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Loading... The Midnight Library (edition 2023)by Matt Haig (Author)
Work InformationThe Midnight Library by Matt Haig
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Books Read in 2022 (27) » 18 more Books Read in 2023 (36) Top Five Books of 2020 (112) Top Five Books of 2021 (255) Books Read in 2024 (1,372) FAB 2020 (14) READ IN 2020 (172) Seeking the Soul (1) Booktok Books (6) KayStJ's to-read list (1,390) To Read (4) 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.
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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![]() GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.92Literature English English fiction Modern Period 2000-LC ClassificationRatingAverage:![]()
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First, I'm undecided on the protagonist's character, Nora Seed. She seemed a little on the selfish side, at times (but then aren't we all?). I do appreciate the *potential for* complexity of her character, but I don't think it was fully achieved in this story.
Second, while the story started off strong, it felt lacking in something when all was said and done. I think more could have been done with the characters, and the clichés could have been a little less heavy-handed. It needed a little more polishing before going out the door.
3.5 stars is a solid rating, for me, I think. (