Matt Haig's 'How to Stop Time' follows Tom Hazard, a man who ages at roughly one-fifteenth the normal rate, making him over 400 years old despite appearing to be in his forties. The novel alternates between Tom's present-day life as a London history teacher and flashbacks to his past encounters with Shakespeare, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and other historical figures.

This book will appeal most to readers who enjoy character-driven literary fiction with fantastical elements, particularly those drawn to themes of loneliness, loss, and what it means to truly live. Haig excels at capturing the profound melancholy of Tom's condition—the weight of watching everyone he loves age and die while he remains essentially unchanged.

The historical vignettes are often charming, and Haig's prose is accessible and emotionally resonant. The central romance between Tom and a fellow teacher, Camille, provides genuine warmth and hope.

However, the novel's pacing can feel uneven, with some historical episodes feeling more like name-dropping exercises than meaningful plot development. The present-day storyline involving Tom's pursuit by the Albatross Society (an organization that monitors people like him) lacks tension and feels underdeveloped.

While Tom's existential struggles are compelling, some readers may find his centuries of passivity frustrating—he often seems more acted upon than active. The book's philosophical musings about time and mortality, while thoughtful, can occasionally veer toward the heavy-handed. Readers seeking fast-paced fantasy or complex world-building should look elsewhere, as should those who prefer plot-driven narratives. This is fundamentally a quiet, introspective novel about human connection and the courage required to engage fully with life despite its inevitable losses. Fans of magical realism and emotionally-driven speculative fiction will find much to appreciate, even if the execution doesn't always match the ambition of its premise.