Book Review | The Midnight Library #booksky

The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig. Probably his breakthrough novel. So famous, that I decided I couldn’t really be a Matt Haig fan if I hadn’t read it. But now I have.

The Midnight Library

by Matt Haig

Between life and death there is a library.

When Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. Up until now, her life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change.

The books in the Midnight Library enable Nora to live as if she had done things differently. With the help of an old friend, she can now undo every one of her regrets as she tries to work out her perfect life. But things aren’t always what she imagined they’d be, and soon her choices place the library and herself in extreme danger.

Before time runs out, she must answer the ultimate question: what is the best way to live? (Goodreads)

My Review

How does Matt Haig know me so well. All right, Nora Seed is not that much like me, she’s much more talented… Although maybe another version or me is more talented, too. But Nora takes an overdose and finds herself with a chance to examine her regrets, and try other lives. Other lives because quantum theory leads to a conclusion of an infinite variety of possible Nora Seeds, who experienced tiny differences that led to entirely different circumstances.

Which is why I eventually set this on my ‘time travel’ shelf, because I haven’t got one for alternative universes.

I adore alternative universes. I adore the premise of this book. And I adored most of the situations that a reinvented Nora found herself in. Matt Haig is a genius. But he’s particularly good at getting inside some’s head, and finding out how to help them unscrew themselves. I find deep meaning in his books, things that make me feel a little more comfortable with myself.

And I’m guessing that most of his readers find that too. Although, like me, I suspect many of them also found the ending a little strained, which is why it only averages 4 stars on Goodreads. From nearly a quarter of a million ratings. Wow. I wonder if he chose this reality?