"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. I am old--old in the way that a tree, or a quahog clam, or a Renaissance painting is old .... You see, I have a condition."
Tom Hazard isn't immortal, he just doesn't age at the same rate as normal humans. He's lived through four centuries already and seen the world change. He's also lived through the deaths of the two people he loved most, making him wonder if his condition isn't a blessing, but a curse.
"It made me lonely. And when I say lonely, I mean the kind of loneliness that howls through you like a desert wind. It wasn't just the loss of people I had known but also the loss of myself. The loss of who I had been when I had been with them."Then the Albatross Society finds him, a society made up of people just like him. And they offer the promise of safety, companionship, and purpose. There are just a few rules he as to follow: never fall in love, never tell anyone about their secret, and never stay in one place longer than eight years. Oh, and he has to do something for them every eight years in return. And everything seems fine ... until he meets her.
My thoughts: I love Matt Haig's novels. There's something about the way he writes, the lyricism of his prose, that makes me smile. His stories are always unexpected and quirky. And How To Stop Time is no exception. I liked Tom Hazard immediately, and I love how Haig wove together the pieces of his past and present. It makes for a poignant and thought-provoking novel. This was a 5-star read for me, and one that will for sure make my favorites list at the end of the year.
Happy Reading!
Also check out:
