The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

What is it about?

Nora Seed wants to die. A suicide attempt leaves her between life and death and leads her to the Midnight Library, where she has the opportunity to experience her other lives - the ones she would have led, had she made different decisions in the past.

OK, but what is it really about?

35-year-old Nora Seed has reached a point where she feels like she can’t go on anymore. Tired of letting everyone down, including herself, Nora glances at the watch: “The time was now twenty-two minutes past eleven. She knew only one thing with absolute certainty: she didn’t want to reach tomorrow.”

As her life hangs in the balance, Nora is transported to a library. Every book on the seemingly endless shelves represents another version of Nora’s life - and she has the unique opportunity to “slide” into these lives to see firsthand what could have been, had she made different decisions in the past (even the smallest decisions can lead to a very different outcome). Guided by the librarian Mrs. Elm, Nora experiences life as a famous rock star, a successful Olympic swimmer, a volunteer at an animal shelter, a pub owner trapped in an unhappy marriage, a glaciologist for the International Polar Research Institute and countless others.

But a lot of questions still remain: are any of these alternate lives really that much better than the life Nora so desperately wanted to leave behind? Will she be able to let go of this mountain of regret so heavily weighing on her shoulders?

Is it any good?

We all have regrets in life, some more than others - but weren’t we all at some point wondering, “what if?” Haven’t we all looked back at certain moments in life when we found ourselves at a crossroad, wondering what could have happened if we had turned left instead of right? This is exactly why this novel speaks to so many, regardless of gender, age and background.

The author has penned a story that is so many things at once: sad but uplifting, tragic but hopeful, devastating but magical - a marvelous achievement and somewhat a mirror of life, where we have to take the good with the bad and the happy with the sad. In the end, we have to realize: we can’t go back in time and undo things we have done in the past - but it is still up to us what we do next.

Favorite character?

This story is about Nora’s life (or lives, to be more precise), her choices and her regrets. And while I was very much rooting for her to find the will to survive and live again, I was also weirdly intrigued by the character of Mrs. Elm, the librarian, who played such a crucial part in Nora’s life and death. When it was mentioned in the book that she was living in a retirement home, lonely and all by herself, dealing with her own regrets, my heart broke a little. It was only mended again at the very end, when Nora eventually finds Mrs. Elm and tells her that her kindness mattered.

Most memorable quote?

“The thing she had once loved about swimming was the disappearing. In the water, her focus had been so pure that she thought of nothing else. Any school or home worries vanished. The art of swimming - she supposed like any art - was about purity. The more focused you were on the activity, the less focused you were on everything else. You kind of stopped being you and became the thing you were doing.”

Conclusion?

“The Midnight Library” is the book I never knew I needed. I found it especially comforting to read it during a time when the whole world is upside down because of a global pandemic and I struggle with my own winter blues. If you’re looking to make someone happy this Christmas, gift them with a copy of “The Midnight Library.”

AT A GLANCE

Title: The Midnight Library

Author: Matt Haig

Published by: Canongate Books Ltd. (2020)

Pages: 288

Language: English