How to Stop Time

by Matt Haig

Book Overview

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Midnight Library, "a quirky romcom dusted with philosophical observations....A delightfully witty...poignant novel." (The Washington Post)

Soon to be a TV series starring Benedict Cumberbatch

How many lifetimes does it take to learn how to live?

Don't miss Matt Haig's new novel The Life Impossible, coming September 2024...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0525522891
• ISBN13: 9780525522898
• Release Date: June 2019
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.1" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

Refreshing Concept

I purchased this book for a book club with no expectations. I had previously read "The Midnight Library" and was looking forward to reading another by Haig. While I can see this might not be everyone's cup of tea, I found it to be entertaining and a pretty quick read for me. A few pros: The premise was unique, the characters were human, and the storyline was compelling. A few cons: The book felt a little disjointed at times. The pacing was weird and the time aspect could make it difficult to engage emotionally. Prior to purchasing, I saw a review on here mentioning "Trump hate", and after finishing the book, I still have no idea what this is in reference to. Towards the end of the book, there is one fleeting mention of Trump's name, lost in a string of current events listed, with literally zero political leaning. Let me be clear: This book is not political. There are plenty of reasons not to like a book, but that was a weird critique. I would strongly recommend that anyone on the fence about reading this not be swayed by someone triggered by a millisecond namedrop. Everyone interprets books differently, but in this case, I'm not sure that reviewer and I even read the same one.

time travel

Enjoyed this travel back and forth through time and lands with Tom who has a genetic disorder that causes him to age extremely slowly.

Over hyped

Main character and his daughter were annoyingly self-righteous and all the cussing didn't really seem necessary. Trump hate even though the author is from the UK. (Write about your own politics???) Virtue signaling with a random gay character that's mentioned in one chapter for one paragraph and is never mentioned again. It's like authors nowadays have a "politically correct" checklist. The actual story concept was refreshing and interesting, but the points aforementioned ruined the atmosphere.

Interesting concept

I liked the concept. Character were well-rounded and well-written. Based on this book, I've added another Matt Haig book to my wishlist.