How to Stop Time

By: Matt Haig

Narrated by: Mark Meadows

Length: 10 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

"'The first rule is that you don't fall in love,' he said.... 'There are other rules too, but that is the main one. No falling in love. No staying in love. No daydreaming of love. If you stick to this you will just about be okay.'"

A love story across the ages - and for the ages - about a man lost in time, the woman who could save him, and the lifetimes it can take to learn how to live

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. Tom has lived history - performing with Shakespeare, exploring the high seas with Captain Cook, and sharing cocktails with Fitzgerald. Now, he just wants an ordinary life.

So Tom moves back his to London, his old home, to become a high school history teacher - the perfect job for someone who has witnessed the city's history first hand. Better yet, a captivating French teacher at his school seems fascinated by him. But the Albatross Society, the secretive group which protects people like Tom, has one rule: Never fall in love. As painful memories of his past and the erratic behavior of the Society's watchful leader threaten to derail his new life and romance, the one thing he can't have just happens to be the one thing that might save him. Tom will have to decide once and for all whether to remain stuck in the past, or finally begin living in the present.

How to Stop Time is a bighearted, wildly original novel about losing and finding yourself, the inevitability of change, and how with enough time to learn, we just might find happiness.

©2018 Matt Haig (P)2018 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Matt Haig’s latest book, How To Stop Time, is marvelous in every sense of the word. Clever, funny, poignant, and written with Haig’s trademark blend of crystalline prose and deft storytelling, this is a book that stirs the heart and mind in equal measure. A hugely enjoyable read.” (Deborah Harkness, author of The All Souls Trilogy)

"Inventive and heartfelt and unusual. . . . [How To Stop Time] made for a great summer read." (Kristin Hannah, New York Times best-selling author of The Nightingale)

"Mark Meadows is the expert narrator of this compelling audiobook.... Meadows does a fantastic job bringing to life all of the people Hazard interacts with over the centuries - from William Shakespeare to F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Captain Cook, and more." (AudioFile)

Very good - well worth reading

Very enjoyable, especially the artful language and description of history/literature/art. Would have like the story developed more, such a novel idea. Really the only criticism, just wanted more story, bit more detail. Regardless, very good, well read, recommend!

Enjoyable read

loved the whole book...sorry its finished...didn't get lost at any time during the telling.

Thoughtful and entertaining

I loved this book for it's sincere voice. The reader really believes the main character is very very old. His perspectives on history and human nature are spot on, It is entertaining without trying. Enjoy this book, you won't be sorry!

A heart warming and re-assuring listen

I swam beautifully in this one, the words narration and somehow I feel I just might be an alba 😌

These books save me.

Writing a review from behind my phone seems like such a pathetic way to judge a book. I felt like using my prettiest stationary, and writing the author a thank you note. I would write it in cursive. The art of cursive is dying, but my written words would be beautifully understood, I’m sure. Dear Mr. Haig, (it would read.) I have a book that I write my favorite book quotes in. How To Stop Time has so many wonderful, thought provoking, earth shattering quotes, that I simply could not write them all down. It’s as if you are an old soul yourself, with so much raw wisdom. I’ve been an avid reader my entire life. There is no author (living or dead) who ever leads me on such exciting adventures as you. This Oklahoma farm girl is enchanted by the terms used and all of the historic people who were sprinkled in (I adore Frida.) This has been my absolute favorite book to listen to. The reader is so spot on and eloquent. I played it slower than all my other books, because I knew I would fall in love with the story and I would not want it to end. Thank you for sharing your stories and for taking me to worlds that I would never see if it were not for them. You and your books are magic, and I cannot wait for the next swoop of your wand.

Easy Read

How to Stop Time is a fun, lighthearted book one can devour quickly. Girded with truths about life and time, the advice is delicately woven within.

Philosophical and entertaining

I liked the philosophal views about being eternal without becoming a monster but I would've liked a little more information on the villain and daughter. It would've made for a more well-rounded story since all we have is the main character's POV and although it's right, it made the story too linear and at times predictable.

Worth the listen!

I enjoyed this book, the story was good and the performance well done! Would recommend it.

Good story, I've read more interesting

I was committed to finishing, but not completely my favorite read. Good story concept though.

spellbinding storytelling

Both the story, as it is written, and the performance of Mark Meadows made this one hard to pause. loved it!