Do We Really Want to Live Longer?? Review of How to Stop Time?

Most people would agree they want to live longer.  I would assume the reasons vary, most would want to be with a spouse or their children.  Some will want to see the advancements of science and technology.  Some just want to keep living their lives.  I once asked each of my grandparents if they wanted to live to be 100 years old and each replied No!!! fairly emphatically.  Their reasons sounded fairly silly to my (very) young mind—not enough money to support themselves,  poor health, loss of memory (Going Senile), and being a burden on their family. 

What if your body was able to slow down the aging process once you hit puberty?  At 32 you still looked 16, at 450 you looked 40.  You do not live forever but you live longer…a lot longer.  The author Matt Haig looks at that possibility in his latest novel. 

I recently finished Matt Haig’s book, How to Stop Time.  The book is a pretty easy read at a length of 333 pages.  The lead character, Tom Hazzard is born with a rare disease that allows him to age slowly, very slowly.  Having worked in rare disease, I thought Mr. Haig got the psychology of a rare disease patient fairly accurate.  Tom though is a tortured soul, although I found him mostly whiny to be honest.  There is a secret society, some familiar names in history, a frantic search and a love story so the novel has all the elements that I enjoy.  I think Mr. Haig could have added about 50 to 75 more pages and bolstered his story without seeming to drag it out. 

When thinking over the story, what stuck with me is the future.  Instead of prolonging life maybe the next frontier of PhRMA and Biotech is slowing the aging process.  We know health and beauty sell anti-aging.  What if some company comes up with injections that slows our cells and retards aging internally? Would you take it?

If you need a beach read, this book could be it.  Happy Reading!!