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Matt Haig Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

Author Biography  | Interview  | Books by this Author  | Read-Alikes

Matt Haig
Photo: Kan Lailey

Matt Haig

Matt Haig Biography

Matt Haig is the number one bestselling author of Reasons to Stay Alive, Notes on a Nervous Planet and six highly acclaimed novels for adults, including How to Stop Time, The Humans and The Radleys. His latest novel is The Midnight Library and the audiobook edition is read by Carey Mulligan. Haig also writes award-winning books for children, including A Boy Called Christmas, which is being made into a feature film with an all-star cast. He has sold more than a million books in the UK and his work has been translated into over forty languages.

Matt Haig's website

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Interview

Matt Haig talks about the challenges he faced as an author in re-imagining Shakespeare's Hamlet in his novel The Dead Fathers Club.

In The Dead Fathers Club, you have chosen to reimagine not merely a classic but arguably the classic work of English literature. Where does one get the daring to wrestle with a giant, and how did you go about making Shakespeare’s story into your own?
Well, I didn’t begin with a conscious desire to rewrite Hamlet. I began with the desire to tell a story about grief from a child’s perspective and I found myself gravitating increasingly toward these grand Shakespearean themes. And yes, it’s a massive risk, and I’m not the one to judge if I’ve pulled it off. But I think all writers feel the ghosts of literature breathing down their neck, so I figured it might as well be Shakespeare looking over my shoulder as anyone else.

In your opinion, how important is it to your readers’ enjoyment that they have read or reread Hamlet recently?
My intention was to write a story that connects with people emotionally and hopefully that connection works the same with or without an in-depth knowledge of Hamlet. After all, Shakespeare himself was the king of rewrites, and Hamlet itself echoes earlier vengeance stories.

One of the greatest challenges a writer faces is sustaining a narrative voice that differs ...

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Books by this Author

Books by Matt Haig at BookBrowse
The Life Impossible jacket The Midnight Library jacket How to Stop Time jacket The Humans jacket
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Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for Matt Haig but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • Niccolò Ammaniti

    Niccolò Ammaniti

    Niccolò Ammaniti was born in Rome in 1966. He is the author of three novels, as well as a collection of short stories. At thirty-four, he was the youngest ever winner of the prestigious Viareggio-Repaci prize for I'm Not... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    The Dead Fathers Club

    Try:
    I'm Not Scared
    by Niccolò Ammaniti

  • Jodi Lynn Anderson

    Jodi Lynn Anderson

    Jodi Lynn Anderson is the New York Times bestselling author of Peaches, Tiger Lily, and the popular May Bird trilogy. She lives in Asheville, N.C., with her husband, her son, and an endless parade of stray pets. (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    How to Stop Time

    Try:
    Midnight at the Electric
    by Jodi Lynn Anderson

We recommend 23 similar authors


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Who Said...

The only real blind person at Christmas-time is he who has not Christmas in his heart.

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