How to Stop Time: A Novel

This was a very good read.You have to just stick with it

This was a fairly easy read for me, and one that I absolutely devoured in a day. And it's kind-of funny, I told my son while I was reading it that I saw this in my head as a movie. Rarely do I picture things being acted out when I'm reading them. I don't normally see characters or places as I'm going along. But with this book, I could SEE everything so clearly. I could perfectly visualize Tom walking down a street in London, and seeing the present day chip shops etc but also seeing what it was like in the past bleeding through and causing him to lose his breath. Being taken aback by realizing he's standing in front of the spot that was once his home, and is now a pet shop. In the beginning of the book, Tom talks about how he's not like a vampire stuck perpetually in his youth. He is aging. He will die. He CAN die. He's not immortal. But the story is reminiscent, at least to me, of some of the better vampire fiction I've read in the past. Even more so, it reminded me of the television show New Amsterdam starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (of Game of Thrones fame), which only aired for 8 episodes but I LOVED. The whole idea of living for an extremely long amount of time, watching people come and go, places evolve, loves lost and the whole gamut of issues that would arise if you had lived for over 400 years...and knew you were going to live for about 900...are fascinating and this book merely touches on them, and with a flourish that is at times almost poetic. I think my favorite sections of the book involved the people in the past that Tom interacted with, and then how he tried to weave some of his knowledge into the school lessons he was teaching. I'm a giant Shakespeare nerd, so the section in which he works for Shakespeare was wonderful. Was it historically accurate? I haven't the foggiest, and don't even care a whole lot...it was just entertaining to me! And having drinks with Fitzgerald?!? So lovely, and in my head Fitz was totally Hiddles. (If you haven't watched Midnight in Paris, you need to!!) Yes, there is a bit of a love story...but it wasn't sappy or overwhelmingly emotional. I feel like the real love story here involved Tom and Life in general. The book really was all about Tom figuring out how he wanted to live all of these years that he's been given. Did he want to just go through the paces and saunter along in a fog? Or did he want to open himself up to new and exciting possibilities, and put himself out there again? A quick and enjoyable book. Science-Fiction with some historical aspects. I enjoyed the author's writing style, which has an almost poetic flourish. I definitely recommend it!

A very interesting story about time and people who slowly age. Our story focuses on Tom Hazard who ages slowly and accused of witchcraft in 16th century England. His mother sacrifices herself so he can live which he does and falls in love with Rose and has a daughter Marion who also ages slowly. Tom finds Hindarch who runs a society of these people and has them move around every eight years. Tom does this for over a hundred years until he finds himself having to kill a field he met back in the 18th century who is like him and he can't kill him

At first, I was put off by the plot and the writing, which seemed to me to move, sometimes lurch, from turgid to brilliant. But the novel grew on me. The Washington Post noted that the book has ‘observational philosophy.’ Having finished, I’m not sure whether the term is meant as praise or insult. There are many observations, some interesting, some deep, some neither. My reading was crippled by the notion of the Albatross Society, which seemed like a weak pretext for control of Tom’s life. If he had been an ordinary guy, stumbling through the centuries, I could have believed he would fall for Hendrick’s very thin rationale, but he’s a thinker. I would have liked hints of skepticism … logic, more than the angst we did see … earlier in the book, some sense that a con game was being played. Tom’s credulity reduces tension, weakens the plot, and makes the reveal (Marion and Tom’s supposed letter) seem to be a device, rather than a natural extension of the story. Tom happens through the centuries meeting and conversing with an unusually large number of famous people through happenstance rather than planning. Shakespeare dispairs in his ale, Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda bicker over cocktails, Captain Cook, and so on. The book has elements of a fable, in which such encounters would work fine, but its overall modernity makes them seem calculated. We could have lost Fitzgerald and Zelda without affecting the story line, for instance. Reading the novel reminded me that a novelist’s decision about what to write defines both challenges and opportunities. If you need to pass through several centuries, first person-narration is almost mandatory if you’re not going to adopt omniscient narrator, which is out of fashion. Haig picks first person and occasionally struggles with its limitations. He frequently ascribes motivation to others where he could guess it, perhaps, but not know it. (“She nods, knowing it is a lie,” when in Tom’s point of view.) This and other technique issues took me out of the story from time to time. Also, there’s the issue of narration vs. dialog: If you live for 400 years, what voice do you speak in? For Tom as narrator, Haig sensibly chose modern English, but he needed dialog, which he wrote in what he guessed was language of the time. As Rose is dying, we get “"Her breath was a weak draught. (narration in 16th-C English) ‘You will.’ ‘Oh, Rose.’ I needed to keep saying her name and for her to keep hearing it. I needed her to keep being a living reality. (narration Mod E) We are time’s subjects, and time bids be gone (maybe 16th C) . . . She asked me to sing to her. ‘Anything in your heart.’ ‘My heart is sad.’ ‘Sing sadly, then’ (credibly 16th C). I was going to grab my lute (‘grab’ = ModE) … " I read this passage as I travelled on Amtrak over a badly-maintained road bed. The jerkiness of the train seemed like the language here. Haig had little choice … dialog adds depth, and the dialog needed to be in 400 years ago English. Haig simplified it, but the 21st C narration grated. That said, the concluding line of the section was beautiful: "And she died and I lived and a hole opened up, dark and bottomless, and I fell down and kept falling for centuries."

This book was good. It kept my attention but I didn’t love all the jumping in time.

I am a retired professor and a lifelong avid reader -- typically 2-5 books per week recently. I stumbled upon The Midnight Library, which I found so uplifting. How to Stop Time is the fourth novel I have read by Matt Haig. I've pre-ordered his novel coming out this spring: The Midnight Train. In the meantime, I have ordered his four earliest novels, which I have yet to read. Each novel I have read -- The Midnight Train, The Life Impossible, Being Human, How to Stop Time -- has been imaginative, engaging, humorous, inspiring, and memorable!

This book is proof yet again that Matt Haig can write a true page-turner. Finished it in less than 3 days - could not put it down. The first book of his I read was The Midnight Library and LOVED IT! This book is equally as excellent if not better. Excellent book to read on a beach trip!

This is currently my favorite book I have ever read. This book is historical fiction with a gentle touch of sci-fi, and just enough romance woven throughout it's pages, enough to make you feel something but not enough to make it feel like a true romance novel (which is a huge plus for me - I do not like strictly romance novels but I enjoy some romance along the way if it helps build the story). My favorite thing about this book is the witty, relatable, poetic writing style, with a fresh story from a quirky perspective. This book is witty, poetic, relatable and truly captivating. I could not put this book down. The character development was done very well, the story was very captivating, and the insights from the main character make you really stop and think about your own life and things you probably have never thought about. SPOILER FREE - The only reason I did not rate this book 5 stars is in regard to the end. The end was satisfying and I wouldn't say it was bad, but it certainly felt very rushed, forced, and a bit of a stretch even within the realm of the reality within the universe of the book. The ending was wrapped up within about 30 pages, so to me the book felt like it went from a really good pace to 500 miles an hour in the last 30 pages, and while it did wrap up pretty much everything you want it to wrap up, it does so in such a quick way that is feels like whiplash. This book still remains my favorite story I've ever read, despite there being other books I have rated 5 stars, but with the very rushed ending I just couldn't give it the perfect score as much as I so badly wanted to. Overall this book is AMAZING and my favorite read so far. I highly recommend it!!

Esta novela me llamó la atención por el título (todo lo que tiene que ver con el tiempo me mueve mucho, para bien y para no tan bien), además ya había leído otra novela del autor, por lo que supuse que esta me gustaría. Y sí. ✨🤩 Fue un libro propuesto para el BookClub 📕 pero definitivamente el estilo y los temas del autor, me gustan mucho. En resumen, esta historia va de un hombre de 400 años de edad que vive y existe a través del tiempo, se mueve cuidando no revelar su verdadera identidad pues tiene esta condición de "envejecer" de una forma muy distinta, a su ritmo. En el libro te cuenta de sus múltiples vidas, de las personas célebres a quienes conoce como Shakespeare o Fitzgerald, de su primer amor, y hasta de un segundo amor a quien conoce en el presente, porque a sus 400 años decide ser maestro de historia. La aventura va de contar todas sus "vidas" y la incansable búqueda de Marion (su hija perdida en el tiempo). El protagonista vive con "miedo", huyendo de sí mismo, de cuidar que no descubran su condición, y evita crear vínculos y disfrutar el aquí y ahora. Porque ya vio a su gran amor morir, a su familia y a personas a las que quiso y admiró. Porque saber que las personas a su alrededor son temporales, es doloroso. ❤️‍🩹 Te lleva a preguntarte si vale la pena preocuparse por los demás y por el futuro, o por qué creemos que los otros están tan al pendiente de cómo vivimos o de lo que hacemos, o si un segundo de amor y conexión real vale la pena comparado con toda una vida de esconderse y huir de tu pasado, de quien eres, de tus sentimientos o de la realidad. Pasamos mucho tiempo pensando en lo que será o podría ser, en vez de enfocarnos en el presente, que es el único lugar en el que estamos viviendo y del cuál podemos tener certeza. 🤍 Love is where you find the meaning. 🫶🏻

A hugely enjoyable read,its a captivating book you will not be able to put down.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...Nothing can beat this astounding love story that lasts 400 years...Matt Haig takes on this challenge with gusto in How to Stop Time.This novel is a bighearted, wildly original story about losing and finding yourself, the inevitability of change, and how with enough time to learn, we just might find happiness, Matt has been gifted with a rare ability, which is to make even the ridiculously far fetched seem so believable. The story is about Tom Hazard who has a dangerous secret. He may look like an ordinary 41year old, but owing to a rare condition, he’s been alive for centuries.For every 13 or 14 human years, he ages one year. But far from bringing him godlike pleasure, his condition places him at a mournful distance from the rest of humanity, doomed to see everyone he loves age and die.Tom Hazard serves as an excellent guide to the most recent 400-odd years of human history.Haig writes with a great deal of panache, and it’s clear that he’s having a lot of fun with his story.Tom has lived history performing with Shakespeare, exploring the high seas with Captain Cook, and sharing cocktails with Fitzgerald. Now, he just wants an ordinary life.So Tom moves back his to London, his old home, to become a high school history teacher,the perfect job for someone who has witnessed the city’s history first hand. Better yet, a captivating French teacher at his school seems fascinated by him. But the Albatross Society, the secretive group which protects people like Tom, has one rule: Never fall in love. As painful memories of his past and the erratic behavior of the Society’s watchful leader threaten to derail his new life and romance, the one thing he can’t have just happens to be the one thing that might save him. Tom will have to decide once and for all whether to remain stuck in the past, or finally begin living in the present.The idea of a character who lives for centuries, finding himself in the right place at the right time to interact with significant historical figures, has been used to examine the notion of time itself and our relationship to it, the fear of ageing, of death and, occasionally, the problems associated with not dying at all. the most interesting element of the book, however, is the philosophical one that Tom asks of himself: What is the point of living when you have no one to live for? As his loneliness continues, only the possibility of a relationship with another teacher and his search for his daughter keep him going, and when it seems that both will end in failure it’s easy to understand why he, to employ one of Haig’s earlier titles, might run out of reasons to stay alive.How to Stop Time is a worthy addition to the time travel canon,hugely entertaining,quietly funny and,at its best moments, contemplative and brooding.

Tender and true, a truly unique book, this is one of the finest insights to the human condition you will ever read. It is love story, reflection on life and the living of it, thriller and family saga, all in one. The characters leap off the page - even the emotionally damaged dog - and the central character. Tom Hazard, is someone who will live in the memory for a long time. For Tom was born 439 years ago, having a condition that means he ages very slowly. He has to change his identity and home every eight years so no-one recognises that he is not ageing and changing like everyone around him and that he is special, different, unusual; a lonely, long and detached life that is destroying his soul. So he decides to stop the madness, and be ordinary. He becomes a role he is best suited for - a history teacher. But in Tower Hamlets, where he meets a French teacher and life becomes even more complex. This is a book you want to read quickly because it is so gripping and absorbing, yet delicate, moving, delightful....but also a book you want to read slowly because it is so heartfelt and populated with such true and human characters.The answer is to read on to the last page, go away for a quick blub....and then start again at the beginning. . This is Matt Haig;s gift. To bring the world to the individual, see the sublime in the sensible, the immortal in the everyday.Oh, this is such a wonderful book! Buy it, read it, learn wisdom, tell the world. I eagerly await the film to be made by SunnyMarch, and the insight and wisdom Benedict Cumberbatch will uniquely bring to this unique book as Tom.. ,

I went on a binge and read all of his books because the first one got me in. I wasn’t disappointed. This man has a way that’s easy to read while being very insightful and enlightening. I simply didn’t want it to end! This story has everything I love in a good read. Great characters, interesting setting, fantastic story line, unpredictable. And his insights into people are worthy of a book on their own. He never waffles on, in fact there’s some, actually many, one sentence lines that are so amazing I had to stop and let them sink in for quite some time so I wouldn’t loose their intense meaning, their simplistic beauty. He’s a very clever writer and now up there on my favourites list.

“Midnight Library” yi almıştım fena değildi, o yüzden bunu aldım. Dili çok sade akıcı, bilinmeyen kelimeye pek rastlamıyorsunuz. “Midnight Library” den daha zengin geldi bana, yolculukta okumak için alıyorum. Tek şikayetim; kitabın kağıt kalitesi 3.hamur ama fiyatı birinci sınıf (çok pahalı)