The New York Times bestselling WORLDWIDE phenomenon Winner of the Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction | A Good Morning America Book Club Pick | Independent (London) Ten Best Books of the Year “A feel-good book guaranteed to lift your spirits.”—The Washington Post The dazzling reader-favorite about the choices that go into a life well lived, from the acclaimed author of How To Stop Time and The … into a life well lived, from the acclaimed author of How To Stop Time and The Comfort Book.
Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better?
In The Midnight Library, Matt Haig’s enchanting blockbuster novel, Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place.
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The intrigue of a library with an infinite number of books situated between life and death was simply too much for me to ignore. This whimsical, and often poignant telling of one woman’s journey beyond a disappointing life and a suicide attempt had me sneaking in reading moments wherever I could. One line, a true statement cloaked in simplicity, stands out for me, “Never underestimate the importance of small things.” Though the subject matter may seem heavy at first glance, the story is ultimately a “feel good” novel and in the end I hope you take a little bit of magic from The Midnight Library with you in life.
I wish I’d known more about what this book was about before diving into it – the cover and book description (“dazzling”, “enchanting” book about being able to choose to explore the other lives you could have lived) made this seem like it would be a bit more light-hearted. This book, however, is all about suicide. It was rarely light-hearted, and while I liked the concept of the library as a means of offering doors to other lives we’ve lived, I had a difficult time connecting with any of the characters and I found the major plot points fairly predictable. I think my favorite parts (and what earned this book 3 vs 2 stars) was when Nora met Hugo (that could have been a novel in and of itself) and the moments when the library falters – it’s connection to Nora was uniquely done.
A must-read!
What if you could try out several variants of your life before you chose? What if you could redo all your regrets, choose a different life? A better life?
What if you could meet different people and see exotic places, be an Olympic or a successful musician, square off against ice bears in the arctic or make your living as a professional chess player? You could be a parent or single, rich or poor, sad or happy.
Would you do it?
What if you cannot choose?
The story is good, the writing impactful, the pace impeccable, but for me, the strongest part was its underlying message of acceptance and appreciation. It made me think of the old Swedish proverb: “All those days that came and went, little did I know they were life.” — Stig H. Johansson
Quote from the book:
“(…) flowers she hadn’t appreciated before, but which now mesmerised her with the most exquisite purple she had ever seen. As though the flowers weren’t just colours but part of a language, notes in a glorious floral melody, as powerful as Chopin, silently communicating the breathtaking majesty of life itself.”
This is a book I wish was a mandatory read, especially for young people struggling.
This book will sit with me for a long, long time. This was more than just another book.
My rating: Off the scale!
I loved this book. What a wonderful premise!
Someone recommended this book as inspiring and uplifting, and that’s what I like to read these days. I’d never heard of Matt Haig but turns out we watched a Netflix Christmas movie based on another book before I got into this one.
I’m sure there are many recaps of the story, so I’ll just say here that this book is entirely different. It’s got a little magical realism, and it gets you thinking about your own roads not taken. It was fun to watch Nora dip into all of her choices not taken and get herself to an affirmative conclusion that felt right and logical and yes, uplifting. We don’t get to see all of the ways her life turns out, but we can easily imagine it will be wonderful indeed.
A thought-provoking read. It does drag for the first half of the book, but the MC’s character arc is so satisfying at the end- can’t say more because spoilers!
The book was okay for the most part. What put me off the most is I expected a time travel novel, per the author and/or publisher’s genre descriptors. That is not what this book is. This book is a life travel novel taking the MC to the present day of each possible life. I was looking for a time travel novel specifically when I found this book and selected it based on the genre criteria, and this book did not fit the bill.
Midnight Library is one of the best books I’ve read. It is definitely on my top 5 favorite books.
I have wanted to read this one for a while and it did not disappoint. Nora Seed finds herself at a crossroads. Her life unfulfilled and without friends, she has lost the will to live. Ultimately deciding to end it all she finds herself in a library occupied by a single librarian. It is a magical place where time stands still. There are an infinite number of books, each representing a unique life. Each book opened allows Nora to experience an alternate life, formed by different choices she could have made. As she experiences different lives, her outlook begins to change. But there is a catch, if she does not select a suitable life before the clock begins ticking, she will be forced out of the Midnight Library to the final stage of her existence.
I especially liked how the author described the possibility of an infinite number of parallel dimensions or lives, each created by the decisions we make. The library was a great metaphor for life and there was even a Book of Regrets. Midnight Library was a short and thoroughly enjoyable read.
Many lessons in this book, and it opened so many mate questions. Loved the philosophic questions and situations.
DNF
An interesting concept and a brave treatment of the difficult subject of suicidal depression but too many unconvincing scenes and too laboured.
One of the most unusual books I have ever had the pleasure to read. I recommend it highly!
I enjoyed this even more than I expected I would.
Really makes one think ‘What if I made different choices in my life?’ and that every day you have the opportunity to make such choices. Terrific read and I had a hard time putting it down.
This was a book about what-if. I think we all think about this every now and then. This was a great story and I really enjoyed it. I would recommend this book to everyone.
I know there are mixed feelings about this book but I could not put it down, which, for me, is the very definition of a great story.
I was first introduced to Matt’s writing through his non-fiction account of living with anxiety and depression, Reasons to Live — this is a treasure of a book for anyone who knows someone suffering with mental health. Matt has walked the walk himself and the way he describes what was going on in his head at the time is a masterpiece that helped me understand a little more and appreciate the chaos. The Midnight library is an inspirational take on mental health and it made me think a lot about my own life and regrets and importantly the importance of perspective.
This one is definitely one of my tops picks for this year. It kept my attention until the final page, and I thought the overall message of the story was a great one.
This is a magical book about appreciating what is right in front of you and making the most of it. Nora Seed is depressed, her parents are dead, her brother is angry with her, she broke up with her fiancé, her cat died, she lost her one piano student, and she lost her job. So why should she want to live?
Magically, when Nora decides to end her life, she is given another chance—or many, to see the lives she could have lived. She enters The Midnight Library, and sees her old school librarian, Mrs. Elm, who shows her what her life could have been if she had chosen other paths, helping Nora to erase regrets.
As Nora experiences other parallel lives, she learns so much about herself.
An enchanting book. Be kind, do better. Live your life!