Paperback, 304 pages
English language
Published July 9, 2020 by Penguin Publishing Group.
"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. …
"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.
We start in the dark and move out into the light.
The journey is straightforward and well driven, you have to just relax into it and be carried along the clear path and enjoy the sights that are clearly visible along the way, well marked and labeled.
I loved this book, it made me feel.
An easy read dealing with suicidality and the possible lives we might lead. Basically what it says on the tin.
Triggerwarning Suicide and Depression (for both my review and the book)
The idea was a great one and Matt Haig did a really good job at describing the library and the different world but I think all the Characters (besides the brother) lack a bit of depth.
But maybe thats just the point with so many universes living together, you cannot get to know people as a whole, but only a one-dimensional picture of themselves.
Also I think it is pretty problematic, that depression is not really shown as an illness but more as a lack of motivation or perspective. I don't know but i couldn't stop thinking about it. </spoiler
This would be a 3- in my personal rating system, where 3 is middle of the road and a 2 means "didn't like it." This is another of a gazillion cases in which Goodreads not allowing half stars (and thinking that a 2 could ever mean "it was OK") is problematic.
I was hesitant going in because of the early/heavy buzz and the content (depression and suicidal ideation). When my hold came up and I started logging it, I realized that I had already read (and not particularly liked: 2+/3-) another of Haig's books: How to Stop Time. That being said, this neither upset nor thrilled me as much as it did either for others. Frankly, I'm unlikely to continue reading Haig's work—it just doesn't do anything for me.
