Wednesday 12 September 2018

How to Stop Time by Matt Haig


"I have only been alive for four hundred and thirty-nine years, which is of course nowhere near long enough to understand the minimal facial expressions of the average teenage boy."

What a delightful and unexpected surprise this little treasure was. I noticed the signed copy at Kinokuniya, it is always dangerous for me to walk in there. Let's face it, I never walk out empty handed. So the premise here seemed irresistible, a man who doesn't really age; well he does, just at a fantastically slow rate. Given the fact that he looks 41 and is actually over four hundred years old, he's had to change names and locations often. It is interesting that he isn't a vampire, this is some kind of rare genetic awesomeness that is so secret it requires a dark organisation to keep it cloaked in the darkness.

Avoiding religious zealots and the prospect of loves that will age and die while you remain looking virtually the same is no mean feat and makes for an entertaining read. Believe the comments of the illustrious Stephen Fry, Graham Norton and Marian Keyes on the cover - this one is a keeper.

5 out of 5 lifetimes can be a wild ride.

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