The Midnight Library: A Novel (edició 2020)

This is sort of a strange book in that people either seem to really really like this or... not.

I agree with some points here that the end does get a little bit preachy and smacks you over the head with the message. It seemed like the message was going an interesting direction in addressing how wallowing in the past and wondering what you could have done differently (via Nora continually living in regret), but never goes very deep into the idea. It touches on the idea some as Nora goes through each life, but almost feels glossed over by the end. It also made an interesting touch on the idea that the situation is not always what it appears to be (the beginning addresses this with Nora's cat and again towards the end with her brother, but the latter case didn't feel as strong), but that trail seemed to fizzle out for most of the book.

Based on that, the only reason I don't make this three stars is because I still think it had some small moments that made up for it for me. Any other day this book may come off as too sickly sweet or too heavy handed in its message, but other times it might be what someone needs to hear. We all wonder what could have been and how much better everything would be if we just changed one choice we made in the past, but one arbitrary decision usually isn't the solution we would like it to be. Every choice leads to different results, some of those good and bad. No choice would result in "perfection" so to speak. When wallowing in the past it is important to remember what we have in the life we're currently living. Yes, the book smacks you over the head repeatedly about this, but sometimes a smack on the head isn't so bad.

The only thing keeping me from doing five stars is I wish it delved deeper into some of the topics and fleshed out some of the characters more (especially Nora..). Otherwise it is still a fairly comfy read. ( )

2.5/5 stars

The Midnight Library started strong. I thought the early chapters gave a good sense of Nora's depression and the ways her feelings of helplessness and failure grew as issues keep stacking up. And it seemed there was potential for a meaningful, emotional story about dealing with regrets, grief, and depression.

Unfortunately, this book is extremely heavy-handed. Every bit of development Nora goes through, every change in her viewpoint and lesson she learns, has to be spelled out for the reader instead of letting the characters' actions and experiences speak for themselves. The lack of subtlety ruins a lot of what could be poignant moments.

The ending was probably the worst offender. The author felt the need to make it this saccharine sweet moment to hammer home the lesson, which just made it seem like he was saying that depression (and even just sadness in general) could be completely erased by shifting your mindset a bit. It could have been so much stronger if there was allowed to be some nuance, some mixed feelings even with the happy ending.

If you're looking for an on-the-nose, but uplifting self-help book with some fantasy elements for flavor, this would probably be a good book for you. If you are in it for the story or want a more subtle exploration of these themes and emotions, this isn't it. ( )

First I struggled somewhat with the story as it felt fake and boring. Eventually it turned better and there were some deeper insights about identity that appealed to me. The overall theme of what is important in life didn't really offer anything new, but in a way I liked how the story, although quite predictable, unfolded. However, I felt the main character was left quite flat and was used mainly as an instrument to go through all the possible lives. ( )

Both my book clubs chose this book to read. That might give you some indication of how much buzz it has received. It's been out for a year but my library's copies had lots of holds still. Except, the large type version had copies available so that's what I took out. It must not be a very big book in regular type because even in large type it was quite slim and easy to hold. I expect there will be quite an interesting discussion at book club. I'm looking forward to it.

Nora Seed lives with a cat in a small town outside of London. Both her parents are dead and she is estranged from her brother. She works as a sales assistant in a music and musical instrument store. She also has one piano student that she teaches in her apartment. It wasn't how she envisioned her life working out. She was an Olympic class swimmer when she was young but gave up competing. She then formed a band with her brother and a couple of friends but when a record company came offering a contract she backed out. She was supposed to marry her boyfriend and open a country pub with him but just before the wedding she cancelled it. She regrets all these actions but at the time she made the decisions she thought they were the right choices. As she is sitting alone in her apartment one night an acquaintance knocks at her door to tell her that her cat is dead on the street. This is so upsetting that she wakes up late for work the next day and when she does make it there she gets fired. She forgets about her music student and misses his lesson which causes the student's mother to yell at her. Nora decides that she would be better off dead so she takes a bunch of pills and falls asleep just before midnight. When she awakes she is in a massive library and the school librarian from her high school years, who was very kind to her, greets her. She explains that for every decision Nora made, if she had chosen differently, spun off a different existence. Each book in the library is the story of how her life would have transpired if she had made that different decision. She has the chance now to explore those alternative lives to see if there is one that would be better. If it wouldn't she will return to the library to choose another book but if it would she will stay in that life and gradually forget her root life and the library. First the librarian hands her a massive book that is called The Book of Regrets and Nora goes through it to see all the things she regrets about her life. As she steps into different lives she sometimes knows right away that she won't stay in them but sometimes they seem pretty ideal. Which one will she choose.

According to another person who is experiencing the same process as Nora quantum physics explains the phenomenon of parallel lives. It always makes my head hurt when I think too long about quantum physics but I am somewhat familiar with the field, especially the thought experiment of Schrodinger's Cat. This experiment postulates a closed box containing a cat which may either be dead or alive. Obviously it can't be both but until you open the box to see both possibilities exist. In fact, quantum physics, as explained on page 229, "...sometimes, just sometimes, we turn ourselves into a Schrodinger's cat who may not only be alive or dead but may be every quantum possibility that exists in line with the universal wave function,..." It's certainly an interesting idea and kudos to Matt Haig for writing a book that picks up that idea and makes it an interesting story. ( )

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?

A dazzling novel about all the choices that go into a life well lived, from the internationally bestselling author of Reasons to Stay Alive and How To Stop Time. (Goodreads)