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 they'd be, and soon her choices place the library and herself in extreme danger.
Before time runs out, she must answer the ultimate question: what is the best way to live?
What did I think?
I think Matt Haig has written one of my favourite books of all time. I am struggling to find the words to review The Midnight Library as it is so completely beyond exceptional that any words I use seem to fall short. This is a book that everyone needs to read at least once; I know I will be reading it many more times.
Although I have read his Christmas books, I am ashamed to admit that this is my first adult Matt Haig book (so many books, so little time and all that) but what a book to start with. The Midnight Library is about Nora Seed who is so unsatisfied with her life that she decides to die, nobody will miss her after all. Caught between life and death, Nora finds herself in a magical library that contains her Book of Regrets along with every volume of her life and all those sliding door moments: the possibilities of lives she didn't choose to live.
Like a cross between Mr. Benn and It's a Wonderful Life, Nora tries out the other lives she could have lived and sees the snowball effect of decisions she made in her root life. You can't help but think about your own life while you're reading The Midnight Library; what if I'd done this or what if I hadn't done that but unfortunately we can't rewind time and we're stuck with the life we're leading, for better or worse.
There is a veritable banquet of food for thought in The Midnight Library and every reader will take something different away with them after they finish reading. One thing is for sure, The Midnight Library will remain in my mind forever. I read an ebook version but now that I've seen the library card in the front of the hardback, I have to get a physical copy too.
Beautifully written, extraordinarily inventive and completely unique, every bookshelf should have a copy of The Midnight Library. Believe the hype; this is one bandwagon you most definitely want to jump on. 5 stars just aren't enough for The Midnight Library, it deserves every single star in the universe to show how truly magnificent it is. Extremely highly recommended.
My rating:
Buy it from Amazon
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