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The Life Impossible by Matt Haig

Contemporary fiction

The Life Impossible

by Matt Haig

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Quick take

After being gifted a house on a charming island, a retired teacher books a one-way trip and begins a magical adventure.

Good to know

  • Illustrated icon, Fast_Read

    Fast read

  • Illustrated icon, Inspirational

    Inspirational

  • Illustrated icon, Quirky

    Quirky

  • Illustrated icon, Island

    Island

Synopsis

“What looks like magic is simply a part of life we don’t understand yet…”

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, this is a story of hope and the life-changing power of a new beginning.

Free sample

Get an early look from the first pages of The Life Impossible.

The Life Impossible

Dear Mrs Winters,

I hope you don’t mind the email.

You may remember me. You taught me mathematics at Hollybrook. I am now 22 years old and in my final year at university. I am studying mathematics, you will be pleased to hear!

I bumped into Mr Gupta in town in the Easter break and I asked after you and he told me all your news. I’m sorry to hear about the loss of your husband. Mr Gupta said you have moved to Spain. I had a grandmother who moved back to Grenada, which she hadn’t visited since she was seven, and she found happiness there. I hope you are happy with your move abroad.

I too have experienced grief recently. My mum died two years ago and after that I fell into despair. I don’t get on with my father and have found it hard to focus on university work. My sis (you may remember Esther) needs even more support now. I let my girlfriend down and she broke up with me. There have been other things too. At times I have found it very hard to carry on. It feels my life is already written at this young age and everything is known. I sometimes can’t breathe with all the pressure. I am in a pattern, like a number pattern, a Fibonacci sequence – 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21 etc. – and like that sequence things get less surprising the further I go on. But instead of realising the next number is found by adding the two before it, you realise that everything ahead of you has already been decided. And as I get older, as I pass more numbers, the pattern becomes more predictable. And nothing can break that pattern. I used to believe in God but now I don’t believe in anything. I was in love, but I messed that up. I hate myself sometimes. I mess everything up. I feel guilty all the time. I am drinking too much, and it screws up my studies and I feel guilty for that too because Mum wanted me to try hard.

I look at what is happening in the world and I see that our whole species is on a path to destruction. Like it is programmed, another pattern. And I just get fed up with being a human, being this small tiny thing that can’t do anything about the world. Everything feels impossible.

I don’t know why I’m telling you this. I just wanted to tell someone. And you were always kind to me. I am in the dark and I need a light. Sorry. That sounds melodramatic. I just need to be a good role model for my sister.

Please don’t feel obliged to answer this. But anything you can say will be greatly valued. Sorry for the long email.

Thank you,

Maurice (Augustine)

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Why I love it

Matt Haig has a superpower. He has the ability to quiet my inner cynic, something I never thought possible before picking up his work. His writing pushes past my defenses and provides a sincere hopefulness. I realized this while on the mystical adventure of his latest book, The Life Impossible.

The Life Impossible follows retired math teacher Grace Winters. Lacking in motivation, Grace has become bored of life. After an estranged friend passes, she unexpectedly inherits a fixer-upper in Ibiza and a small spark of interest pushes her to take action. Soon, she’s on a flight to her new property without a plan or a return ticket. Still lost but somewhere new, Grace takes a scuba diving lesson that changes her life forever. She searches the house for hints about her friend’s life and passing, looking for some answer for why she is there. The curiosity of the eclectic locals starts to drive Grace out of her shell and provide her with a human connection she has lost. As she delves further into the community and uncovers her strange new reality, Grace slowly starts to love her life again.

Grace’s story is full of whimsy and the perfect amount of magic. I couldn’t get enough of the endearingly quirky cast of characters that made up Ibiza—I found a new favorite on each page. Reading The Life Impossible feels just like having a conversation with a friend. Don’t just take my word for it—pick this book up and let Grace tell you her story yourself.

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