Lora Hates Spam

by Matt Haig

This started out with a really pleasant tone, though there was a lot of 'telling'. Sometimes that can fit the story, putting background into context. It is not about time travel, as I presumed, but about a man who has a 'condition' that makes him very long lived, the opposite of the premature aging diseases we've all heard of.

Part of the story is about his quest to find his daughter who shares the condition, but he has much to learn from others of his kind. The story unfolds slowly in the first few chapters and blossoms into questions of the meaning of life and the importance of pleasures and especially of the power of music to move the soul.

I found myself captivated by the journey through time, seeing historic periods through Tom's eyes. He was a likeable character, though rather sad and world weary. The descriptions of what it was like to live through various times were believable and I enjoyed reading it very much.

A shock twist near the end didn't have quite the impact on me that I think was intended. I felt it was a little rushed and there was insufficient explanation of motivation. Apart from that, the story gave me a lot of enjoyment and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone with any interest in history at all.