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Loading... A Biblioteca da Meia-Noite (Portuguese Edition) (edition 2021)by Matt Haig (Author)
Work InformationThe Midnight Library by Matt Haig
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. "Between life and death there is a library," she said. "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?" Fantasy is not a genre I read, but the premise of this book appealed to me enough to try it; I often wonder what my life would be like if I'd chosen to do this for a living instead of that, moved there instead of here, managed to find someone who loved me. i was wrapped up in this story from the beginning, and, for me, it became more intriguing and surprising and thought-provoking as it went along. I liked that Nora's selections for possible lives went from the obvious to the sort-of farfetched. I started to get disappointed as the "It's a Wonderful Life" conclusion began, but then I figured, what's wrong with reviewing the effect your core life has on other people, especially if you're not a mean person. I also started thinking about reversing the perspective - what would my life have been like if it hadn't been affected by that person, or that person, or that person. Maybe this story struck a chord with me just because I think my life could have been better if I'd only been more brave, or more certain of what I wanted, or less paralyzed by the fear of making the wrong choice, or .... But if you're not that kind of person, if you enjoy a confident life, maybe this story won't resonate with you. A couple of favorite passages: - Do you ever think "how did I end up here?" Like you are in a maze and totally lost and it's all your fault because you were the one who made every turn? (You can hear the people who made it out of the maze, and they) seem so happy to have made it and you don't resent them, but you do resent yourself for not having their ability to work it all out. - You can choose choices but not outcomes. ... It was a good choice. It just wasn't a desired outcome. - Caught in the middle. Struggling, flailing, just trying to survive while not knowing which way to go. Which path to commit to without regret. "In the Midnight Library you can't take the same book out twice." Feeling useless and unloved, Nora Seed attempts to end her life through an overdose. Instead she finds herself in a library managed by Mrs. Elm, a school librarian who was kind to Nora in her youth. Mrs. Elm explains that all the books are stories of Nora's life that diverge from different decisions she made during her life. Nora is allowed to experience her life in different universes until she finds one where she is content. Nora enters a life where she actually married her ex-fiance Dan and they run a country pub, a life where she joined her friend Izzy in Australia, a life in which she remained committed to competitive swimming and became an Olympic medalist, and a life where she followed her dream of becoming a glaciologist, among several others. The rules of the library are a bit unfair as Nora is plopped into situations with no memory of the life that got her to this point or even the people she's supposed to know. Even in the most satisfying life, Nora notices negative changes in the lives of people she knows (shades of It's a Wonderful Life) and feels like an imposter. The ending of this novel is quite predictable, but nevertheless it is an inspiring story of embracing the life one has, and a great take on the multiverse theory.
If you’ve never pondered life’s contingencies—like what might’ve happened if you’d skipped the party where you met your spouse—then Matt Haig’s novel The Midnight Library will be an eye-opening experience. This gentle but never cloying fable offers us a chance to weigh our regret over missed opportunities against our gratitude for the life we have.... [Haig's] allusions to multiverses, string theory and Erwin Schrödinger never detract from the emotional heart of this alluring novel.... Haig brings her story to a conclusion that’s both enlightening and deeply satisfying. Few fantasies are more enduring than the idea that there might be a second chance at a life already lived, some sort of magical reset in which mistakes can be erased, regrets addressed, choices altered.... The narrative throughout has a slightly old-fashioned feel, like a bedtime story. It’s an absorbing but comfortable read, imaginative in the details if familiar in its outline. The invention of the library as the machinery through which different lives can be accessed is sure to please readers and has the advantage of being both magical and factual. Every library is a liminal space; the Midnight Library is different in scale, but not kind. And a vision of limitless possibility, of new roads taken, of new lives lived, of a whole different world available to us somehow, somewhere, might be exactly what’s wanted in these troubled and troubling times. ...“between life and death there is a midnight library,” a library that contains multiple volumes of the lives she could have had if she had made different choices.... Haig’s latest (after the nonfiction collection Notes on a Nervous Planet, 2019) is a stunning contemporary story that explores the choices that make up a life, and the regrets that can stifle it. A compelling novel that will resonate with readers. An unhappy woman who tries to commit suicide finds herself in a mysterious library that allows her to explore new lives.... This book isn't heavy on hows; you won’t need an advanced degree in quantum physics or string theory to follow its simple yet fantastical logic. Predicting the path Nora will ultimately choose isn’t difficult, either. Haig treats the subject of suicide with a light touch, and the book’s playful tone will be welcome to readers who like their fantasies sweet if a little too forgettable. A whimsical fantasy about learning what’s important in life. Is contained inIs abridged inAwardsDistinctionsNotable Lists
"'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. 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 new 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"-- No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.92Literature English English fiction Modern Period 2000-LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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