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A review by jefferz
How to Stop Time by Matt Haig
adventurous
mysterious
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
3.5
Tom Hazard has been alive for four hundred and thirty nine years and over the course of history has spent many of them caught up in the past, protecting himself and loved ones from potential harm in the future, all while rarely truly living in the present. How to Stop Time is a unique read that presents the reader vignettes across Tom's life (sometimes in and out of chronological order) loosely divided between five arcs that each focus on a particular theme and state of his life. While there are a lot of fun cameo appearances by famous historical figures that pop-up in the narrative (my personal favorite is William Shakespeare, I wish I was more cultured to have appreciated other cameos more), most of the bulk content involves Tom in a state of existential crisis. The overall story reminded me a lot of the 2015 movie Age of Adeline in concept while executed in a more introspective manner. While Age of Adeline was firmly focused on a romance drama, How to Stop Time's romance serves more as a foundation and event pushes Tom to be the person that he is... hundreds of years later. This is first and foremost a character drama about how Tom's outlook on life shifts (Public Library that I borrowed this book from, you are doing this story a disservice by classifying it with a romance novel genre sticker on the book cover).
There are moments that are so captivating with lines that beg to be pulled as inspirational quotes much like the character Marion does with Montaigne, but it's not always consistent in quality. Despite finding the novel's synopsis and concept fascinating, I found most of the actual read to be a bit dry and slow. As per usual with Haig's other novels, I found the last 60 pages to be explosive both in terms of action and resolution and wished the arc could've been twice as long compared to the first half that was relatively light in plot progress and interest. I also agree with other reviews that mention the villain being underdeveloped and half-baked. The conclusion writes off a lot of unanswered questions about the Albatross Society and albas' existence as mysteries that disappear never meant to be discovered by the general public, but compared to Tom's solid character resolution (which also can seem rushed given the fast-paced ending previously mentioned) it just feels a bit half-baked (to be fair, the Vampire Association in Haig's The Radley's received a similar undeveloped treatment).
While I liked the concept a lot, the uneven pacing and plot held me back from scoring this higher. Had this book adjusted the first half and stretched the last sequence of events in Australia out for another 50-100 pages, this might've been an entirely different review.
There are moments that are so captivating with lines that beg to be pulled as inspirational quotes much like the character Marion does with Montaigne, but it's not always consistent in quality. Despite finding the novel's synopsis and concept fascinating, I found most of the actual read to be a bit dry and slow. As per usual with Haig's other novels, I found the last 60 pages to be explosive both in terms of action and resolution and wished the arc could've been twice as long compared to the first half that was relatively light in plot progress and interest. I also agree with other reviews that mention the villain being underdeveloped and half-baked. The conclusion writes off a lot of unanswered questions about the Albatross Society and albas' existence as mysteries that disappear never meant to be discovered by the general public, but compared to Tom's solid character resolution (which also can seem rushed given the fast-paced ending previously mentioned) it just feels a bit half-baked (to be fair, the Vampire Association in Haig's The Radley's received a similar undeveloped treatment).
While I liked the concept a lot, the uneven pacing and plot held me back from scoring this higher. Had this book adjusted the first half and stretched the last sequence of events in Australia out for another 50-100 pages, this might've been an entirely different review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Grief