotional, dark, uplifting and inspiring all at the same time. It evoked a sense of meaning and confusion simulataneously. The author is clearly a man who has spent time pondering the meaning of life, and uses writing to make sense of his deep ponderings. He does so beautifully and enjoyably.

Tom was a mostly likeable character, which I think was intentional. There was a side to him, one that was indecisive and meandering, that I struggled with (probably because that's how I feel about myself). Otherwise, he was engaging, thought-provoking and endearing. I enjoyed following him on his journey to find a lost loved-one and figure out how to have a normal life.

The one area of the book that I struggled with was the bit that it was marketed on, oddly enough. The book's blurb says that the one thing he must not do is fall in love. The book follows him down this path as we figure out, alongside Tom, what the implications are. My issue is that I didn't feel a particularly strong connection between Tom and his love interest. It was stronger with another character in the book further back in history (I think partially to show why he was so nervous this time round), and made me feel somewhat disconnected from the idea of them having any kind of ending at all, let alone a happy one.

The danger, the exploration of life and the interweaving of real history into the story kept me intrigued throughout. Very good book.

Book blurb

Tom Hazard has a dangerous secret. He may look like an ordinary 41-year-old, but owing to a rare condition, he's been alive for centuries. From Elizabethan England to Jazz-Age Paris, from New York to the South Seas, Tom has seen a lot, and now craves an ordinary life.

Always changing his identity to stay alive, Tom has the perfect cover - working as a history teacher at a London comprehensive. Here he can teach the kids about wars and witch hunts as if he'd never witnessed them first-hand. He can try to tame the past that is fast catching up with him. The only thing Tom must not do is fall in love.

How to Stop Time is a wild and bittersweet story about losing and finding yourself, about the certainty of change and about the lifetimes it can take to really learn how to live.