How to Stop Time

I was so fortunate to read How to Stop Time by Matt Haig right after I read Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw. This book was also extremely riveting and almost impossible to put down. The main character in How to Stop Time, Tom Hazard, is an alba (short for albatross). What is an alba? An alba is a person who ages slowly ..... so very slowly that they live for centuries at a time. Tom Hazard was born in France on March 3, 1581. He's had a fascinating life. He's performed with Shakespeare, sailed with Captain Cook, and shared cocktails with Scott Fitzgerald. Although he's had a fascinating life, it's been an empty one. He had to leave his wife, Rose, and daughter, Marion, because the local villagers think his mother was a witch who murdered somebody to give Tom the gift of being forever young. The villagers threatened to harm Rose and Marion.

Tom drifts along aimlessly in a life without purpose after leaving his wife and daughter until he meets Henrich in 1891. Heinrich tells Tom the first and main rule of the Albatross Society which is "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. If you stick to this you will just about be okay."

Now Tom is a history teacher in present day London. He's attracted to the French teacher, Camille. He's wondering ..... does he really want to play it safe and obey the society's rules? Can he even hope to have a somewhat fulfilling life if he denies himself love?"

I recently heard a song that reminds me of this book. If We Were Vampires by Jason Isbell also illustrates the futility of almost immortality without love.

Here's a you tube video of the song.