Book Review - The Midnight Library - Matt Haig
Plot Summary
Nora Seed doesn't want to be on the planet anymore. She has nothing to live for — no strong relationships, no job, no hope. The one creature she was close to, her cat Voltaire, has just died. She's had enough and takes an overdose.
There is a sense early on of "there but for the grace of god go I." We are all only a couple of missteps or a streak of bad luck from being plunged into desperate times. The only thing predictable in life is its unpredictability — we never know what's coming from around the corner.
What happens next, with Nora lying between life and death, is that she finds herself in the Midnight Library — presided over by her old school librarian Mrs Elm, and containing all the possibilities of other lives, with the opportunity to live them. A room of parallel universes, so to speak. What if she had kept up swimming? Pursued music? Started a relationship, moved to Australia? Hundreds of crossroads where different choices were made.
‘It’s a wonderful life’
I found it interesting that Nora lived in Bedford — it reminded me of It's a Wonderful Life, where Jimmy Stewart's character lived in Bedford Falls. And indeed, we do get to see some of the effects on the lives of others had Nora never been around to influence them.
The other way The Midnight Library echoes Capra's classic is in its message. Simply: that life is for living, that we can be masters of our own destiny, that we contain multitudes. We can only live this life — not the one others want us to live, or the ones we regret not living. That's the gist of it, anyway.
Review
I said earlier that we never know what trouble is coming from around the corner — but one of the things that has kept me going in life is precisely that we don't know what's ahead. It could be opportunities, new people, something good you never saw coming. There is always hope. There is always hope.
It could easily be trite. Matt Haig mostly avoids that. There's no conventional plot driving the novel and no strong recurring characters — and there are times when I wasn't entirely sure what Nora herself wanted. But then again, as Mrs Elm suggests, to want something signifies a lack of. Make of that what you will.
It's an interesting idea, and the book contains such a warm message of hope and possibility that it's hard not to get swept along by it.
A note before you read
A few trigger warnings worth mentioning: death and suicide, thoughts of self-harm, mental illness, and the death of animals. If any of those are things that could upset you, this one might be best avoided. That said, Haig handles these themes with care and compassion throughout.
Book review - The midnight library - Matt Haig
304 pages, Hardcover
Sepember 29, 2020 by Viking
Other Reviews from Bloggers I have enjoyed:
James over at Whatwereading said:
"Matt Haig has made a name for himself as one of the best in the business when it comes to reads that get us questioning what life means to us, but The Midnight Library is arguably his finest work yet. It never strays too far away from its central message, but what really stood out to us was how lasting its impact was - it's a powerful book that will undoubtedly stay with you long after you've put it down."
The midnight library book club questions
Which of Nora’s alternative lives were your favourites?
What are the main reasons for Nora feeling stuck in her life?
One of the most important relationships in the book was between Nora and Mrs Elm. Why?
What do you think your own midnight library would be, and who would be your guide?
What were the realisations that allowed Nora to move on with her own life?
What were the main points that you took from the book, and did it make you reflect on your own life?
The book mentions ‘the importance of small things’. Can you look back at your own life and see the importance of this?
What did you think of the ending, and did you find it a satisfying conclusion?