Plot ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

An elderly, retired maths teacher, grieving the loss of her son from decades ago and of her husband more recently, is living a life less colourful. Emotionally shut down and numb to the joys of living, Grace is going through the motions to survive, but is most certainly not thriving. With the arrival of a letter from a long-lost acquaintance, offering an exceptional gift and a strange invitation to move abroad, Grace begrudgingly sets out on an adventure to solve a mystery, and the journey that follows is one of rediscovery, redemption, healing and protection.

Characters ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Grace Winters is a very relatable character as she has found herself stuck with unprocessed traumas. At times she’s apathetic, sometimes overwhelmed, other times making progress. Her reaction to unfolding events feels very congruent and demonstrates the incremental steps taken when working through grief. I appreciate how this transformation indirectly gives the reader permission to try new things, take chances and live in the moment when emotionally low.

As for the supporting characters, they all have well defined personalities and each influences the story in their own, meaningful way. No one feels out of place or added in as a necessity and Alberto was especially amusing at times due to his roundabout communication style.

Setting ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Ibiza, the Mediterranean island where there’s a little bit of everything you could possibly want in a holiday, was a great choice. Environments were at times beautiful and serene, then lively and atmospheric. Being a small landmass made the setting feel quite contained and helped make the idea of the strong local community even more realistic.

Writing ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Oh my goodness, what an absolutely delightful read with some really thought provoking insights. I can’t help but feel this story is an ode to the fullness of our human experience and all its complexities as it touches on so many different themes. Additionally, whilst the genre shift a third of the way through was totally unexpected, it truly enhanced this exploration from an alternative and unusual perspective.

The writing was fabulous and I felt the unpacking and processing of past traumas woven throughout the story was very authentic. I have saved so many quotes from these pages and will continue to reflect on these in days to come.

Readability ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

The author’s style is very easy to read and flows well to maintain immersion. Additionally, the inclusion of shorter ‘bite-sized’ chapters was fantastic as this really helped keep momentum and pacing high throughout the story.

On the rare occasion when the action slowed and my attention waned slightly, something interesting would always happen and I’d be completely engrossed once again for several more chapters. This created a real page turner and I definitely struggled to put the book down on numerous occasions.

Overall Enjoyment = ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Wow, honestly, this is a true modern masterpiece.

Favourite quotes:

- When you grieve someone you see their message in everything. Even in the sunlight on a blade of grass. The whole world becomes their translator.

- 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.

- You see, if you want to visit a new world, you don’t need a spacecraft. All you need to do is change your mind.

- An element, as you no doubt know, is matter that can’t be broken down into a simpler substance. They are the primes of the cosmos. We are made of elements. We have the unbreakable and the eternal inside us.

Many thanks to Matt Haig, the publisher and NetGalley for the electronic review copy they kindly provided. In response, the above review is my critical reflection and honest opinion.

The Life Impossible is my first Matt Haig novel and I absolutely loved it. The story follows Grace, who inherits a house on a Mediterranean island from her friend. She bought a ticket and began her search for what happened to her friend. Matt Haig's writing is so easy to read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The book addresses difficult themes such as death and grief, but Haig handles them beautifully. There is also a little bit of magical realism that adds a different layer to the story. Overall, I really enjoyed it and I loved the feel good tone of the book and hope to read more from his books. Thanks to NetGalley and Canongate for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the mundane to magical element of this book, showing the changes to Grace and her life after going to Ibiza. It was a good story however I found myself scanning over the long descriptions of mathematics and science, and it felt like the letter format didn’t add a great deal to the storytelling. I liked the premise though and would give it a solid 3.5 stars.

A beautful, magical and thought provoking book - perfect for the end of summer. I found myself engrossed by the layered story and I loved the Ibiza setting.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review

Matt Haig takes you in a beautifully written journey and captures you from the start with her unique sense of writing.

Grace Winters is a widowed retired maths teacher.

Same routine day in day out when out of the blue receives a call to say that she has been left a house in Ibiza from a work colleague from many many years ago.

Grace arrives on the Island but all is not as it seems, how did her friend die and why do inexplainable things keep happened.

As Grace starts to unravel the trusts, she realises she needs to deal with her own past.

One of the things I enjoy most about Matt Haig's writing is his beautifully British sense of humour. From saying 'Ibiza' in italics, Grace is very much the image of a British woman in her seventies. Her mathematical sensibilities make the world simple and rational, and Haig places her in a very not rational scenario. The book is emotional and well-written, with some beautiful scenes to imagine.

Like Matt Haig’s earlier book, How to Stop Time, the author seems to get inside my life and ask me several very important questions. In the case of The Life Impossible, he finds a seventy-something widow, downsized to a small but comfortable bungalow, who has lost the art of going out and making friends since the Covid lockdown.

So after this uncomfortable start, I thoroughly endorse her choice to set off to Ibiza to discover the house she’s been left by an ex-colleague who she hardly remembers.

The story unfolds through an epistolary letter to a former pupil who has emailed her for advice. This gets lost in the narrative until occasional asides by Grace to her correspondent. These can jar, but also provide an element of punctuation to her tale. And it’s a wondrous one, combining island history, ecology and local life with big money machinations, lies and intrigue. And something mysterious, or is it mystical?

I was totally engrossed in this book. It has the light and freshness of a Mediterranean island combined with dark secrets and intriguing powers. And as I write this, I realise: I really must read the Life Impossible again.

I was so excited to read this and I was not disappointed. What another wonderfully written and inspiring story from Matt Haig, His writing is beautiful and the characters are so beautifully developed and I felt immersed in their world. Loved it from start to finish and didn't want it to end!

A deftly woven tale of loss, depression, sadness and strength.
The book centres around an otherwordly energy off the coast of Ibiza and Grace, a 72 year old woman who encounters it via a very odd legacy. The book kind of bimbles along, told via Grace's perspective as an email essay to a former student but introducing the lesser known sides of Ibiza away from the club scene.
There is something magical about the way the story unfolds, the gentle pace, the wry observations and raw emotions that come to light so that although the journey inevitably ends you are satisfied that everything you need to know has been told (or foretold!)

This is only the second book I have read this year I just could not bring myself to finish.

I have thoroughly enjoyed Matt Haig's other works however this was just too unbelievable for me, a step too far. I coudl not relate to the characters in the story and there was just too much "magic" in this to give the plot any real depth.

Unfortunately I will not be recommending this book but thanks to NetGalley for the early read.

Matt Haig books are always a bit hit and miss for me. They're not my usual genre as such, but many of his books just hit really hard with emotion and meaning, and that makes them 5 star reads. This was one of the ones I didn't enjoy as much, but three stars given because he is undeniably a skilled writer.

I really tried to understand this book and have come to the conclusion that I am not the target audience.
I found it confusing and annoying.
Sorry not for me.

An extremely well written and very unusual book that explores what it is to be a woman, who has made difficult choices and had to deal with difficult events, including losing a child and her husband. Grace has never thought highly of herself, and life seems to have confirmed her worthlessness. Her life changes when she is left a house in Ibiza by a woman she once helped many years before. Grace goes out there, meets various people as she searches what has happened to her friend and then goes swimming in the bay, whereupon her life changes for ever.

It requires a little suspension of belief to accept some of the events, but if you roll along the journey is well worth while. Its hard to say more without spoilers. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Canongate for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a book I’ll be thinking about for a long time! Grace is left a house in Ibiza by a distant friend. But the house doesn’t just give her somewhere new to live, it also gives her the ability to see the world differently. The ability to appreciate what’s around her, the ability to act as a protector, and the opportunity to lay some ghosts to rest. This book will have you reflecting on your own life and seeing the world with a fresh set of eyes.
Dealing with the subjects of life, death and environmentalism. The book contains a magical realism. Beautifully poetic, emotional and will certainly give you a desire to visit Ibiza.

'What looks like magic is simply a part of life we don’t understand yet . . .'
Retired Maths teacher, Grace Winters, has been unexpectedly left a home in Ibiza by a woman she once worked with many years ago. A long-lost friend, but one she didn't know extremely well. She is compelled to go there and learn more about her friend and the island delivers more than Grace could possibly have ever expected.

This one was just so beautifully written with so many nuggets of wisdom and life lessons sprinkled throughout. Obviously the gorgeous landscape of Ibiza drew me in and the author knows how to create fabulous characters. It does delve into the magic/fantasy area and it was just so uplifting. Another wonderful novel by the author. 4.5*

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Canongate for this gifted review copy.

Such an unpredictable and thought provoking story which I read in a couple of sittings. Grace’s life takes a very unexpected turn when she is left a house in another country and she gathers her courage and changes her life completely. Fantasy mingles with the everyday as Grace negotiates her new life.
Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to review this book

Grace Winters , retired maths teacher, has been left a run-down house on a Mediterranean island a friend friend. She hasn't had contact with the friend for many years and has no idea of her life on the island.
She arrives in Ibiza but has no idea of what is in store for her.
She first needs to know how and why her friend died and then face her own past

Well, what an unusual book. Not the sort that I would normally read at all, but that is what I like about NetGalley - the chance to read different genres etc. I'm really not sure about this story - perhaps it was just too different for me? It just all felt quite 'abstract' and surreal to me. It painted some great views of Ibiza - somewhere I have never been but definitely would like to visit now. There were just a few fairly minor things that unfortunately really bothered me - it was said that Grace had money troubles and it only appeared that she inherited Christina's house, so how did she suddenly afford a flight to Ibiza and spending money when she was there? And from the descriptions of her life back in Lincoln where she did so little and had a very small world (and bearing in mind she is 72 years old!), how did she so easily use WhatsApp and her 10 year old laptop in a very basic house in Ibiza ? There were other inconsistencies like this that in all just spoilt it for me and didn't ring true.

Anyway, if you're into stories featuring the surreal and unexplained, you'll probably enjoy this. For me, it was not really what I was expecting, although I did want to see where it finished up.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review, which is (clearly!) what I have given.

Matt Haig is back with a cracker of a tale. Grace, a retired teacher who has suffered much bereavement, is sent on a mystery trip to Ibiza thanks to a long lost friend.
What happens to Grace on Ibiza is a life changing and affirming experience.
Grace starts on a detective mission, believing someone has harmed her friend, she finishes with a fantastic science fiction conclusion, a story that even Stephen King would be proud of.
Thank you very much to Canongate and Netgallery for the opportunity to read and review.

I don’t know quite what I expected but it wasn’t this. This is a fantastical story, quite a slow burn and a deep read with a lot of scientific and mathematical content. The story centres around widow Grace Winters a retired mathematics teacher. It opens with an email from a former pupil and Grace replying that she was going to tell him a story… What follows is a strange story, a very strange story indeed. Beautiful description encompasses you into the midst of island life and a compelling narrative hold you there.

Briefly, Grace helped a colleague many years ago and is shocked to find that she has died and left her a property in Ibiza. On the spur of the moment she buys a plane ticket and packs her bags. Arriving at her property she finds it run down and unattractive but she is an inquisitive woman and she wants to know what happened to her friend. A letter that was left for her adds to the intrigue. Her investigation leads her to an elderly diver and after tracking him down she agrees to go diving one evening with him as he tells her this will explain everything.

Although you need to suspend belief at the magical sci-fi elements of the story I believe this book is more about self-forgiveness and the power of friendship and doing what you believe is right. The ‘gifts’ from La Presencia are just a conduit for those it chooses. I really liked the crime element of the book albeit it was a relatively minor part of the whole. If nothing else this will make you think not just about yourself and living for the now, but the world around us and the harm us humans are doing to our environment. A deep and meaningful read.