Author: Matt Haig
Genre: Fiction
The Midnight Library
Introduction
The book was recommended by a couple of my friends, and seeing that I have not read a fiction book in a while, I decided to give this book a try. I am glad I did. This book has given me a perspective that I feel I wouldn't have gathered from good non-fiction if I wasn't looking for it.
Summary
Spoiler-free area
Between life and death, there is a library, where you can see all the possible lives that you could have lived if you had chosen something different. We follow the story of Nora Seed who lives through many of her lives in the midnight library after she decides to kill herself in her root life.
Spoiler area
The book explores the variations in life as a function of quantum physics. The theory that every decision taken splits reality into many parts, where every possible decision is made in at least one of them is provided as justification for the multiverse that Nora finds herself traveling.
The book opens with Nora as a child and takes a giant leap immediately to her 30s. The first few chapters are marked in time as being so many hours before Nora decides to kill herself. Although it is pretty much implied that Nora is about to die, her death still feels like a loss.
Nora wakes up after her attempted overdose in the Midnight Library. The library is handled by Mrs. Elm, the school librarian. We later get to know that she is just a figment of Nora's imagination and that other people who shift through lives (shifters) have other infrastructures that are exclusive to them.
As we go through lives with Nora, we get to know her as a person. We get to remove her regrets and live life to the extreme. We get to see her being everything from an Olympic swimmer to a Rockstar. All that, and still the life that satisfies her the most is one where she settles down and decides that she does not want to die anymore.
Once she is pulled back to the midnight library (after deciding to not die), she gets to live in her root life, where she makes changes to her state of being. She has a new perspective on life, and she feels that her life is worth living.
The book in three sentences
1. The only way to learn is to live.
2. You could change every little thing that you do, but what you cannot do is change anything external to you.
3. What makes life worth living is the choice of doing it.
Highlights and notes
There are some beautiful lines in the book. Although pulled out of context they might seem a bit tasteless, but they work wonderfully in the context of the book.
"Well, that you can choose choices, but not outcomes"
"Even in lives with completely different selves, you will have no control over external things."
"The only way to learn is to live"
"You don't have to understand life. You just have to live it"
Thoughts, Concepts, and Takeaways
The main takeaway I had from the book is that I have a life where I am what I want to be. The only thing that is keeping me from living that life is my not taking steps towards the same. If I start taking steps towards the life I want to live, I may not reach the ideal, but I will still be somewhere more desirable.
Analysis of the style of the author
The book is written in a very uncomplicated manner. The dialogue is crisp and there are no lengthy blocks of text describing things that could have been described in a few sentences. But the author does not shy away from elaboration where an explanation is needed. I still remember a monologue that was delivered in the book. It was beautifully written and is a joy to read.
The length of the chapters is all over the place (some chapters lasting 3 words, while some go to 8-9 pages), but they all feel very coherent. One does not get lost while reading the book, despite the complexity of the multiverse and its quantum justification of it.
Conclusion and rating
The book is a joy to read. The story delivers a beautiful message of making your life the best you can. There is a certain peace that can be found in the reading of the story. Although it has ended, I feel the effects of it lingering. For anyone getting into fiction, or character-driven narratives, this is an excellent read. As far as the book goes, I'll rate it a good 3.5 out of 5.