In The Life Impossible, Matt Haig crafts a beautifully imaginative and life-affirming tale that explores the transformative power of embracing the unknown. With its deep sense of wonder, adventure, and hope, this novel invites readers on a journey of self-discovery, mystery, and unexpected revelation.

The story centers on Grace Winters, a retired math teacher who finds herself unexpectedly inheriting a dilapidated house on the stunning Mediterranean island of Ibiza from a long-lost friend. With no real plan, Grace sets off for the island, armed only with a one-way ticket and the desire to uncover answers about her friend's life—and ultimately, her death. What she discovers in the winding hills and sun-soaked beaches of Ibiza is far stranger and more mysterious than she ever could have imagined.

Haig’s writing is imbued with a sense of wonder and awe, blending the magic of possibility with the hard truths of the past. As Grace delves into her friend's enigmatic history, she uncovers layers of secrets and life-altering realizations. But in order to truly understand the events that unfolded, Grace must first come to terms with her own painful past, confronting the fears and regrets that have held her back from fully living.

The book beautifully balances moments of lightness and adventure with deeper reflections on loss, healing, and the beauty of second chances. It’s a story that reminds us that even in the most unexpected places, life’s greatest lessons are waiting to be discovered. Haig masterfully explores the delicate relationship between the mysteries of the universe and the inner workings of the human heart, suggesting that what might seem impossible could simply be a part of a larger, unfathomable truth.

Filled with wild adventure and emotional depth, The Life Impossible is a testament to the power of embracing life’s unpredictability. It’s a reminder that, no matter how much we may try to control our paths, there’s a certain magic in allowing ourselves to step into the unknown. This is a novel about finding hope when it seems impossible, and about the life-changing power of new beginnings.

For fans of heartfelt, transformative stories that encourage both wonder and introspection, The Life Impossible is a must-read. Haig’s gift for storytelling shines through, leaving readers with a renewed sense of hope and the belief that sometimes, the most beautiful parts of life are the ones we never saw coming.

Matt Haig is back with another magic realism-infused journey in The Life Impossible, a novel that shares the same contemplative vibes as The Midnight Library but offers its own unique spin. While the premise initially hooked me, I found myself feeling increasingly conflicted as the story progressed.

The book opens strongly, introducing Grace—a lovable and complex protagonist whose struggles and growth make her one of the story's strongest points. Her journey of self-discovery is both poignant and relatable, and I found myself rooting for her every step of the way. Grace’s development is undeniably well-crafted, though I couldn’t help but feel she deserved a more satisfying resolution.

Haig’s signature use of magic realism is present throughout, blending whimsical possibilities with the weight of real-life choices. However, as the plot unfolded, the narrative took some bizarre turns that didn’t quite land for me. While the early chapters were gripping, the latter half veered into territory that felt overly surreal and disjointed, making it harder to stay invested.

That said, I can see how this book could deeply resonate with certain readers. Haig’s writing is introspective and thought-provoking, and for those who enjoy stories that embrace the unconventional and blur the lines between fantasy and reality, this could be a hit.

Overall, The Life Impossible isn’t a personal favourite, but it’s a book with undeniable heart, anchored by a protagonist worth rooting for. Fans of The Midnight Library or magic realism in general might find something special here, even if it didn’t completely work for me.

I enjoyed this book and initially found the storyline intriguing. However, I felt it got a little slow in the second half and I struggled to remain engaged.

I absolutely adore Haig's writing so I was expecting huge things from this novel. I am so pleased that it delivered in every way imaginable.

I found this to be slightly different to Haig's previous works, but not for a bad reason.It felt refreshing, yet comforting at the same time, and I thoroughly enjoyed how poetically it was written. He transported us to Ibiza and made it feel as though we were there with the characters, watching everything unfold before our very eyes. It felt like we were taken on a journey.

If you've read Matt Haig before then to some extent you know what you're getting. The actual writing is at times beautiful and flows effortlessly but this unfortunately can't bear the weight of a story that doesn't quite live up to expectations for me anyway. While fantastical and 'magical' it has little to ground it in reality. Yes it's fiction but there is an emptiness beneath the surface and part of the purpose of fiction, for me, is to alleviate the stress of actual life. If you're a Haig fan you're probably love it but I felt it lacking sadly.

💭 ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
What can I say. Yes, it was intriguing and the story kept me hooked somehow. It’s quick read. It’s a beautiful story of believing in yourself and a little bit of magic. I loved how the characters developed throughout the book. It was a good story, but overall I didn’t really connect with it. It just wasn’t for me but I do recommend it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️

🤓 ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Magical Realism
Short chapters
Taking a leap of faith
Character built

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ:
𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘶𝘯-𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨-𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥, 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘐𝘣𝘪𝘻𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘰𝘯𝘦-𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵, 𝘯𝘰 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯.

𝘈𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥’𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩, 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵.

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

“What looks like magic is simply a part of life we don’t understand”
Telling the the story of 72 year old Grace, a retired maths teacher, who inherits a house in Ibiza
Follow her on her journey of adventure, self-discovery, grief and friendship
She has to let go of her guilt and grief in order to feel and care again, instead of just being numb
“Being open to possibility is being open to pain, failure, disappointment, so the temptation is to curl ourselves up like armadillos ….. as any good armadillo knows, you eventually have to remove your head from your bottom and look out at the bright, confusing day, into the hidden glory .. into the ultimate reality “Into Life”
She can make a difference and live the impossible life
What a lovely read, filled me with joy and didn’t want the story to end
Thanks @mattzhaig, @vikingbooksuk & @netgalley with the feel good read

A magical read dealing with grief, relationships and the unknown. Really moving and highly recommended.

Another fantasy novel from Matt Haig I loved the Midnight Library but this book just didn’t work for me. Retired Maths teacher Grace Winters is gifted a house in Ibiza when an acquaintance died. The book is the story of Grace trying to find a way forward after the death of her husband and son which would be enough without the descent into magic, mind reading and aliens. I thought the book was too chaotic and just went off in a strange direction.

Grace Winters is a 72 year old retired maths teacher who has been gifted a house on an island in the Med by an ex-colleague. This person has now vanished and is presumed dead. Now Grace lives a sheltered and full life really but decides to go on adventure, books a one way ticket to Ibiza and decides to find out what happened. In doing so, she delves into her own almost impossible past.

I really wanted to love this book, and although it’s beautifully written, it was just too fantastical for me. Some of her experiences are downright weird and maybe this wasn’t the best Matt Haig book for me to start with given that I’m yet to read The Midnight Library. If you don’t mind your stories on the surreal side however, you’ll probably love it!

“Everything can be beautiful with the right eyes and ears. Every genre of music. Every sorrow and every pleasure. Every inhale and exhale. Every guitar solo. Every voice. Every plant beside the tarmac.”

The Life Impossible is the eleventh novel by award-winning British author, Matt Haig. It’s a heartfelt email from a former student that prompts retired high school mathematics teacher, Grace Winters to document her recent life-changing experience in Ibiza. She begins by describing the sad, lonely life of a virtually penniless widow whose guilt over the death of her son cemented the belief that she was a bad person. Poor behaviour followed.

She’s shocked to learn she has inherited a villa on the island of Ibiza from Christina van der Berg, a teacher to whom she long ago showed some small amount of kindness. With no reason to stay in Lincoln, she packs a bag and flies over, if only to check the place out and, maybe, to find out more about how Christina died, for which there has, so far only been a vague explanation: lost at sea.

But the uncharming villa located on a busy road is dusty, stale, a bit humid. At least there is a Fiat Panda for transport. A letter left by Christina suggests places to visit, including an exhortation to go scuba diving with Alberto Rivas at Atlantis Scuba. And to go dancing! At seventy-two, Grace considers doing either of these would be folly. The letter also hints that Christina knew she was going to die.

An examination of her villa reveals: the expected reading matter except for, unusually, a book on clairvoyancy; a wall of photos of Christina with her ex-husband and daughter, as well as celebrities in nightclubs where she sang; an olive jar full of seawater that seems to refill itself; and a strange yellow flower outside the door.

But as she talks to people on the island who knew Christina, who all seem to be expecting her, a picture emerges of a woman estranged from her adult daughter (a well-known DJ), a woman who had a popular stall at the hippy market telling fortunes, an activist who vocally campaigns against developments that threaten to damage the island’s sensitive environment. But Grace begins to feel like she’s been set up, recruited, especially when she meets the man who might know what happened to Christina.

Ultimately, she does end up diving, down to the oldest living organism on Earth, the Posidonia seagrass, dancing at a disco, attending a protest rally, and gambling for high stakes at the casino. She does quite a lot of unusual eavesdropping and ends up in an extraordinary showdown with a developer. She offers her former student a fantastical story that begins “I have never believed in magic, and I still don’t. But sometimes what looks like magic is simply a part of life we don’t understand yet” and says he can believe or reject as he wishes.

She also offers a bunch of wise words and insightful observations that anyone can apply to their life, telling the young man “When things are wrong, we need to reach rock bottom in order for change to happen. We sometimes need to feel trapped in order to find the way out” and that the ultimate lesson is “leave a door open in your mind to possibility. We are never at the finish line of understanding. There is always something about life and the universe that we are still to discover.”

Alberto observes “Reality is merely an illusion. A very persistent one. Sometimes the illusion is the reality we don’t understand yet” while Grace notes “sometimes we can’t accept the truth that is right in front of our eyes. And that sometimes the mad people of one era become the sages of the next.” Matt Haig never fails to fascinate, to make his reader think, and to evoke strong emotions. Just wonderful!
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Canongate.

This is a beautifully written piece. So very emotional and heartwarming. In true Matt fashion. A book I will never forget.

I haven't come across a Matt Haig book that I didn't enjoy, until now. I wanted to love this book as much as all his others, but it entirely missed the mark for me.

There are chinks of Haig's writing that still highlight his ability to really make one stop and think about life, mental health matters, humanity, the world, damn even the universe.

But the actual story, I'm sorry to say I really disliked. The gist of everyone being interconnected to each other and to nature I grasped, but the way this was communicated was a combination of weird, boring and just overall uninteresting (unless you have an obsession with Ibiza)

I only pushed through to the end in the vain hope that it would get better. It didn't, and I'd have rather spent my time rereading The Midnight Library.

Matt Haig writes books that fill your heart with a roller coaster of emotions. He never fails to deliver.
A quirky, profoundly humanistic tale set to an Ibizan backdrop.....like one big sunset!

I really enjoyed this book. It is not my typical genre. The book brought back my own memories of visiting the places mentioned in Ibiza. It was an easy read with characters that filled you with warmth. I would recommend reading this book.

It's been a while since I read one of Matt's books. What heart they have.

I really enjoyed the set-up of this book, leading us into the story through a request for some life advice. Plus, the message about learning to forgive yourself for your perceived mistakes (instead of letting them weigh you down) is important.

With this latest release, Matt Haig is back with his signature cocktail of witty anecdotes, poignant reflections, grief, hope and love for life. This time its wrapped up in a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Ibiza, taken by a retired schoolteacher, Grace.

I picked this book up when I was at a low moment and gave me exactly the escapist, heartwarming experience I needed and would expect from this author. Some of Grace's reflections actually reminded me of anecdotes from The Comfort Book, and the magic amongst these pages was akin to that of The Midnight Library and How To Stop Time.

Whilst this is book is full of Haig's usual charm and intelligent observations, it does feel like a departure from his previous novels in some ways. The older protagonist who has her fair share of grief behind her, the idyllic holiday setting and the unusual supernatural twists all add up to feel like something different from the author - and that change seems to be dividing some readers.

Overall, I'm so glad I read this novel - it picked me up when I was feeling down, and I can never get enough of this author's writing. There's plenty of quirky characters and Ibiza makes an exotic, beautiful backdrop for a unique adventure. I have to admit that it's not my favourite from the author - How To Stop Time was my first read from him, and as a sucker for time-travel romance it will hold a special place in my heart, and The Midnight Library captured the hearts of many during a turbulent time in the world. But this one feels fresh, exciting, and leans heavily into the author's quirky outlook, and I'm sure it will win over many readers.

As with all Matt Haig books, this was beautiful.
It captures the humanity and emotions and is delivered in a thoughtful and thought provoking way.
Another lovely read I’d highly recommend. You can’t miss with a Matt Haig novel.

I absolutely loved The Midnight Library by Matt Haig so I went into this book with high expectations and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This story is perfect if you want some magical escapism combined with thought provoking advice on life. I found a lot of comfort in this story, just as I did with the Midnight Library.

Matt Haig has delivered yet another brilliant story. He captures the essence of humanity so beautifully, and this book is no different. It's a reminder that life, with all its pain and tragedy, is a privilege and can be truly magical if we're open to it.