I picked this up this afternoon as a cozy read during a snow day where work is cancelled and everyone is snowed in.
How To Stop Time is about Tom, a man who had a medical condition that causes him to age incredibly slowly. He’s not immortal, this isn’t played off as sci-fi or fantasy. He will eventually age and die, but in the meantime he is 439 years old and appears to be 41.
The story takes us back and forth between present day London, where Tom is attempting to find meaning in life by teaching high school history while searching for his daughter (who he has learned has the same condition). As Tom tries to find a reason to go on living this life, he takes the reader back through his memories of the past few centuries…moments in history, life in Europe and America, historical figures he has interacted with, and the incredible heartache you face when you know you will outlive everyone you love.
Throughout the centuries Tom encounters others like him, some who are living their lives in fear, determined to keep this condition a secret at any cost, and others who have just decided to embrace life as it comes regardless of the consequences.
I don’t really have any earth-shattering revelations about this book…. it was a good read. Not amazing, but not bad either. An interesting concept with “plot twists” that weren’t actually very twisty at all.
Not a bad choice if you’re looking for something light and easy to entertain you for an afternoon. :)
I keep going back and forth on if I actually want to read this one. We’ll see what the year brings.