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bookstorian's review against another edition
5.0
Over 400 years old and wanting a normal life Tom makes the move back to modern London to teach history at a local school. He also hopes to be reunited with Marion and avoid breaking The Albatross Society's number one rule: don't fall in love. Unfortunately for him he meets Camille, the French teacher and Tom's past threatens to unravel, destroying his future. Exploring themes of time, love and parenthood 'How to Stop Time' stopped me in my tracks - It was simply un-put-down-able.
True to form Matt Haig once again had me enthralled from cover to cover. I wanted to devour but also relish every page as I learnt about Tom and his many lives. Whilst I usually struggle to by in to fantasy as my logical/realist brain finds it difficult to switch off - there is just something magical about Haig's writing that allows me to get swept up in the story. Notable elements of this book include the duel timeline (I was often thrust between past a present), Tom (a very humble and at times naive character), the unique premise and fast paced plot as well as the incredibly philosophical lines about time, love and purpose with some reflective points on history and teaching too. My copy is filled with colourful highlight - I just couldn't get enough of this well told story, it deserves five stars and more really...
If you love Historical Fiction and thoroughly enjoyed The Midnight Library or The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue this book is for you.
True to form Matt Haig once again had me enthralled from cover to cover. I wanted to devour but also relish every page as I learnt about Tom and his many lives. Whilst I usually struggle to by in to fantasy as my logical/realist brain finds it difficult to switch off - there is just something magical about Haig's writing that allows me to get swept up in the story. Notable elements of this book include the duel timeline (I was often thrust between past a present), Tom (a very humble and at times naive character), the unique premise and fast paced plot as well as the incredibly philosophical lines about time, love and purpose with some reflective points on history and teaching too. My copy is filled with colourful highlight - I just couldn't get enough of this well told story, it deserves five stars and more really...
If you love Historical Fiction and thoroughly enjoyed The Midnight Library or The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue this book is for you.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Suicidal thoughts
chellemerrill's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Alcohol, Death of parent, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Colonisation, and Suicidal thoughts
lilym_p's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Pregnancy, and Murder
Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Drug abuse, War, Blood, Alcohol, Forced institutionalization, and Sexual harassment
sarahrose14's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence and Murder
Minor: Colonisation, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and War
leonormsousa's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Abandonment, Colonisation, Death, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Hate crime, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, and War
joensign's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Mental illness and Suicidal thoughts
kimseokjinschild's review against another edition
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
The book discusses and explores the meaning of time.
💫I liked the plot and talked about the cons of being immortal through the centuries.
💫The book was east to read and the layout was interesting..switching from the past to the future.
📈I lost interest most times..I also felt that the author added the plot twist to create more drama, which is was good but would have liked more of a build up.
💫I liked the plot and talked about the cons of being immortal through the centuries.
💫The book was east to read and the layout was interesting..switching from the past to the future.
📈I lost interest most times..I also felt that the author added the plot twist to create more drama, which is was good but would have liked more of a build up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Mental illness
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Murder
Minor: Cursing and Forced institutionalization
theespressoedition's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I'm a huge Matt Haig fan. If he writes it, I will read it (and most likely love it). I've been itching to get my hands on this book for ages now, but once I did, I found myself feeling slightly disappointed.
Now, maybe it was just the high of The Midnight Library and The Comfort Book, specifically, but I was really itching for something profound and inspiring to me, personally. That's not so much what I found in this book.
For the most part, this was historical fiction, with elements of magical realism thrown in there and a few nods to the modern era. I don't resonate well with historical fiction, so I think that's the first thing that kind of put me off. The concept of a person who ages at a snail's pace fascinated me, but I wasn't expecting to spend so much time getting to know Shakespeare... and that's kind of what happened.
Not that there's anything wrong with this in the slightest, it just didn't stand out to me. The meaningful aspects of the book were towards the last couple of chapters. Those, I could've highlighted in full, because they were so profound. However, I had hoped for a lot more of that throughout the book, so it was just a bit of a bummer.
However, I would read this book again! That might sound strange, but it's true. I do feel like there was a lot to learn from it, but I probably missed certain things because I got distracted while listening to the audiobook (which had a lovely narrator whose accent I adored, even if I wasn't obsessed with his performance). I'd like to read the updated edition that came out in 2022 as a physical copy to see what else I could gain!
As a whole, it was an interesting book, just not one that I would find myself recommending endlessly as I have with Matt's other books.
Now, maybe it was just the high of The Midnight Library and The Comfort Book, specifically, but I was really itching for something profound and inspiring to me, personally. That's not so much what I found in this book.
For the most part, this was historical fiction, with elements of magical realism thrown in there and a few nods to the modern era. I don't resonate well with historical fiction, so I think that's the first thing that kind of put me off. The concept of a person who ages at a snail's pace fascinated me, but I wasn't expecting to spend so much time getting to know Shakespeare... and that's kind of what happened.
Not that there's anything wrong with this in the slightest, it just didn't stand out to me. The meaningful aspects of the book were towards the last couple of chapters. Those, I could've highlighted in full, because they were so profound. However, I had hoped for a lot more of that throughout the book, so it was just a bit of a bummer.
However, I would read this book again! That might sound strange, but it's true. I do feel like there was a lot to learn from it, but I probably missed certain things because I got distracted while listening to the audiobook (which had a lovely narrator whose accent I adored, even if I wasn't obsessed with his performance). I'd like to read the updated edition that came out in 2022 as a physical copy to see what else I could gain!
As a whole, it was an interesting book, just not one that I would find myself recommending endlessly as I have with Matt's other books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Misogyny
Moderate: Physical abuse and Violence
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Suicidal thoughts
silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This story was enjoyable, especially the way it brought to life parts of the story set in earlier centuries. I can't tell if it was one of those 'almost deep but without actual substance' kind of stories, or if it was actually deep and I never quite absorbed it properly because of listening to it as an audio book.
This book has no graphic content, but it does have a smattering of veiled references to physical intimacy, and quite a bit of emotional tension and death, including in the name of witch hunting, and some passing references to depression/PPD and suicidal thoughts. There are also a few annoying side comments, like when he intentionally uses odd wording in order imply that a baby in the womb is not actually human yet. Not recommended for very young readers, but some teen readers might enjoy it.
This book has no graphic content, but it does have a smattering of veiled references to physical intimacy, and quite a bit of emotional tension and death, including in the name of witch hunting, and some passing references to depression/PPD and suicidal thoughts. There are also a few annoying side comments, like when he intentionally uses odd wording in order imply that a baby in the womb is not actually human yet. Not recommended for very young readers, but some teen readers might enjoy it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content, Child death, and Suicidal thoughts
mj0's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I love Matt Haig. I loved the Midnight Library. Which meant that when I was gifted How To Stop Time, I was eccentric. It seemed like an interesting concept, but I didn't pick it up at the time because, well, i was afraid. After The Midnight Library, I was shook. Haig compiled a beautiful story about mental health, and made me think. Like, truly made me think. Haig is a philosopher, but it is so rare that someone can so artfully put the truths of life into words. How To Stop Time was similar but contemplated a different idea. Loneliness. Sadness. Depression. Manipulation. Vulnerability. And fear. A fear of loving and being loved. But also a fear of being without purpose and fulfilment. This book was a reminder for taking life as it goes. Not being careless, of course, but not getting so caught up about the past or the future for you to forget about the present. To stop you taking a leap of faith. To stop holding your breath. To love freely and entirely.
I can't wait for this brilliant novel to be turned into a movie (apparently starring Benedict Cumberbatch), though unfortunately, it's 2022 and it was first pitched to be a movie in 2017. So will we get a movie adaptation? I don't know. But I really, really hope so.
Though I don't think you can ever express this kind of novel in a movie in a way it does it justice.
I highly recommend, to all types of readers.
I can't wait for this brilliant novel to be turned into a movie (apparently starring Benedict Cumberbatch), though unfortunately, it's 2022 and it was first pitched to be a movie in 2017. So will we get a movie adaptation? I don't know. But I really, really hope so.
Though I don't think you can ever express this kind of novel in a movie in a way it does it justice.
I highly recommend, to all types of readers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Mental illness
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Addiction, Acephobia/Arophobia, Drug use, Cursing, Colonisation, and Alcohol