"A magical love letter to Ibiza reminding us to live life to the full."
The Life Impossible is the story of Grace Winters, a retired maths teacher, a crotchety old Brit from Lincoln, who at 72 receives a heartfelt reach out from a very lost ex-pupil. Maurice feels everything is impossible and unburdens himself.
This book is Grace's response. At 72 she had felt alone for more than 30 years, with a lack. A lack of feeling, a lingering sadness, anhedonia. She was just existing. Until Grace received a letter out of the blue bequeathing her a house in Spain for an act of kindness long ago.
"I can’t promise that my story will help you believe in the impossible, but it is a tale as true as any other person who felt there was no point left in her existence, and then found the greatest purpose she had ever known."
Determined to find out what happened to her old friend, Grace travels to the Balearics. It's a story of tiny chapters. Brilliantly named. Wonderfully crafted. Chapters that pull you in and don't let you go until the very end. Much like The Midnight Library this is a beautiful and inspiring story that is full of hope. With lots of life lessons from the emotionally cognizant Haig, the sprinkling of magical realism makes this an extra-special read.
Initially sceptical, the maths teacher in Grace needs logic and evidence and justification. This island of magic, magnetism, and of wonder is totally alien to her. But she remembers a famous line in one of her favourite novels, where Holmes tells Watson, that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. And she grows to concede that there is more to life than we know, and there is more to our minds than we realise.
It's about hope. And grief. About solitude. About nature. About kindness. About adventure. About wonder. Illogic and improbability. And magic, pure magic.
As well as a gorgeous read, this is a love letter to Ibiza. From Dalt Vita, to Cala Sant Vincent, to Cala d'Hort, Es Murta and Ses Salines. Ibiza, where Grace is woken from her slumber, where she experiences fullness again, feels present and is given an appreciation of life through her extra-sensory talents.
And Haig reminds us that nearly everything is really interesting. If you go into it deeply enough, everything has an infinite richness and complexity. If you want to visit a new world, all you need to do is change your mind. Everything can be beautiful with the right eyes and ears. Head towards possibility, towards mystery, towards travel or change. Be open to confusion. Don't tie yourself to simplicity. Imagine how things could be.
Haig for me has done it again. Grace has strength, she is wise and wonderful and I want to be like her when I grow up. The new her. The Ibiza her. My flight is booked!
| Primary Genre | Modern and Contemporary Fiction |
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