How To Stop Time
How To Stop Time
- Matt Haig
Genre: Romance/Fantasy
Pages: 336
Rating: 4.5/5
Format: Mix of the past and present, but in a somewhat chronological order
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Before we get going here is a little synopsis of the novel and I hope it gets you as hooked as it did me!
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.
Having read his previous work Reasons To Stay Alive, I had very high hopes for this one; and my hopes were not let down! Despite the novel's slow beginning, it soon picked up and I was left trying to anticipate every turn and twist, mainly due to the interesting plot line.
The way that Haig contrasted the present day with the past is something that left me in awe, I love how the past was intertwined with the present (a main theme that the protagonist often comments on) it broke the narrative up and allowed for different adventures to be taken throughout the novel. The introduction of key historical figures, such as Shakespeare and Captain Cook, was a fun twist; making the reader feel like these were key events that happened! (Although I highly doubt it)
Haig left the best part of the narrative to last, and wowed me with a huge plot twist. One that I wish came earlier so it had more time to develop.
This novel comments on the insignificance of time and compels you to make use of the time you have now, inspiring, I know. No different to the motivational messages in Reasons To Stay Alive.
Overall, I am highly satisfied with this novel, it did not let me down at all. I am in need of a spin off! I want to learn about Marion's adventures! Despite this I prefer his other work, it had more of an impact on me, but I can see Matt Haig becoming one of my favourite authors!
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