And just as it takes a moment to die, it only takes a moment to live. you just close your eyes and let every futile fear slip away. And then, in this new state, free from fear, you ask yourself; who am I?…

I have now finished ‘How to Stop Time’ by Matt Haig and I have been trying since, to articulate what to say to get across my feelings on the book.

The Midnight Library – loved it, would read it again

The Humans – loved it even more would definitely read again

How to stop time – I’m not a big fan

I really wanted to like this book, having loved Matt Haig’s other books and from the recommendations that people gave me, maybe that was the problem, too high expectations, but I just wasn’t feeling it.

Looking at this book as a standalone and not comparing it to the other works. I have come up with the following:

How to Stop Time has been described as:

A love story across the ages – and for the ages – about a man lost in time, the woman who could save him, and the lifetimes it can take to learn how to live

However, I did not read it as a love story, yes it is a story with a dusting of love however I wouldn’t describe it as a love story in the traditional sense. to me it a story of a man who is ’41’ (439ish) who is constantly hiding in life, afraid of being found out. afraid of his loved ones being hurt and therefore afraid to live. Before I continue I will give you a short synopsis just so you can follow me a bit easier.

Tom Hazard has a secret, a dangerous secret that no-one must find out. He may look like any other 41 year old but when Tom hit puberty he found he had a rare condition. A condition that slowed the ageing process meaning for every 15 years he would only age one year. The story cuts through time back and forth, from modern day to various eras through which Tom has lived his life. From Elizabethan England, working with William Shakespeare at the Globe to playing Piano at Ciro’s in 1920’s Paris, during the golden age of Jazz. Tom has managed to survive these 400 + years without being found after being found by the ‘albatross’ society who all also have the same condition. They protect Tom and allow him to change his identity and live a normal (ish) existence. Hendrich is the leader of the group, our main antagonist in the story. Tom is made to change his identity every 8 years to to keep his cover and protect the society. After spending 8 years alone in Iceland, Tom craves a normal life. Tom asks to be a history teacher working in London which brings a whole set of problems. Including finding love which has been prohibited as it is too high risk.

I felt this story was about a man facing himself and overcoming fear. Tom feels a lot of guilt and sadness and has held on to this for a tremendous amount of time, which doesn’t allow him to move on and live a fulfilled life, Always trying to make things right in any way he can. it is a story about family, father and daughter bond and not being afraid to live life fully and love fearlessly.

I thought the story was a great concept and there are some beautiful descriptions throughout the book however, I felt the story was missing something and I felt like it wasn’t as gripping as I had hoped making it quite difficult to read. My favourite character was Omai who we meet in part 5. He is positive, knowledgeable, worldly and kind. Omai brings the warmth to the book I was hoping for and ultimately I feel is the main turning point of the book.

Although I personally didn’t love the book I can see why people do, I liked parts of the book with William Shakespeare, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Chaplin and Captain Cook However, it did feel a bit like dropping names for the sake of a story line at times. Tom comes across as one of those ‘been there done that’ people and although he has, after being around for 439 years, I felt like everything had to relate back to a time when he had done something or saw something which I felt like a lot of things.

I think the ending was good and no, not in a ‘I’m glad that’s over’ way but I genuinely felt warm and happy with the conclusion to the story.

I am still a fan of Matt Haig’s and enjoyed his other books but you can’t always enjoy everything.

xxx