The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Haig gave his readers a small answer to a large question; what would my life look like had I made a different decision? If that one thing I regretted either did or did not happen instead, would I be happier?
It is not a new concept - ‘what if?’ - and I’ve read several books where characters are able to relive certain aspects of their lives to see the different outcomes. I am always for reading new renditions of this storyline and thought Haig was clever in his take; having it happen as the character hovers between life and death. Haig’s main character, Nora, is able to read about all her past regrets and see what her life would be if she changed those regrets. What if she signed that record deal? Or went to Australia with her best friend? It was interesting to see multiple lives and how what may have been a small change could drastically change her life or someone else’s.
Nora is thrust into these alternate lives which makes the story even more clever. She has to pretend in each new life and not alert others as to why she might not remember something done the day before. She then has to deal with new difficulties, different pains and regrets even though the initial regret was fixed. How can she be happy in this new life with these new despairs? Maybe no one life is perfect. That is one of the reasons I enjoyed this book, Haig doesn’t just magically fix all of Nora’s problems, because that is not reality. Each life has it’s own ups and downs; your life may have been different because of a decision you made, but that doesn’t mean everything was just perfect after. And so maybe, just maybe, you can find the joy in the life you are currently living.
Synopsis: Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices . . . Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?