How to Stop Time

"She smiled a soft, troubled smile and I felt the whole world slipping away, and I wanted to slip with it, to go wherever she was going... I had existed whole years without her, but that was all it had been. An existence. A book with no words." I am old. That is the first thing to tell you. The thing you are least likely to believe. If you saw me you would probably think I was about forty, but you would be very wrong. 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. From Elizabethan England to Jazz Age Paris, from New York to the South Seas, Tom has seen a lot and now craves an ordinary life. Always changing his identity to stay alive, Tom has the perfect cover - working as a history teacher at a London comprehensive. Here he can teach the kids about wars and witch hunts as if he'd never witnessed them first-hand. He can try and tame the past that is fast catching up with him. The only thing Tom mustn't do is fall in love. How to Stop Time is a wild and bittersweet story about losing and finding yourself, about the certainty of change and about the lifetimes it can take to really learn how to live. "A quirky romcom dusted with philosophical observations....A delightfully witty...poignant novel." - The Washington Post 'the First Rule Is That You Don't Fall In Love. There Are Other Rules Too, But That Is The Main One. No Falling In Love. No Staying In Love. No Daydreaming Of Love. Because Otherwise, Of Course, You Slowly Lose Your Mind ...' Tom Hazard Is A History Teacher Living A Quiet Suburban Life In A Cathedral Town In England. He Likes His Job But Has No Real Friends, Spends His Time On The Internet Or Playing The Piano, And Pushes Away Anyone Who Tries To Get Close To Him. But Tom Has A Secret. He Suffers From Progeria, A Condition That Causes The Body To Age Ten Times Slower Than Normal. He Looks 40 But Is Actually 408. He Won't Die For Another Few Centuries. In His Lifespan He Has Had Time To Learn 13 Languages, Has Become An Expert At Fighting And Piano Playing, But All Of This Has A Cost. He Must Change His Identity Every Few Years To Avoid Discovery. And As He Has Learned The Risks Of Love And The Pain It Can Cause, He Has Turned Away From Other People. How To Stop Time Is His Story. Matt Haig. Tom Hazard har en farlig hemmelighet. Han ser kanskje ut som en vanlig 41-åring, men på grunn av en sjelden tilstand har han levd i hundrevis av år. Fra England under Elizabeth I til jazzepoken i Paris, fra New York til Stillehavet - Tom har sett det meste og nå ønsker han seg et vanlig liv. Han endrer alltid identitet for å holde seg i live, og nå har han funnet den perfekte tilværelsen som historielærer på en skole i London. Her kan han lære barna om kriger og heksejakter som om han selv aldri har sett det med egne øyne. Han forsøker å glemme fortiden som er i ferd med å ta han igjen. Og det eneste Tom ikke kan gjøre er å forelske seg. "How to stop time" er en vill og bittersøt historie om å miste og finne seg selv. Omtalen er utarbeidet av BS •MATT HAIG'S NEW NOVEL THE LIFE IMPOSSIBLE IS AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW • If you loved The Midnight Library, read How to Stop Time next! HOW MANY LIFETIMES DOES IT TAKE TO LEARN HOW TO LIVE? Tom Hazard has a dangerous secret. He may look like an ordinary 41-year-old history teacher, but he's been alive for centuries. From Elizabethan England to Jazz-Age Paris, from New York to the South Seas, Tom has seen it all. As long as he keeps changing his identity, he can stay one step ahead of his past – and stay alive. The only thing he must not do is fall in love. But what if the one thing he can't have just happens to be the one thing that might save him?