3.5-4 stars, I am glad I had the chance to read this book through netgalley as I'm not sure I would have come across it otherwise. It was a fun read that reminded me a lot of Age of Adeline- a movie I love. I liked the concept of a genetic disorder that makes people age very, very slowly living for hundreds of years. Its a fun thought to see how much the world would change and grow during their lifetimes. The writing was good, the characters were fun, the story was interesting and held my attention. I enjoyed the touches of history and encounters with famous people of different time periods.

Tom looks to be in his 40's but has lived since the time of Shakespeare. He ages very slowly and struggles to keep with society all while looking for a particular woman who is like him. The story skips from the present to the past lives that Tom led. I liked the historical sections best from working with Shakespeare to F. Scott Fitzgerald.

One of the best books I've read recently. This novel is a sci-fi, historical fiction, mystery thriller in one. Character Tom Hazard made me believe in the mystical ways of Albas, people who age very slowly. As a lowly Mayfly, I delighted devoured every beautiful word. The past, present, and future come alive in Matt Haig's new novel.

The premise is interesting: Tom is not immortal (he even states that he's not a sexy vampire), but at puberty he started aging at 1/15 the rate of everyone else. This causes him major problems and heartache, but also allows him to witness vast periods of history. A small group of people share this condition, and they help each other change identities every 8 years (about the time people would start noticing that you haven't aged), but require "tasks" in return.

Tom interacts with famous personages (Shakespeare, Cook, Fitzgerald), but longs for the human connections that are denied him.

A captivating read!

How to Stop Time is part romance, part historical fiction, part science fiction and all a great read. Tom has lived nearly 500 years old but only looks 41. You'd think aging at such a slow rate that you've experienced London during the time of Shakespeare, invaded Tahiti with Captain Cook, played the piano in 1920's Paris and have several hundred years ahead of you would be a blessing. You'd be right...and wrong. Outliving the people you love and never being able to stay in one place for long has it's drawbacks. Tom is lonely, he lives half in the present world has a history teacher and half in the past of his memories. How to Stop Time is his story of love and loss and learning to love again when loss is inevitable. You'll like it as much as I did.

This book tastes like time travel, which in a way it is. Our protagonist is cursed by genetics, born with a disease that once he hits puberty, it takes him roughly 15 years to physically age one year. And so despite being born in the 1500s, he lives in modern times, appearing to be in his early 40s. His long life has brought encounters with historical figures and places long lost to time, and while extraordinary to an ordinary person, all Tom wants is the love of his life whom he lost a few centuries ago and to locate his daughter who apparently inherited his unusual aging predicament. While I found the ending to be on the abrupt side and a bit different tone from the rest of the novel, I thought this was a charming piece.

I don’t know how matt haig developed such a firm grasp on life’s nuances, or maybe just the ability to communicate them in an entertaining manner, but he sure nails it. In both The Humans and How to Stop Time, he provides not just a vision of the human experience, but a road map to keep from becoming overwhelmed or bogged down by the stumbling blocks life throws at us all.

This one adds an element of historical fiction as it moves back and forth between today and several points over the 1581-present timeline. My only complaint with this book is the sort of scattered, superficial nature of our visits to the past. It felt disjointed and separate each time we flashed back, rather than part of the narrative flow. As the flashbacks accumulated, I became more disoriented as to the significance of various characters and places.

Overall, I would recommend this book to a wide audience. Its message is almost universally relevant, and important, as well. It moves along at a good pace, and is a fairly quick and satisfying read.

The book is told from the perspective of Tom Hazard, whom has assumed multiple identities over his 400+ years. He is an alba and ages much slower than mayflies; mayflies are ordinarily aging humans and albas have life spans over a thousand years. Tom is afflicted with constant worry that he will be the object of a witch hunt or become a lab rat for pharmacology firms looking for ways to slow the aging process. From a historical fiction fan's point of view, the story is a little reminiscent of Forest Gump, where the main character stumbles into meetings with significant historical figures, but they do not factor into the main plot. Most of the story revolves around love lost and Tom's disillusionment with starting a new life every decade to keep his ancient age a secret. Tom must flee loved ones that age normally. His confidants are silenced and he learns to keep a distance for the safety of all involved. This distance creates a constant anxiety and fear that I found hard to relate to, since the whole concept is science fiction. I'm not really a science fiction fan. Wouldn't Marion have been an infant 20 years if she was also an alba?

Still, the book had a sweet story of finding love again after loss and emphasizes living in the present. I especially liked the quote from Montaigne:
"He who fears he shall suffer, already suffers what he fears."

Tom Hazard is nearly immortal, he has a rare condition where he looks 41 years old but he was born in the Middle Ages. Since puberty, his body has aged at a slow rate. For every 15 years, he only ages one year. Unlike other characters of fiction with immortality, he is not a vampire sustaining on blood or a Highlander who must take a life. Tom only has to learn to live with the years; reinvent himself every 8 years to avoid suspicion and warned that he must never fall in love. He is human after all and not all of this is easy.

I enjoyed this book thoroughly, and was totally immersed in this story, viewing as an observer while Tom navigates century upon century. He meets Shakespeare, Captain Cook, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. He escapes witch persecution in London, loses his wife to the Black Plague and learns he is not alone, as there is a secret organization of others like him. Through it all, he must find himself through is mistakes and decisions - and discover if he lives with fear or learn to live with hope.

I have been a fan of Matt Haig's since "The Radley's" and was looking forward to this new release. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review.

What would you do if you aged VERY SLOWLY?? Where 400 plus years only made you 40 something?

That is what Tom Hazard is living. He sees the best and worst of all parts of humanity. The book goes back and forth a lot as he 'reminisces' about all those years and how they made him who he is today. He hangs with people from Shakespeare to F. Scott Fitzgerald and experiences all the misery and joy the world has delivered since the 1500s.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was interesting to ponder how I would feel if in a similar situation.

I like books that a bit 'fluffy' but also force you to contemplate yourself and life. This book most definitely captures that.

4.5 Stars

If you were to call him by name, you could call him Tom Hazard, but the truth is that over the years, he’s been known by many names, having to change his identity before the truth catches up with him, reveals him to be who he is. Reveals what makes him different than any other man who appears to be around forty. The truth is slightly more than that.

In “this life” Tom teaches history in London at a comprehensive school (a secondary, state school) to young men and young women, teaching these young people lessons of history, some of which he lived through. The wars of old, famous men and woman, such as Shakespeare. There are more than a few famous names you will recognize as this story talks about the changes in time and place throughout his life. The things he’s seen. The witch hunts of old, and those of more modern times.

There is an organization that looks over, looks out for these people, anagerians, those whose internal “clocks” have a much different timeline than your average person. There are always people who will look for what is different in others, feel they must force them out of society, must alienate others from accepting them; they must be kept from co-existing with the “normal” world. This organization, ‘The Albatross Society’ has rules, but the primary rule is saying no to love.

”You are, of course, allowed to love food and music and champagne and rare sunny afternoons in October. You can love the sight of waterfalls and the smell of old books, but the love of people is off limits.”

Life is change; it is one of the few constants of life. Change can be welcome or unwanted, exciting or forbidding, and time goes by, bringing change with it, regardless if we are ready or not, or if we wish the change to come sooner. Times passes, as it will, on its own.

Capturing moments, a lifetime of them, seems daunting at times, for each moment you spend capturing another moment, yet another moment is lost. You can’t spend your life this way, either, we must live in the here and now or we are just revisiting the past, but we can’t – or shouldn’t – say there.

Before I began reading this, I’d just finished the third book of Matt Haig’s books that I’d read, the other three were a series of Christmas stories aimed at children, but charming enough for adults to enjoy, especially parents reading them to their children. I wasn’t sure what to expect from an adult novel by him, but this shares his ability to spin a tale and keep your attention. I suspect I will be thinking about this story for a long, long time.


Pub Date: 06 Feb 2018

Many thanks for the ARC provided by PENGUIN GROUP Viking

While the concept is enjoyable, the reality of the novel and translation of the 'big idea' of the book never really materializes. With one foot firmly stuck in the past and 'helpful' supporting character who is so obviously evil, the unique plot gets derailed with constant trips to the past. The ending is abrupt and awkward for all characters and needs another pass. Additionally, I think the cover is a bad fit. While it is obvious some amount of research went into writing the book, it's not one I would recommend.

“Time is an illusion.” – Albert Einstein

How would you live your life if you could not age? We all wish we could live forever. Tom Hazard has been alive for centuries due to a rare condition.

“Do not fall in love.” He was told.

Through centuries Tom has been moving from town to town and has become tired of it. He moves back to London and becomes a history teach at a local high school. Because he has been alive so long he’s a perfect fit for the position as he can teach history by his memory, as he lived it.

Throughout his life he has encountered a few historic people along the way. He performed with William Shakespeare, sailed the seas with Captain William Cook and had drinks with F. Scott Fitzgerald. He has also loved and lost.

In London he meets a French teacher, Camille, at the school where he works. This awakens in him something that has been asleep for hundreds of years. He must find the courage to fight for what he wants instead of being told how to live his life. He belongs to a secret society which pretty much has told him how to live his life. He is in constant fear of the future.

This book is a wonderful reminder of how NOT to live your life. Living forever is not as appealing as it sounds. It will move you and help you see that time is only a word, and that our past is as close as our present.

I truly enjoyed this book and the characters are memorable. I was afraid that it would be a confusing intricate story due to the fact that Tom has lived so long. It was an easy plot to follow and throughout the story, I wanted to know what would happen next. The way the story is told reminded me a lot of Forrest Gump, with a bit of The Time Machine, though there is no time travel here.

I enjoy historical fiction and this book took me to periods I never visited before and left me wanting more.

I am not usually a fan of romance, but I am a fan of time-travel and found this to be a very enjoyable read. The main character is likeable and the world building is great.

Writing: 4 Characters: 4 Plot: 4
Environment / World building: 5

Tom Hazard is 420 years old and looks 30. He was born in March 1581 and “suffers” from a condition that causes him to age a single year for every fifteen years that elapse. Having these kinds of “powers” during the 1600s does not always attract the right kind of attention and Tom is forced to separate from family and friends on more than one occasion. At some point he discovers he is not alone - there is a “society” of people with the same condition - he joins this society, hoping it will be a kind of family to help ward off the incredible loneliness that comes from consistently outliving his loved ones, but there are certain rules one agrees to when joining which are not always easy to follow.

Tom serves as our narrator in this rich tale exploring the psychological and physiological ramifications of a life lived more slowly than average. The story moves back and forth from the present to various times in his past (each carefully labeled to avoid reader confusion - thank you!). We travel to London in the 1600s, the 1800s, and the present (as well as other places and times) and experience each as a first person memory.

Haig (clearly a well-read man!) brings in philosophy, poetry, music, and an incredibly vibrant sense of history as experienced and synthesized by a man who has literally lived through it all. The quotations (from the likes of Montaigne, Kierkegaard, Dickinson, Dr. Johnson, etc.) are meaningful, concise, and on point. The historical figures (William Shakespeare, F Scott Fitzgerald, Dr. Jonathan Hutchinson, etc.) are vividly presented as live characters as seen through the subjective lens of our narrator.

I enjoyed most of the writing - particularly where Haig focuses on sympathetic characters and areas such as music, history, and philosophy - the prose in these sections just flows beautifully. There are a few parts where the writing becomes a little stiff and blocky, particularly around some of the less sympathetic characters. I was pleased with the ending - without giving anything away I thought it was realistic - not particularly uplifting and certainly not depressing but completely plausible and not contrived. A very enjoyable read infused with both perpetual nostalgia and hope for the future. As an aside, I spent some time looking up some of the historical events, language, and characters and found every one to be completely accurate - nicely done!

I have a weakness for time travel novels, from Connie Willis to Outlander, and now this new gem. The ideas of aging differently, either being an alba or a mayfly, made this story unique. I enjoyed the flashbacks through time although it's hard to believe Tom met so many historical figures through the years. I'd definitely recommend this to patrons and friends.

Tom Hazard was born over for hundred years ago; he could never get old like normal people. His incredible long life was filled with loss and loneliness. 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. To stay alive, Tom needs to move and change his identity so nobody could find out that he wasn’t ageing.
The story goes back and forth between the beginning of Tom’s life till the present, when he decided to live a normal life working as a teacher and finding someone to love. Except, He can’t!
I really enjoyed this book, actually Matt Haig is definitely one of my favorite authors .
I highly recommend it.