The Life Impossible by Matt Haig – A book Review

I’m a fan of Matt Haig and I was really looking forward to The Life Impossible. I listened on Audible and the dulcet tones of Joanna Lumley were perfect for the main character, but they did also keep sending me to sleep 🙂

The Blurb

‘What looks like magic is simply a part of life we don’t understand yet . . .’

When retired Maths 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 Balearics 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.

My Review of The Life Impossible

Matt Haig has a unique way of writing which is not always for everyone. There is always something more to look for in his books. I chose this book for my reading challenge, a book set in a Country you’ve never visited. Well, this is set in Ibiza and I’ve never visited there.

Grace is a completely believable 72 year old woman, lost without her husband and son, when she gets a letter to say she’s inherited a house in Ibiza from a woman she once knew. Having fallen for a scam before, she’s unsure at first, but then she takes the plunge and goes to Ibiza.

The story gets a little crazy and it’s mystical and magical but the underlying themes are the saving of the planet and living life to the full, even when you are 72 years old.

The book also has adventure and danger, Grace believes her friend Christina, was in danger and sets out to find out what she was scared of. She meets new friends who have problems of their own and becomes a help to them. I think Matt has fitted a lot in this book.

But, I believe the underlying theme is how to deal with grief. Grace has never recovered from losing her son when he was 11 years old and blames herself. And she misses her husband and wonders how he would feel about her actions all the time.

The description of Ibiza is really good. It gives you a real sense of the place, from the night clubs to the side streets, the beaches and the wildlife. It really takes you there so I think it was a good choice for a Country never visited.

There are weird concepts of mind reading and aliens which seems a little strange and may put people off. But if you look past the weirdness you can see that the magic is inside each and every one of us, we just need to harness it and live our lives. By that, I don’t mean learn how to read minds, but we can all be more mindful of other’s thoughts and feelings and the world around us and I believe this is what Matt Haig is getting at in this book. That’s my view anyway.

I took a lot away from this book. I know I have ghosts from my past which I have to exorcise, and I truly believe that mindfulness and embracing new adventures is the way to go. Grace, the main character, may be older than me but she’s also healthier than me. That doesn’t mean that I can’t have adventures though. I may be overthinking this but I have been making plans about embracing new things I’ve never done before. I’m not taken with rushing off to Ibiza but I do want to see more of the world.

I read this book on Audible but I’ll probably end up buying the paperback as I have done with most of Matt Haig’s books.

You can get a trial for 99p on Audible here:

Come join my book linky where you can share all the books you read and write about.

Please leave this field empty

Oh hi there 👋
It’s nice to meet you.

Sign up to receive interesting mindfulness content in your inbox, every month.

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.