The Midnight Library

Matt Haig 2020
Read: 2023
Fiction

One of my son Dawson’s favorite topics is how many things had to go just right for him to come into existence. What if I had not moved to California from Arkansas? What if I had never moved to Southern California? While I don’t believe in the idea of multiple universes (way too complicated), and I do not believe in fate, I am fascinated by the idea of how the choices we make create our universe and that of our children.

The Midnight Library addresses this topic in a highly engaging way. The book focuses on a young woman, Nora, who is unhappy with the life she is living. She felt “superfluous to the universe.” At a critical point in her life, she gains entrance to the Midnight Library, where she can see all of the lives that she could have led, had her choices been different.

Given a choice, I’m not sure I want want that opportunity, but watching Nora experience it is fascinating. The book invites the reader to contemplate their own choices and the where their life may have gone with different choices. It also urges the reader to appreciate the life you have.

Great read. You can purchase the book here.