The Midnight Library

 

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (2020) 288 pages

Nora has made a number of decisions in her life that have led her to feeling miserable. By halting her competitive swimming, she disappointed her father who dreamed for her to be in the Olympics. By quitting the band she was in with her brother– just as they were getting very popular–she disgusted her brother. She decided not to marry her fiancé at the last minute. The list goes on. 

Feeling despair after she loses her job and her cat dies, she takes an overdose of medication. However, she unexpectedly finds herself at the Midnight Library, a place between life and death. In the Midnight Library, time stands still and and an infinite number of books give her the opportunity to make a different choice at various junctures in her life.

First Nora fights the idea of trying any of these other lives, but encouraged by the librarian, she eventually makes choices–one after another–to change something in her life to see how her life would have been. It's a fascinating idea, to see what other possibilities are possible if only one had taken a different path here or there. Nora wonders how she will know if any of the alternate lives is the right one for her. Her philosophy degree gets a bit of a workout.

This book has been circulating from our library almost non-stop, and I was so glad to finally get a chance to read it.