The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

 

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig is about Nora Seed, a young woman whose life is falling apart. Her brother isn't talking to her, she's lost her job, and her cat just died. Heartbroken and feeling hopeless, Nora somehow finds herself in a magical, and infinite, library that is filled with books that are nothing but the lives she could have lived. Every decision we make, large or small, leads to a completely different possible existence and Nora is being given the opportunity to face her regrets and choose better. What if she'd gone to Australia with her friend? What if she'd stuck with swimming and pursued her Olympic dreams? What if she hadn't backed out of her wedding at the last minute? So many possibilities. Where would she be now if only...?

This is a book I've seen called the best of the year by person after person on blogs and other book nerd pages that I follow. The reviews are so positive that it made it difficult to even find a copy; many places were sold out just before Christmas. Once I finally got my hands on it, I was really excited. Book nerds almost always love books that are set in libraries and this library was filled with parallel lives.

What could be better?!

Unfortunately, I didn't love this book as much as I had hoped I would. Maybe it was all they hype surrounding it that raised my expectations too high. It wouldn't be the first time that's happened. I liked Nora and I loved the idea of exploring the "road not taken" as it were, but it fell flat for me. It lacked depth and texture in a way that I can't exactly articulate. I wanted more and it felt like it was almost there, but not quite. Like plain frozen yogurt when what you really crave is a triple dip cone of premium ice cream.

I will say that I enjoyed all the little sprinkles of philosophy scattered throughout the book. Nora is a philosophy major and a big fan of dropping quotes into conversations. And the lives we get to watch her live are interesting, even if they aren't exactly the right lives for her. I just wanted more. It wasn't the right book for me, but over 100K reviewers on GoodReads can't all be wrong. It's worth your time.

I'll leave you with this short, but very important, quote:

The only way to learn is to live.