There is a space, a place, that houses all our potential lives. A liminal space, neither here or there, but rather in between. Not life, but not death. A place of quantum possibilities. For Nora, this is a library. Her guide: her trusted school librarian.
Depressed and feeling worthless, Nora turns to a dark way out of her life. Suddenly, she finds herself in the Midnight Library, a place where all her lives are housed. For every decision she made, she starts to understand that there were different lives that were created: different possibilities with different outcomes not just for her but also the people around her. Even her neighbours are affected in some of the lives.
And so Nora embarks on this journey to find her 'best life': she tries on a myriad of different roles including a rock star, a successful academic, and an Olympic swimmer. In one life, she appears to have everything she ever dreamed about having. So why are none of them enough? Why does she always end up coming back to the Midnight Library?
Haig is trying to say, through the vehicle of this novel, that there is no perfect life: there is just the one that you are living. We should be thankful to be alive: the possibility of us existing at all is miraculous. Nora can only be happy once she accepts that and starts to live her one authentic life.
Yet, I cannot help but feel that the novel is a bit of a vehicle for Haig to discuss the nature of depression and how we can reframe our perceptions into more positive thought. The plot felt too simple for such a complex topic. For example, what happens to the other versions of Nora when she is inhabiting them? Was the whole thing a drug-addled dream?
Overall, I thought it was an interesting and well written book that perhaps could have explored the issues more deeply. Three stars!
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