Name: Jen Fritz's review of How to Stop Time by Matt Haig
Item: How to Stop Time
Rating: 4
Author: Jen Fritz

Matt Haig

Tom Hazard is a history teacher living a quiet suburban life in a Cathedral town in England. He likes his job but has no real friends, spends his time on the internet or playing the piano, and pushes away anyone who tries to get close to him. But Tom has a secret. He suffers from progeria, a condition that causes the body to age ten times slower than normal. He looks 40 but is actually 408. He won't die for another few centuries. In his lifespan he has had time to learn 13 languages, has become an expert at fighting and piano playing, but all of this has a cost. He must change his identity every few years to avoid discovery. And as he has learned the risks of love and the pain it can cause, he has turned away from other people.

How to Stop Time

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Midnight Library. “A quirky romcom dusted with philosophical observations….A delightfully witty…poignant novel.” —The Washington Post “She smiled a soft, troubled smile and I felt the whole world slipping away, and I wanted to slip with it, to go wherever she was going… I had existed whole years without her, but that was all it had been. An existence. A book with no words.” Tom Hazard has just moved back to London, his old home, to settle down and become a high school history teacher. And on his first day at school, he meets a captivating French teacher at his school who seems fascinated by him. But Tom 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. 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. Unfortunately for Tom, 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. How to Stop Time tells 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. It is a bighearted, wildly original novel about losing and finding yourself, the inevitability of change, and how with enough time to learn, we just might find happiness. Soon to be a major motion picture starring Benedict Cumberbatch.

A Novel

Jen Fritz

That's the thing with time, isn't it? It's not all the same. Some days - some years - some 

 - are empty. There is nothing to them. It's just flat water. And then you come across a year, or even a day, or an afternoon. And it is everything. It is the whole thing.

What a great paragraph to read as we head into 2025. Just wow. 

But the thing is: you cannot know the future. You look at the news and it looks terrifying. But you can never be sure. That is the whole thing with the future. You don’t know. At some point you just have to accept that you don’t know. You have to stop flicking ahead and just concentrate on the page you are on. 

And, just as it only 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? If I could live without doubt what would I do? If I could be kind without the fear of being fucked over? If I could love without fear of being hurt? If I could taste the sweetness of today without thinking of how I will miss that taste tomorrow? If I could not fear the passing of time and the people it will steal? Yes. What would I do? Who would l care for? What battle would I fight? Which paths would I step down? What joys would I allow myself? What internal mysteries would I solve? How, in short, would I live?

Luisa 

And, just as it only 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? If I could live without doubt what would I do? If I could be kind without the fear of being fucked over? If I could love without fear of being hurt? If I could taste the Sweetness of today without thinking of how I will miss that taste tomorrow? If I could not fear the passing of time and the people it will steal? Yes. What would I do? Who would I care for? What battle would I fight? Which paths would I step down? What joys would I allow myself? What internal mysteries would I solve? How, in short, would I live?

Paige Leitner

It is clear. In those moments that burst alive the present lasts forever, and I know there are many more presents to live. I understand. I understand you can be free. I understand that the way you stop time is by stopping being ruled by it. I am no longer drowning in my past, of fearful of my future. How can I be? 

I realise I would like to solve the mystery of her just as much as she wants to solve the mystery of me and she nestles a little into me and I put my arm around her. Right there. On the park bench. Maybe that is what it takes to love someone. Finding a happy mystery you would like to unravel for ever. 

Diego

She was now able to look at me in the face. “It is not for myself. I am not scared for myself. I will not be truly alive without you. I will be a ghost that breathes.” (224)

I thought of all the days we'd had together as a family, all jammed close like plums in a basket. I wish I could have taken those days and spread them out for ever. One afternoon with them a month for the rest of my life. I could cope if it was just one day a year, so long as there was a time with Rose and Marion in front of me. But the trouble with life was that it had to be lived consecutively. (225)

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERA RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB PICKWINNER OF THE 2017 BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS AWARD FOR POPULAR FICTIONSHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS FICTION BOOK OF THE YEARHOW MANY LIFETIMES DOES IT TAKE TO LEARN HOW TO LIVE?Tom Hazard has a dangerous secret. He may look like an ordinary 41-year-old history teacher, but he's been alive for centuries. From Elizabethan England to Jazz-Age Paris, from New York to the South Seas, Tom has seen it all. As long as he keeps changing his identity he can keep one step ahead of his past - and stay alive. The only thing he must not do is fall in love . . .

Katie Thyer

‘How much time you spend worrying about the future.’

History was – is – a one-way street. You have to keep walking forwards. But you don't always need to look ahead. Sometimes you can just look around and be happy right where you are. 

But the thing is: you cannot know the future. You look at the news and it looks terrifying. But you can never be sure. That is the whole thing with the future. You don't know. At some point you have to accept that you don't know. You have to stop ficking ahead and just concentrate on the page you are on.

We have the luxury of time but we still can't reverse it. We can’t stop it. We are one-way traffic, just the same as all these mayflies.

There is no possible way of living it world without books or trees or sunsets. There just isn't.

Are you someone who watches life, or someone who participates?

Ordinary life is not a guarantee of happiness. 

Brynn Lawes

“All we can ever be is faithful to our memories of reality, rather than the reality itself, which is something closely related but never precisely the same thing.” (24)

“There is a darkness that fringes everything. It is a most horrid ecstasy. And I felt the horror of her horror. That, I suppose, is a price we pay for love: the absorbing of another’s pain as if our own.” (24) 

“You c ant choose where you are born, you can’t decide who won’t leave you, you can’t choose much. A life has unchangeable tide the same as history does. But there is still room inside it for choice. For decisions.” (152)

“The past resides in the present, repeating, hiccuping, reminding you of all the stuff that no longer is. It bleeds out from road signs and plaques on park benches and songs and surnames and faces and the covers of books.” (180) 

“You can’t simply cut away from the society and more than you can be unborn.” (194) 

“But the trouble with life was that is had to be lived consecutively.” (225) 

“The truth comes with its own lies” (243) 

“After all, we aren’t just who we were born. We are who we become. We are what life does to us.” (315) 

“There is only the present. Just as every object on earth contains similar and interchanging atoms, so every fragment of time contains aspects of every other.” (325) 

Revna

cedar winslow

"First published in Great Britain by Canongate Books Ltd"--Copyright page.

Victoria

Aybuke Beleli

Matt Haig always provides incredible insight into the human condition with his work. There were so many sentences / paragraphs in this novel that completely stopped me in my tracks that I actually highlighted some of them, like I was back in college lol. Here’s one of my faves:

“That's the thing with time, isn't it? It's not all the same. Some days - some years - some 

 - are empty. There is nothing to them. It's just flat water. And then you come across a year, or even a day, or an afternoon. And it is everything. It is the whole thing.”

Like, just absolute perfection. Highly recommend 🙌🏻

Matt Haig always provides incredible insight into the human condition with his work. There were so many sentences / paragraphs in this novel that completely stopped me in my tracks that I actually highlighted some of them, like I was back in college lol. Here’s one of my faves:

“That's the thing with time, isn't it? It's not all the same. Some days - some years - some decades - are empty. There is nothing to them. It's just flat water. And then you come across a year, or even a day, or an afternoon. And it is everything. It is the whole thing.”

Like, just absolute perfection. Highly recommend 🙌🏻

read this while i was remanded. some of the quotes touched me quite profoundly amidst my mental chaos. i will always remember that the people i love(d) will live as long as i keep them alive. and i also wield the power of choosing what to remember them by. i hope i find the courage tom achieved, again 

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE 2017 BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS AWARD FOR POPULAR FICTION 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.

🌞Laur🌞

The hardest part for me about this book was the fact that I got bored. I'm not sure if it was because at times the story felt directionless or because I couldn't relate to the main character, but it felt like I was chugging along through this book instead of enjoying it. The concept of people living lives and not aging is interesting but overall the book lacked urgency or specific plot points that carried enough action to keep me engaged. 

I'm sure it's for someone, but it was too slow paced for me. 

Erik Horton

Joy Bush

Slow paced books aren't for me. 
The whole thing was back story and then the last 10% was good

Shaimaa Emad Fekry

This book took its time to grow on me but once I was there, I really felt it. It has its highs and lows but overall it goes by smoothly and it takes the time to truly appreciate the opportunity that a story of this type offers, going back and forth between ages.

Mofu

Vilandra

I liked this a lot more than the Midnight Library. I liked the characters and the historical time periods it portrayed. It wasn’t fantastic, but I enjoyed reading it.

liny

menna

The start was good and kinda intriguing and then I was bored out of my mind

grace richards

god this book is blood awful, the only reason i even finished it was because i own it as a physical copy

'I am old. That is the first thing to tell you. The thing you are least likely to believe. If you saw me you would probably think I was about forty, but you would be very wrong.'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.

Sam Missingham

A brilliant story and beautifully written. Loved it

I happily recommend any and all books by Matt Haig :)

Gisela Ayala 

"and I know there are many more presents to live. I understand you can be free. I understand that the way you stop time is by stopping being ruled by it. I am no longer drowning in my past, or fearful of my future. How can I be? 

This book. Wow. Just wow. Incredible. The plot was phenomenal and I was hooked from page one. But not only the plot- the plot worked beautifully alongside the rich characters. Tom was a beautifully broken and fragile character and he went through one of the best character developments I've read in a while. His inner monologue was comforting and his bits of insight about humanity were thought-provoking. The passing of time scares everyone. Like the quote above, we are all ruled by it even if we aren't semi-immortal beings. 

This book is being put on my shelf as one that I will come back to time and time again (no pun intended). 

“Everything is going to be all right. Or, if not, everything is going to be, so let's not worry.”

Dave Perkins

This is such a beautiful book. Really, really enjoyed this. Little moistness in the eyes at the end too.

At first interesting (and all around well written) hopelessly derivative story. 
Read the better 'The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August' by Claire North, if you are interested in this type of narrative.

annie

I liked it but not nearly as much as The Midnight Library. Maybe this one was a bit too far-fetched (lots of random historical name-dropping) with not enough plot for me.

Slow to start but once it gained paced it was really well written. It takes a little time to adjust to the constant flipping of timelines but overall an enjoyable and insightful read. 

Grace Wallace

matt haig does a great job of using a human who’s not quite human to share truths about humanity. this is my second humanist book of his, and this one didn’t hit quite as hard as the humans (one of my all time fave reads). it was an engaging novel, but didn’t leave me feeling much emotion. enjoyable, light read, nothing to scratch your head over

Cass Smith

Haig’s “How to Stop Time” is a well-paced, heartwarming survey into what it means to truly live. It follows Tom Hazard as he tries to navigate his 21st century life while it collides with his past 400+ years of life. Haig wrote a relatable and like-able main character that is incredibly human, despite having found himself in a secret society who warns against that lesser way of life. Speaking of, the leader of this “organization”, Hendrich, was the worst — I immediately knew I was going to hate him for the entirety of the book.  But he served his purpose well. He was meant to be frustrating and questionable. Is he really the good guy? Is he really just paranoid? 

The premise was great, and I think Haig executed it rather well. My only drawbacks were that as a “romcom” I wish there would have been a little more of their story. As well as there were some small little incidents where characters made jokes or random comments, and they weren’t quite correct. I hate being that person, but it’s something that will always irk me when an author gets it incorrect but will make me love an author 1,000,000x more when they get it right. It’s truly the little things that set it over the top. 

BUT, it truly is worth the read 100x over! Matt Haig, from what I gathered, is a very intentional writer. I don’t think he just wanted to write a wonderful story about this man who doesn’t age quite like everyone else, but to extend an invitation to reflect on the importance of living, of loving, and what they mean to each other. 

Cindy Lieberman

A young boy doesn’t appear to age, so the townspeople test his mother to see if she is a witch. Not surprisingly she drowns and the boy must learn to hide his “affliction” from others. A secret society of similarly long-living people help members obtain new identities and backgrounds, but at a cost that is much too high. Overall an interesting thought experiment but with many holes.

Maria Davis 

interesting plot, more sci-fi-y than I would usually go for but still had a lot of interesting points about how history repeats itself and all humans have the same thoughts and feelings despite when they lived. Made some stunning points about living in the moment and not worrying about the past or present

Aybuke Beleli &
How to Stop Time by Matt Haig

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Aybuke Beleli &How to Stop Time by Matt Haig

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Aybuke Beleli &
How to Stop Time by Matt Haig