Book Review of ‘The Midnight Library’ by Matt Haig
Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices… Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?
When 35-year old Nora decides she wants to die and attempts to take her own life, she is transported to The Midnight Library. The library is a stop-gap between life and death, where the time is always stuck on midnight. The library is full of books, each one containing the infinite different paths Nora could have taken in life. Upon opening the book she is transferred to the parallel world that was created by a choice she had previously made. With the help of an old friend, she revisits regrets and takes different paths to discover what her life could have been. However, some of her choices place the library and herself in danger. Before time runs out, she must answer the ultimate question: what is the best way to live?
While in the Midnight Library, Nora lives hundreds of lives and becomes hundreds of different versions of herself, she is faced with a difficult decision. She must decide what she is willing to sacrifice in order to live permanently in one of these ‘ideal’ lives, where they seem perfect for some time but, as she realizes, there are really new sets of challenges awaiting. Nora’s exploration of herself is captivating as she attempts to discover what is really important in life. The more alternate lives Nora lives, the more perspective she gains and the easier it is for her to imagine a better life for herself. Through the library, she learns both to envision the life she wants and to live it with less fear.
Though the concept of the book is enticing, the story becomes slow and repetitive in some places. There were also attempts to make Nora’s life-jumping seem scientifically possible, with reference to quantum physics, which I found to be a little unnecessary. But, the book gives a beautiful message about life— you don’t have to understand it, you have to live it.
It takes no effort to miss the friends we didn’t make, the love we didn’t get, the work we didn’t do and the things we don’t have. It is not difficult to see yourself through the eyes of other people and imagine the different versions of what they want you to be. It is easy to regret and keep regretting until our time runs out. What is important is to cherish the NOW — the living, the happening of life. We don’t have to live with regrets of the past or fear of the future, we just have to close our eyes and feel utterly alive at the moment. By this, will our life be free from grief, loneliness, despair, regrets or hardships?
NO.
But we will overcome all these, BECAUSE LIFE IS FULL OF POSSIBILITIES, HOPE AND POTENTIAL.
Aur dekho —
