The Midnight Library

“The only way to learn is to live”

― Matt Haig

Why I’m Reading this Book?

This book is Goodreads choice award winner in Fiction section for 2020. This year I’ve set the goal of reading all these choice award winner. This is my second book from the list.

Synopsis

Nora Seed is a depressed person. All her ambitions, goals are dashed at the altar of life and she has nothing to look forward to. Her career is nil, she has no friends, she has no hobbies and then one day she is fired the same day her cat died. So she finally decides to take her own life and end the misery, but instead of an endless nothingness, she finds herself in a library at 12 AM.

My Review…

This is a book about dealing with loneliness, disappointments, ambitions and hope. This theme became more relevant to me during the pandemic when we are isolated from our social circle and can experience some of these emotions.

Nora had a lot of potential, she could have been a Olympian swimmer or a singer in a Rock band, or might have lived a happy married life with her soul mate, or could have lived on Australian coast enjoying life with her best friend or many other could haves / should haves, but she ended up doing none of those. Instead, she is selling music instruments in a shop that’s about to go bankrupt and gives piano lessons to a boy who will stop coming soon and has a cat, who died.

As expected, Nora is utterly dismayed at how her life has turned out and after she got fired, when her only friend is a bottle of wine, she decides to end her life. She thought she would go into oblivion, instead she ended up in a huge library and meets a kind librarian .

This librarian explains to her that the library is Nora’s lives library. All those could haves/should haves. And she can pick a book and live that life and as soon as she feels any disappointment at the life she has chosen, she will instantly come back to library and choose again. This will go until she finds the correct life (Not perfect but correct).

Needless to say, Nora tries on a lot of lives and book is about how it turns out. Story deals with the regrets Nora carried all her life and for once let her see how would it be if that happened. Is it really success, or money, or love , or fame , or all those elusive measurement of happiness we chase all our life that would ultimately makes a person happy? Because finally at the end of the day, everyone just wants to be happy.

My Rating — 5

On the scale of: (1- Hate , 2- Neither like nor dislike, 3- Like, 4- Love, 5- Gaga)

I loved the idea of trying on these lives based on our regret and see for ourselves what actually is good for us. I loved the way author ended the book and I loved how he joined this unbelievable tale with quantum of Physics and multiple dimensions and planes. When I started this book, I thought to read only 1 chapter, but I ended up reading whole book. I stayed up all night and finished it. And although book started on a bitter and sad note, it left me smiling and hopeful in the morning. Definitely a worthy winner.

Why anyone else should read this Book?

Book is very interesting hence can be read very fast. Because of subject matter, I was so interested that I finished it in one night. I tried to sleep twice and both times in 10 mins, I got back to the book. It’s that good!

It’s not just mumbo jumbo, the way writer has explained, and the way our understanding is of multiple universe, it might be possible, who knows? The fact is, concept is intriguing and so worth a read.

And finally who among us is regretless? We all carry the burden of our disappointments lifelong and this book is a very good take on the validity of these regrets. I for one, felt very good after reading this book. This is a feel good book and if for nothing else, read for the feeling of hope.

Stay home, Stay Safe!!!

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What are your views of this book? How did you like it? Or are you planning to read it? Share them here. Till next time, Happy Reading Folks!!!

Love, Richa