REVIEW: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Everyone experiences moments of uncertainty, wondering what could have been. Am I living the life I am meant to and experiencing my life to its fullest? Thankfully, we have Matt Haig’s new novel The Midnight Library to gently remind us of the beauty of being alive and the importance of finding moments of joy.

Matt Haig

Nora Seed feels like she is not made for this life. Every decision she has made has been a disaster, and she is only able to focus on what she isn’t. But when Nora finds herself in limbo, a library between life and death, her chance to make things right is now within grasp. To experience all the lives she could have lived and be everything she thought she could be. This is her chance to do things differently and undo each of her regrets. Can she find the best way to live?

Matt Haig has long spoken candidly about his experiences with mental illness, with Reasons to Stay Alive detailing his illness and recovery, and how he learnt to live with anxiety and depression. The overarching message in that book was to never lose sight of faith and support, to enjoy the moments of happiness that life brings and to make the most of your time on earth. This is echoed beautifully in The Midnight Library.

The Library itself contains endless possibilities within infinite books, each one holding a version of Nora’s life where she made a different choice. Haig uses the multiverse concept to explore life in all forms, variations, divergences and deviations. All the possible lives we could be living are happening at once, born from each decision we make. We follow Nora through every life imaginable, from stardom to glaciers, through pain and love, as she tries to find her happiness and escape this limbo. With every life experienced, her imagination for what is possible grows and her understanding of life deepens.

The Midnight Library is a philosophical reminder to find the purpose and kindness in each day when it otherwise seems unbearably bleak. Haig instils a sense of faith that no matter what life throws at you, there still remains the potential for more. You are not defined by the choices you did or did not make, but rather by who you are and who you have the power to be. With joy, warmth and honesty, Haig shows us the beauty of a lifetime of possibility and the wonder of living.

It’s easy to dwell on regret and imagine a life we aren’t living. But this isn’t a story about regret, this is a story of hope and gratitude. You don’t have to understand life, you just have to live it.

—The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (Allen & Unwin) is out now.

The Midnight Library

by Matt Haig

Between life and death there is a library.

When Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. Up until now, her life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change. The books in the Midnight Library enable Nora to live as if she had done things differently. With the help of an old friend, she can now undo every one of her regrets as she tries to work out her perfect life. But things aren't always what she imagined...

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Ashleigh Berry