I received an ARC of How to Stop Time by Matt Haig from NetGalley.

It doesn't matter that we age differently. It doesn't matter that there is no way of resisting the laws of time. The time ahead of you is like the land beyond ice. You can guess what it could be like, but you can never know. All you know is the moment you are in

Tom has lived a long time. A very, very, very long time. Long enough to have both William Shakespeare and F. Scott Fitzgerald in his mental Rolodex.

Tom is 400+ years old man, but looks like a man of 40.

At the point we're introduced to him, he's settled into a modest existence, on the perimeters of society, despite a number of Forrest Gump-type run-ins with history.

However, in the 21st Century, he's fallen in love with a woman whose forced him to truly question if the mundane, unsatisfying, life he's chosen to lead (one that is based in fear) is one he should actually start actively living with more purpose.

Matt Haig has crafted a story that goes well beyond the simple question of life's longevity., but one that begs you to ask if a life is a life at all if it's not being lived on your own terms.

Yes, there is action, suspense, and a bit of intrigue; the plot revolves around Tom's long-lost daughter (Marion), and the sneaky dealings of a secret society (Nicknamed 'Albas')--run by a man who can only be described as a little paranoid--but there is also the philosophical question of how the quality of a life is measured by more than the quantity of its years.

Tom is forced to grapple with a lot of heartache, but he also learns a few lessons along the way from those both like, and unlike, him. It's within those lessons that the beauty of the overall story is truly contained.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Tom Hazard looks like your average 41-year-old but he is anything but. Tom doesn’t age like you and I do and he has been alive for centuries. He belongs to the Albatross Society where everyone is like he is. They have a few rules. You can only stay in the same place for 8 years because people will notice after awhile if you have not aged. Don’t fall in love. But Tom was in love once and he has a daughter who has the same affliction. He wants to find her and his, I guess you would call it, boss has supposedly been looking for her.

He is now back in London, teaching History, which is perfect because he has lived it. He also finds himself attracted to Camille, another teacher at the school. Will he let himself fall for her and will he find his daughter and some peace in his life?

I love a time travel story. I enjoyed how when Tom was teaching his class, we would be taken back to the time Tom was actually there. I think his time with Shakespeare was my favorite. Throughout the book, I felt so sorry for him. I think my biggest problem with this book was that at times, it just felt like it was dragging for me. I wanted it to move along a little more but then again, time moves slowly and that would be the theme of the book, time. I was very satisfied with the ending and all in all, it was a good read.

This review is my own humble opinion but I thank Netgalley for the copy.

This isn’t a time travel book, per se, but it feels a lot like one - full of wonder and ennui at the tides of history, tinged with a bit of desperation to find the meaning in it all.

Tom Hazard is old. Really, really old. He’s not immortal, but he ages so slowly that he appears to be. For his first hundred years or more, he is on his own, struggling to understand why he is different, uprooting himself when his neighbors begin to whisper, feeling isolated and frightened. Eventually, he meets others like him and joins a “society” created to fund and protect those with his condition. He is comfortable and safe, but is he fully living?

This was a surprisingly m

An intriguing premise which I thoroughly enjoyed. The pacing was a bit slow for me but overall an enjoyable read.

This was a compelling read.

I liked the basic premise of this book - having a long life is not necessarily an unmixed blessing. Even beyond the problem of having to re-invent oneself periodically, to avoid the issues when others realize that you don't seem to be aging along with everyone else, our main character's mental state reflected some of the issues of living for so long. Not the standard vampire long life - you can stop at some young, attractive age, and just stay there - you keep aging, just really, really slowly.

And the issues of "memory headaches" and having trouble focusing, without slipping into one's memories of the past. That can be tricky enough in your 60s - just imagine having 400+ years of memories to keep straight!

And, of course, the basic problem (which is, of course, not new to this book) - what happens when you fall in love with someone who ages normally.

I thought the world building here was fascinating - the idea of the Albatross Society was an interesting one, and also seemed to be reasonable to protect those who lived so long. I would think that, particularly in contemporary society, it might be problematic to keep changing identities, what with all the paperwork and documentation needed to set up a new persona. Not to mention the financial issues! So, this plot point, which was important to the overall plot, made sense.

And, altho it's not really a time travel book, the fact that much of the plot was set in earlier times (to set up the back story) made the plot even more interesting.

This is definitely a book that is worth reading.

There comes a time when the only way to start living is to tell the truth. To be who you are, even if it is dangerous.

So, I'm breaking the rule of not sharing a quote on an ARC book. You kind of have to know if you are going to read this one...do you like pretty flowery writing? It's pretty full of that.

Tom is old. Very old. He just does not look it. He has been alive for centuries. No, he isn't one of those sparkly vampires.


He has a condition that causes him to age much slower than the normal human. Of course, that causes problems. Whether in the olden days where they suspected everyone of witchcraft or the 20th century where we can just be dingdongs. Tom has challenges.

He is taken under a secret 'society's' wing where he meets people with the same condition that he has. There are rules. Never fall in love. (yawn) Move somewhere new and start over every eight years because people start to wonder why you are not getting any older.


But Tom is depressed. He can never forget the woman he loved years and years ago. He is missing another piece of his life and has been searching for it for a long time. He whines about these two things for most of the book..so get ready!

And he has met several famous people. Shakespeare, Captain Cook. F. Scott Fitzgerald and Josephine Baker. (This took away from the story for me..as I had to roll my eyes a few times-but then I'm an old heifer.)

I didn't hate this book but I sure did not love it.

Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.

"We carry the past with us."
A wonderful novel about a man,Tom Hazard, who was born in 1581. He had a condition called Anageria. People with this, age very, very slowly.
The lesson learned is that, living longer than family and friends is not always a good thing.
Tom takes a job in present day, as a history teacher and finds himself going back to the times he had lived .
The past is taught from a first hand prospective and Tom does it well.
This is a true historical fiction novel, bringing us back in time and understanding some valuable lessons as we read.
"Time can surprise you sometimes."

This book is going to hold the bar high for the rest of the books I read this year!
It was well written, great character development, and kept me intrigued.
I only read a few chapters during the holidays, but was able to finish it on a cross-country flight. So happy I was able to read this!

The author is obviously a very good literary writer. This is a nice, decent story, but . . . It is S L O W. The main character is likable enough and I felt his angst and had sympathy for him, but he was kind of boring. This book held so much promise with its theme of living an extremely long life and aging so much more slowly than the average human being. With all of the adventures, experiences and emotions this could entail, it should have been a great, exciting story. Sadly, for me, it wasn’t.

This book takes you from the 1500, all the way to the present and the man who lives it. I also enjoyed all of the history that the author added. I really liked this book, it was very different and outside of the box.

Tom Hazard has been in this world for 439 years, even though he barely looks 40. He's currently teaching history in London, and his students like his class because it feels like he's been there. That's probably right. He's seen the great city develop throughout the centuries, and even though he hardly recognized it now for what it used to be, his heart knows each corner of it. His life is closely enmeshed here, and for this he loves it, and he suffers as well.

The premise of the book is well set. Tom is not immortal. He just ages at a very slow pace. He calls it a condition, and so it is. He is not a vampire, not a creature of the night, not a freak, nothing to be scared of. This is not a book about time travel. He can't go in the past, he just has to keep on living, like any of us, mayflies. I enjoyed this very much. Tom is just an average man who has lived for four centuries and must keep moving to survive. He has joined The Albatross Society, an organization to help him and other "Albas" like him to stay safe. They have some rules, the one and most important of all, to not fall in love. It can get messy, you see? They must move from one place to another every eight years, to avoid setting roots, and to avoid people's curiosity to get in the way. After all, he's lived through witch hunting times, and he knows the consequences. Tom has been following these rules obediently (although he questions the true purposes of them), but he's reached a point now where he questions these rules, and he feels as if he's missing something...or someone in this lonely life he's had for so long.

The book is introspective by nature on themes of love, time, what it means to be human through the ages, and how we choose to live with whatever time we have in our hands. Matt Haig intertwines his fictional characters with real-life characters, such as Shakespeare, Captain Cook, F. Scott Fitzgerald, among others in a creative and satisfying style. His writing is clean and flows easily, engaging the reader to keep turning the pages.


I received an ARC from NetGalley and Penguin Group -Viking in exchange for an honest review.

I was thrilled to find How To Stop Time to be as intriguing a read as the cover blurb boasted. Tom, the main character is a truly likeable fellow who has lived through many interesting bits of civilization. He's met Shakespeare, Fitzgerald and seen Josephine Baker dance. But he's also faced a loneliness that only such a long life can bring. This was a wonderful tale, truly original in both character and plot. Don't pass up How To Stop TIme!

A lovely, lyrical novel reflecting on time, love, history, and how they endure. Tom is afflicted with a problem, he ages very slowly. As the novel opens he's over 400 years old. To escape the inevitable questions and accusations he moves often and has little connection to others.

He's part of a society of these people and the first is don't fall in love. Tom did love once and had a daughter, afflicted with his problem . His search for he fuels his life. But is the rule really true? Can Tom live a life that's connected with others, a life that has a future?

This book provides us with answers about the most important things.

Firstly, thanks to PENGUIN GROUP VIKING for giving me an advanced readers copy!

"How to Stop Time" is about a man named Tom Hazard who has a rare condition, he doesn’t age, at least not in the way normal people do. He has lived for four centuries and barely looks middle aged. In present day 2018, he is a history teacher in London, but he has lived all over the world throughout his longevity of a life crossing paths with William Shakespeare, Charlie Chaplin and Captain Cook. It's a story about understanding the true meaning of time, love, and happiness.

When I began reading this novel, I immediately loved the concept and story, and honestly I still felt that way when the book was over. However, I did have a few issues with the plot as it went on. The story jumps around a lot, because Tom has lived so long and in so many different places. I felt this could have been told in a smoother way, meaning the book was a little too short. I would have liked to see a more in-depth look at his 400 and so years on earth; it was just too rushed. The initial story though is a beautiful one.

What I loved about this story was the fact that Tom became a history teacher in present day. There is a part in the book where Tom is talking about how being a teacher was the most rewarding thing he had ever done with his life (remember he is 400 years old). I thought that was not only accurate, but pretty powerful to say given he has done so many things in his life. Just imagine your history teacher (2018) is teaching about Shakespeare or the roaring 1920s with Fitzgerald and has actually met them, very cool concept!

So there are lots of themes in this book and the main one is no surprise: time.

Tom says, " I suddenly realize it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter that we age differently. It doesn't matter that there is no way of resisting the laws of time. The time ahead of you is like the land beyond the ice. You can guess what it could be like, but you can never know. All you know is the moment you are in."

"The land beyond the ice…" I thought this was such a powerful metaphor and it applies to everyone. We never know what the future holds.

Love. Love is also a running theme throughout: romantic love, a father's love, and loving yourself and how you are made.

Tom also says, "People you love never die."

If you life time travel books or magical realism give this book a shot!

How strange. I recently finished another book with the same premise, although that protagonist had lived many centuries longer. In spite of that, I found this book to be amusing and well-researched for the historical insights.

First of all, I adore'd Haig's "The Humans" and was excited to try this one. I was so SO underwelmed. The story just sits there, marinating on the page as if it's merely *thinking* about picking up and being more interesting. It was such a great premise, but by the time I'd read half-way and absolutely nothing had happened other than some past-life flashbacks...I gave up. Although the writing and attention to historical detail was fantastic, so there's that.

Tom Hazard looks like a typical 40 year old man but he has a secret, he is actually centuries old. He has a rare condition in which he ages much slower than other humans. This condition has allowed him to live and exceptional life preforming with Shakespeare, sailing with Captain Cook, and having drinks with Fitzgerald but he has also suffered the loss of those he has loved.
Tom belongs to group called the Albatross society in which he recruits others like him seeking refuge from those wishing them harm. Tom tires of constantly moving and attempts an ordinary life as a high school History teacher in London. The first rule of the Albatross society is not to fall in love but when Tom meets Camille, the French teacher, there attraction brings back painful memories from his past and puts both of them in danger.

What a wonderful way to start of the new year with this fantastic novel. How to Stop Time explores the pleasures and torments that come from a life that is filled with centuries of experiences. The novel beautifully navigates between present day and past memories as Tom makes connections to the significant events in his life. I absolutely loved every minute of reading this novel and cannot recommend it highly enough.

4.5 stars for this one.

"If you saw me, you would probably think I was about forty, but you would be very wrong. I am old — old in the way that a tree, or a quahog clam, or a Renaissance painting is old."

Because of a rare medical condition, Tom Hazard has been alive since the 1500s. Born into a wealthy French family, he has traveled all over the world, assumed many different identities, and led a life characterized by adventure, trauma, emotion, and loneliness. Tom has performed with Shakespeare, explored with Captain Cook, shared a cocktail with F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, and experienced the drastic changes the world has undergone through the centuries.

Even though he has seen incredible things, what Tom wants more than anything is a normal life. He had that once, back in Shakespeare's time, when he met a woman and fell in love, but as his unchanging appearance caught the notice of suspicious and fearful townspeople, he had to leave that life behind. Yet he's never stopped thinking of her and wishing things were different, that he was different.

"So, don't think of me as a sexy vampire, stuck for ever at peak virility. Though I have to say it can feel like you are stuck for ever when, according to your appearance, only a decade passes between the death of Napoleon and the first man on the moon."

Those like Tom are watched over by a group called the Albatross Society, which protects them and ensures they keep their longevity a secret from the general public. The shadowy head of the society, Hendrich, controls Tom and calls in favors to move him to place to place every eight years (since that is about the period of time before people notice he doesn't seem to grow any older). But Hendrich has his own ulterior motives, and his own methods of ensuring Tom and his brethren are kept in check. And the one major rule Hendrich has impressed upon Tom for many years now? Never fall in love.

Tom's latest persona is as a history teacher in London, a place that stirs old memories for him, memories of love and loss. But when he meets a beautiful French teacher who seems to think she's seen him before, he starts to wonder whether the rules to which he's adhered are truly worth it. What good is living for hundreds of years if you have to do so alone, without letting anyone get close to you? But Hendrich will stop at nothing, will use everything and anyone to ensure his charges comply with his rules.

This is a fascinating, beautiful, moving book about love, loss, loneliness, and adventure. How to Stop Time shifts between Tom's current life and the different persona he assumed throughout the years. It's both a rollicking adventure through time and a love story through time, populated with fascinating characters and events.

Matt Haig is a tremendous storyteller, and I found this book so creative, poignant, and enjoyable. It gets a little slow at times, but for the most part it's just such a beautiful story. Obviously, some suspension of disbelief is necessary for a story like this, but at its core, it's a book that explores universal themes. Definitely a winner.

NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Viking provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

Tom Hazard is a man with a secret. He may look like a average middle aged man; but in reality he's over 400 years old. He's lived through the centuries; met and conversed with the likes of Shakespeare, Fitzgerald and Captain Cook. He's even found a group of people - The Albatross Society - who are just like him. The only rule? Never fall in love. Connections to other people can be dangerous therefore living a solitary life is necessary. Only Tom doesn't want to live a solitary life anymore - he wants to explore a relationship with a woman who has caught his eye...and he wants to find his daughter who is afflicted with the same time slowing condition as her father. Can Tom let go of the past? Or more so, live fully in the future before it's too late?

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this book exactly. What I thought it would be and what it actually was are so far from each other that coming to a proper consensus seems impossible. I enjoyed this book for it's parallels to some of my favorite books from the past and I think the writing was precise. I think I just expected more of an epic love story here.

Really didn't like the book. As a reader, I was consistently lost and confused by the constant jumping across years, characters, environment and story line. Was ready to give up within the first 50 pages and forced myself to press ahead until I gave up at about the 40% level. Don't understand the early positive ratings and reviews. Obviously I missed something, somewhere.