58 pages • 1 hour read
Matt HaigThe Life Impossible
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2024A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Authorial Context: Matt Haig
Matt Haig is an English author and has experience working as an English teacher and a journalist. He has published 12 children’s books, most notably A Boy Called Christmas. This 2015 title “was a runaway hit,” which The Guardian called an “instant classic” (“Home.” Matt Haig). The book has since been “translated into over 40 languages” and was “made into a film starring Maggie Smith, Sally Hawkins and Jim Broadbent” in 2021 (“Home”). Haig has also published seven works of nonfiction. His 2015 memoir, Reasons to Stay Alive, was an international bestseller and stayed on the British publishing charts for nearly a year. Haig is also the author of nine works of adult and literary fiction. His 2011 novel, The Radleys, straddles the lines between domestic fiction and fantasy and was adapted for the screen by Lionsgate in August 2024. Haig is also known for his 2020 novel, The Midnight Library, which explores isolation, mental health, and the healing power of books. These themes recur in The Life Impossible. Haig describes the book as his “big life-and-love-and-the-universe novel” (“Home”). Grace Winters’s story indeed confronts universal themes, including grief, shame, and spiritual transformation.
Haig is known for his imaginative approach to storytelling. His novels often possess elements of mystery, fantasy, and magic, which he uses to enact the beauty of the natural world and the wonder of human experience. Haig’s work is in conversation with other contemporary novels, including Marie-Helene Bertino’s novel Beautyland; Téa Obreht’s novels The Tiger’s Wife, Inland, and The Morningside; Julia Phillips’s Bear; and Julie Otsuka’s The Swimmers.
Geographical Context: Ibiza, Spain
The majority of The Life Impossible is set in Ibiza, a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is culturally known for its tourist, electronic dance, and nightclub scenes. These elements feature in Grace’s narrative. Shortly after her arrival, for example, she remarks that “pleasure [is] expected” in Ibiza and that happiness is common, particularly in June (74). The island is indeed a popular tourist destination in the summer months. The liveliness of this setting challenges Grace because she’s an elderly woman. However, she learns from her new friends that Ibiza is a place where age doesn’t matter and that everyone can participate in the island’s musical, sporting, and cultural experiences.
In recent years, Ibiza has seen a rise in development, including “luxury”-based improvements. While these developments have fueled the tourist economy, they have also harmed Ibiza’s climate and wildlife. In particular, Ibiza’s tourism industry has led to potable water shortages and endangered natural ecosystems.
These elements of island life also feature in Grace’s narrative. She and her friends set out to stop further development on the island in an attempt to protect the people, plants, and animals who live there. The climate, weather patterns, and vegetation of Ibiza also feature heavily throughout The Life Impossible. Ibiza is home to diverse wildlife and plants. Such wildlife includes lizards, cormorants, goats, and cats. Grace’s encounters with these facets of the Ibiza environment contribute to her evolution. The culture and atmosphere of the island teach her how to enjoy life and appreciate life’s beauty and mysteries.
Related Titles
By Matt Haig
