“Amazing and utterly beautiful, The Midnight Library is everything you’d expect from the genius storyteller who is Matt Haig.”
NO MAJOR SPOILERS
Just finished The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. Audiobook version. Beautifully read by Carey Mulligan.
This book has a terrific concept. Somewhere between life and death exists a library filled with books that are only about the person who seems to be confused about whether to go on living or die. Each book contains a variation of your life already led so far and you get to enter these lives through these books in an attempt to find a life that you would want to exist in.
A variation on the themes of A Christmas Carol and Its a Wonderful Life, this novel gives us a look at what could be, more than just a look at what has already happened. And it works very well.
Nora is not a happy person in her current life, and intends to end it, but instead of dying, she finds herself in The Midnight Library, run by her former librarian of years ago. Nora will enter different lives, some go well, some don’t. She ends up doing different things, from exploring in the Arctic to being a music star, but always something pulls her back to the library because there was something about the life that wasn’t completely up to what Nora needed.
The different lives vary and are very interesting. We learn so much about Nora, and we certainly begin to empathize with her.
The lesson to be learned by Nora is a lesson we should all probably learn.
What captivated me the most upon listening to the book was the extraordinary effort by Carey Mulligan which really brings the story to life. It was a pleasure to listen to her narrate the book.
If audiobooks are your thing then you should love this one. A good story all around. Recommended
Reviewed by:
Richard Franco
Added 15th January 2021
