The Life Impossible by Matt Haig

BOOK REVIEW

With my husband’s permission, I have really started a new love affair with my new author Matt Haig – and it’s been for the past couple of years I have to say.

It started with How to Stop Time, followed by The Midnight Library, and yes, any book with library or bookshop in the title is always a favourite, followed by The Comfort Book.

His writing is “like a box of chocolates” you really don’t know what you are going to get until the end; quite uniquely magical.

He is honest and with his non-fiction The Comfort Book he lays out his life with mental health, healing and struggle.

Haig’s ability to capture the nuances of mental health and the human experience shines through, providing a relatable reflection for those who have faced similar struggles.

The Life Impossible is a poignant exploration of existential themes wrapped in a compelling narrative.

Haig’s writing blends humour and profound insight, making complex emotional landscapes accessible to readers.

It is brave to make your main protagonist a 72-year-old lonely, retired maths teacher who’s grappling with the absurdities of life, weaving through moments of despair, guilt, loss, hope, and the search for meaning.

Grace is propelled to an odyssey of action and awe in Ibiza, the island of youth, raves and drugs and nude beaches, where she has been left a house by an old acquaintance, and she arrives with a one-way ticket, no guidebook, and no plan.



It’s “Murder, She Wrote” meets “Under the Tuscan Sun,” or as Haig describes Grace: “Don Quixote dressed in Marks & Spencer”.

Haig’s style is engaging, with a conversational tone that invites readers into the protagonist’s journey.

Among the rugged hills and golden beaches of the Balearics Grace searches for answers about her friend’s life, and how it ended.

What she uncovers is stranger than she could have dreamed and to dive into this impossible truth Grace must first come to terms with her past.

Filled with wonder and wild adventure, this is a story of hope and the life-changing power of a new beginning.

The book delves into the importance of connection, the impact of choices, and the beauty found in life’s imperfections.

This is not just a story; it’s a meditation on what it means to be human in an often-chaotic world, it resonates with anyone seeking solace in the shared experiences of joy and sorrow.

Julie Chessman

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