Book Review

The Life Impossible by Matt Haig

Published September 3, 2024 by Viking

The Life Impossible was on my list of 2024's most anticipated reads. I'm a big fan of The Midnight Library, so I couldn't wait to see what Haig had up his sleeves this time around.

A retired math teacher named Grace receives an email from a former student who is going through a rough time. She responds with a novel, an actual novel, about her life and everything that happened to her after an acquaintance dies and leaves her an old house in Ibiza. I went into this reading experience expecting an inspirational story of second chances, hope and wonder, but it turned out to be something a bit different.

Grace is a widow in her 70's who struggles with guilt after having lost her son to an accident she felt was entirely her fault. She genuinely feels she is a bad person. When she is unexpectedly given a house in Ibiza, she leaves her dull, joyless life in search of answers. Why would Christine, someone she didn't even consider a close friend, leave everything to her? Once Grace arrives, she finds an old olive jar in the house that seems to miraculously refill itself with water. At this point, the story seems to veer off into the strange and unknown.

I was invested in the story despite the odd twists and turns it was taking. I liked Grace and even the quirky character she meets who helps her along on her journey of discovering what really happened to Christine. I truly wanted to love it as much as I loved The Midnight Library, but this one felt a bit out there, and just didn't resonate with me in the same way.

Rating ★★★