Welcome back to Books With Cause! Let’s dive into my latest review: The Life Impossible by Matt Haig. A novel that blends grief, forgiveness, and the supernatural against the backdrop of sun-soaked Ibiza.
This was my fifth time reading a Matt Haig novel. Starting with How to Stop Time, followed by The Humans, The Dead Father’s Club, and The Midnight Library. And many of the remaining titles on his bibliography have been on my to-be-read list ever since, based purely on the snippets I do know about a couple of them. With a wide range of fiction for adults and children, as well as non-fiction that helps people tackle mental health in the 21st century, to me, Haig is one of the modern greats.
The Lift Impossible tells the story of retired maths teacher, Grace Winters. She’s in a bad place, having never got over the death of her son at a young age, and she is completely alone following the death of her husband. Out of the blue, she receives a letter stating that Christina, a former colleague of hers, has passed away and her will has left her home in Ibiza to Grace. The terms and conditions are clear that Grace can do whatever she wants with the property. Sell it without even looking at it if she wishes to. But Grace takes the decision to fly out to Ibiza with the intention of having little more than a holiday and staying in the home just once before she sells it.
More than anything, Grace wants to know how her friend died. It seems especially ominous as Christina seemed to predict her own demise ahead of time. The answer seems to lie at the bottom of the ocean, which Grace explores with a mysterious local, just as Christina did years before her. And, much like Christina before, Grace discovers a supernatural entity known as La Presencia. A gift which gives her the most remarkable abilities. The abilities to read people’s minds, see things before they happen, and alter the future.
There’s no two ways about it. This is a bizarre read, with a lot going on. At its heart, this is a story of struggling with grief and finding the courage to live again. Among all of that, it’s about forgiving yourself.
A colleague of mine read this over the summer, and they said that they really struggled with it. As a mathematician themselves, they were looking for some logical explanation that tied it all together. And that’s not something this book offers. Nor do I believe it should. Personally, I think human beings have this folly, a desperation for looking for sense and logic in everything. But I believe the fact of the matter is there are some things that can’t be explained. As frustrating as that might be. I also believe there are some things that shouldn’t be explained. I think life could quickly become very boring if everything made complete sense all of the time. Some mysteries are better left unsolved.
With all that said, I also struggled with this book, but for different reasons. I sympathised with Grace and her journey. I liked being able to transport myself to Ibiza via the power of reading. Despite all that, I can’t put my finger on why this book didn’t exactly hit for me. Maybe it’s just one of those things. While I felt a little disappointed, this certainly won’t be my last time reading a Matt Haig novel.
My Goodreads rating: ★★★☆☆ (3 stars)
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