Review: How to Stop Time

How to Stop Time by Matt Haig
 
Genre: Contemporary Literature/Literary Fiction  
Page Length: 336 Pages
Publication Date: 6 July 2017
Publisher: Canongate Books
 
Stars:  5 out of 5
 
Link: AMAZON (UK)

ABOUT HOW TO STOP TIME
 
Tom Hazard has a dangerous secret. He may look like an ordinary 41-year-old, but owing to a rare condition, he's been alive for centuries. From Elizabethan England to Jazz-Age Paris, from New York to the South Seas, Tom has seen a lot, and now craves an ordinary life.
 
Always changing his identity to stay alive, Tom has the perfect cover - working as a history teacher at a London comprehensive. Here he can teach the kids about wars and witch hunts as if he'd never witnessed them first-hand. He can try to tame the past that is fast catching up with him. The only thing Tom must not do is fall in love.

My Review:

This book has been out since July 2017, and it passed me by. And all of a sudden it was everywhere and a classic and I had a deep feeling of missing out. The story cuts to different times and locations around the world, there is a magical feeling of travelling through time with Tom, seeing what he has seen. The isolation of not being able to grow close to someone is strongly felt. Together with the realisation that is near-eternal life can feel like a curse rather than a gift. The writing is beautiful and the story is sublime.  
 
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
 
Having finished the book, I have discovered that Benedict Cumberbatch has been cast to play Tom – I'm so glad that a film and all the Cumberpeople* will bring more audiences to this deserving book.
 
*Cumberbitches: Cumberbatch expressed objections to this term, referring to the female fans who've adopted the moniker as "Cumberwomen" or "Cumbergirls" instead. He explained: "It's not even politeness. I won't allow [these fans] to be my bitches. I think it sets feminism back so many notches. You are… Cumberpeople."