How to Stop Time is the absolute opposite of what I normally read. I picked it up at the airport - a gift for my wife - on the relative strength of its funny back cover. Most casual reading tries to hide behind a facade of sophistication. The plots are too complex, they try to pander to trends set up by better works or they might simply overplay their hand. I'm looking at you The Woman in the Window. How to Stop Time was the exact opposite of that. It put its silliness in plain sight - the last line on the cover is "as long as he doesn't fall in love" - and doesn't pretend to be more than the most casual reading at an airport newsstand. An About a Boy, Nick Hornby for the 2010s.
Here's the gimmick. Tom Hazard is essentially immortal. Having reached puberty, he barely ages. He was born in medieval France and has since lived in dozens of countries under hundreds of aliases. His mother was executed as a witch and, ever since, he's been on the run from suspicion and superstition. During the years, he's conveniently met Shakespeare and F. Scott Fitzgerald. He's been a grade school teacher, a pianist and a stage musician. The premise is just as exciting as a really good nap, and the plot never really shakes things up beyond what you might expect. Historical events and people are duly mentioned. Lost loves and family are central but never explored further than the generic: "will she be found?". There is a very mild surprise at the end related to mild villainy.
For the casual reading that it is, How to Stop Time is not entirely without merit. Haig conjures a sense of pain arising from living longer than one's time. As Hazard's life spans multiple generations, he sees the circularity of time and becomes complacent as mistakes are repeated and collective memory fades. Other "albas" - people with the same condition who, like albatrosses live beyond our expectations - show a credible variety of approaches to living forever. One passes time by surfing in southern Australia, another is consumed by anger. The most memorable one has built a society to protect others of his kind, but ends up managing it through charisma tinged with conspiracy. Living forever is a curse and not a blessing in How to Stop Time.
Here's the gimmick. Tom Hazard is essentially immortal. Having reached puberty, he barely ages. He was born in medieval France and has since lived in dozens of countries under hundreds of aliases. His mother was executed as a witch and, ever since, he's been on the run from suspicion and superstition. During the years, he's conveniently met Shakespeare and F. Scott Fitzgerald. He's been a grade school teacher, a pianist and a stage musician. The premise is just as exciting as a really good nap, and the plot never really shakes things up beyond what you might expect. Historical events and people are duly mentioned. Lost loves and family are central but never explored further than the generic: "will she be found?". There is a very mild surprise at the end related to mild villainy.
For the casual reading that it is, How to Stop Time is not entirely without merit. Haig conjures a sense of pain arising from living longer than one's time. As Hazard's life spans multiple generations, he sees the circularity of time and becomes complacent as mistakes are repeated and collective memory fades. Other "albas" - people with the same condition who, like albatrosses live beyond our expectations - show a credible variety of approaches to living forever. One passes time by surfing in southern Australia, another is consumed by anger. The most memorable one has built a society to protect others of his kind, but ends up managing it through charisma tinged with conspiracy. Living forever is a curse and not a blessing in How to Stop Time.