Most of my reading of late has been nonfiction. I seem to be sitting either with long biographies or serious histories. The biographies center on authors, the histories on immigration. But occasionally I find a novel that is worth the time it takes to read it. (For me, a lot of them aren’t) The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, written this past August, passed my test.
The premise of the novel is intriguing, and it is no spoiler to reveal it here. From the start of the book we learn that Nora is about to die. (If you really need to be completely surprised, stop reading now.) When she does, she finds herself in the midnight library, a place between life and death. There she finds the very helpful librarian who allows her to relive any part of her life about which she has regrets. Suddenly she finds herself back at those junctures.
While I often wonder “what if” about various times in my life, as do most I imagine, I have never encountered such a witty treatment of the questions. The book comes closest to the classic movie It’s A Wonderful Life, but departs from it in an intriguing way. Here Nora ends up time traveling and remaining both her old self(her root self) and the new one. My mind enjoyed the conundrums that arose thinking about that dual consciousness.
Great literature? No. But neither is it completely formulaic. If you need to depart from the crazy pandemic and political chaos surrounding us, you could do worse than to spend it in the midnight library.
Saved By Words 
Thanks for the recommendation. I’m adding it to my list! 🙂
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Sounds like an intriguing place, and book!
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I hope to find that library when I die. There are many parts of my life that I would like to relive, and not make the same decision.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I do love Matt Haig. I find a lot of his fiction gets you thinking about the way we behave as human beings. I’ll definitely give this one a go.
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I rather thinkI need to look this out!
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This sounds like a great book. Thank you, Elizabeth.
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You are welcome.
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I like the concept. I’ve been blessed with a great life, but I would love to relive a few moments in my life to get a do-over.
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He handles the premise with great imagination.
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One for my next year’s list. It in my library as well!
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A quick but satisfying read.
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It’s funny that for many years all I read was non-fiction, yet increasingly now it is almost all fiction. I loved Matt Haigh’s ‘How to Stop Time’.
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This was my first book of his. I didn’t realize he had others. I will look for that one.
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Sometimes reading just for fun even if not “great literature” is just perfect!
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Absolutely.
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Your review has me intrigued, Elizabeth.one to add to my list.
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I continue to find good reviews of it, so I am not alone in enjoying it.
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