hoosgracie's review against another edition
3.0
This was an interesting, but flawed book. With the topic (a man who ages slowly and was born in 1581 and is now 400+ years old), I should have loved it, but it got weird towards the middle, it also was slow. I did listen on audio, and the reader was very good.
hmaustin's review against another edition
1.0
Wish I could have sped up my reading time. This sucked.
rejena's review against another edition
Liked the voice but couldn’t connect to the character. 😉
kittykornerlibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
Tom Hazard isn't immortal; he's just aging very, very slowly. He voyages with Captain Cook, plays the lute at London's Globe theater in the age of guess-who, and in the 21st century he is back in his native England working as a history master at a private school. He's gotten involved with an organization for the slowly-aging, the Albatrosses, that threatens and intimidates its members under the guise of protecting them. A meditation on the themes of aging, time, and love, it's somewhat muted in tone. Even though Tom is centuries old, he still doesn't have it all figured out yet, and being human, he probably never will. It's kind of refreshing that he's not saving the world, but just trying to get along the way all people do. I would read another by this author.
loalmdale's review against another edition
4.0
All of the different points Tom experienced in history were rich and sucked me in. I could have escaped into those chapters for a lot longer. Where the story lost me was in the present. The relationships didn't feel developed enough and the end felt a little lackluster. I'm glad I read it and I enjoyed it, but I'm ready to move on.
susiejojo's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
gracecrawfie's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
emwinch's review against another edition
3.0
This book moved about as slowly as the main character’s eternal life. I liked the concept a lot but it fell a bit flat for me. As other reviews have stated, there were a couple eye roll worthy things, like how he seemed to know every famous person throughout history. I also thought that his fight with Camille was a totally useless plot line. They had basically never hung out before and she got mad that he didn’t acknowledge her on his phone call in the park.
Anyways, while there were a couple times I thought I might put this one down, I finished it and I liked the message but it was just the slowest burn, for very little reward.
Anyways, while there were a couple times I thought I might put this one down, I finished it and I liked the message but it was just the slowest burn, for very little reward.
aumi7055's review
adventurous
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
sophiefrancoiselucie's review against another edition
4.0
I haven't been enjoying books recently, and then How to Stop Time showed up on my local library's shelf and said: 'Please, read me, you know you want to!'. So I did read it and I really liked it, as I haven't enjoyed a book for quite a long time now.
The narration is a succession of scenes from the past and present, which is something that I usually love. That was obviously not an exception and being the History nerd that I am, I loved reading about the narrator's past. And I thought his present was just as good.
However, some things felt a little bit too obvious and I roughly knew how the book was to end when I was in the middle of my reading. But these are details, because that book was GREAT. And it helped me to get back into reading, so I'm very grateful, Mr Haig.
The narration is a succession of scenes from the past and present, which is something that I usually love. That was obviously not an exception and being the History nerd that I am, I loved reading about the narrator's past. And I thought his present was just as good.
However, some things felt a little bit too obvious and I roughly knew how the book was to end when I was in the middle of my reading. But these are details, because that book was GREAT. And it helped me to get back into reading, so I'm very grateful, Mr Haig.