 | |
| Author | Matt Haig |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | novel |
| Published | 2020 |
| Pages | 288 |
| ISBN | 9780525559474 |
| 823.92 | |
| LC Class | PR6108.A39 M53 2020 |
The Midnight Library is a 2020 speculative novel by Matt Haig about a woman named Nora Seed, who after reaching a breaking point in her life, finds herself in a mystical library that allows her to explore the infinite versions of her life and discover what truly makes it worth living. It was generally well received by critics.
Nora Seed is unhappy with her choices in life as a sixteen-year-old and remains unhappy nineteen years later. Her best friend, Izzy, is in Australia; she has just been fired; her relationship with her brother, Joe, is sour; her music teaching gig is seemingly cancelled; and her cat has just died. Nora feels as if she is useless to the world. During the night, she attempts suicide via overdose, but ends up in a limbo library, known as the Midnight Library, managed by her school librarian, Mrs. Elm. The library is situated between life and death with millions of books filled with stories of her life had she made some different decisions. In this library, with Mrs. Elm's help, she tries to find the life in which she's the most content. [1] However, the only lives she can access are those that are possible, so she cannot find a life where her cat is alive (due to his restrictive cardiomyopathy).
In one possible life, she reunites with her boyfriend, Dan, and finds herself married to him, but it is not the way she expected. Neither of them is happy with their lives, even after accomplishing Dan's dream of owning a pub. She visits a life in which she lives in Australia to be with Izzy. However, Izzy had died in a car crash years earlier. She then tries a potential life in which she becomes an Olympic swimmer. However, she finds it unfulfilling and messes up her TED talk. She sees herself in a world where she is a glaciologist doing research in the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic – a very different life from the one she tried to escape, but not necessarily a better choice.
While in Svalbard, she meets another limbo traveller, Hugo Lefevre, who is used to traveling around different lives, and has a brief relationship with him. Her encounter with a polar bear makes her realize she does not really want to die as much as she thought she did. Her next life features her in a successful band, originally formed with Joe. Yet, its glories fade when she finds out he died years ago and that she has broken up with a famous movie star whom she idolized in her root life.
She experiences several other lives with several other people, finally settling on a life where she majors in Philosophy and is married to Ash, a surgeon who bought guitar books from her in her root life, and buried Nora's cat while she was grieving. She also has a daughter named Molly. Through Molly, she learns to love again. This life, by far, seems the best of the lot, but she remains terrified of returning to the Midnight Library. She notices that the boy she tutored in piano, Leo, is now constantly in trouble with the police because there was no piano tutor to help him find something he was passionate about; her neighbour she supplied with medicine does not know her; and she feels completely lost.
She returns to the Midnight Library, despite her resisting, which is collapsing due to her original body dying. Realizing she isn't ready to die, she says a goodbye to Mrs. Elm and finds a book withstanding the destruction. She writes I AM ALIVE inside of it before everything disappears. She wakes up in her original life with a newfound understanding of life, but she is still suffering from the overdose from the night before. She manages to get to the hospital with the help of her neighbour. Her brother comes to visit from London after being notified by the hospital and the two reconcile. She receives a text from Izzy and the two plan a visit together. Nora notices Ash and plans to talk to him sometime, and she resumes her piano lessons with Leo. She finally meets her former librarian in a nursing home and the two play a game of chess.
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig was published in 2020 by Canongate Books in the UK and by Viking Press in the US, totalling 288 pages. [2] [3] In the same year, its first audiobook, read by Carey Mulligan, was released by Penguin Audio, running for about 8 hours and 45 minutes. [4]
The Midnight Library became a bestseller in The New York Times , [5] The Boston Globe , [6] and The Washington Post . [7] In the United Kingdom, The Bookseller reported that the novel reached the top of the UK Official Top 50 based on Nielsen BookScan data. This marked Haig's first appearance at number one on the overall chart and his first Mass Market Fiction chart-topping position, following the hardcover edition's rise to number one on the Original Fiction chart in August 2020. The accomplishment also earned Canongate the top publisher accolade. [8] By September 2023, UK sales of the novel had reached 733,221 copies, contributing to Haig's career total surpassing 2.9 million. [9]
The novel was generally well received by critics. Natasha Pulley of The Guardian offers a generally positive assessment of The Midnight Library, highlighting Matt Haig's accessible portrayal of depression and the novel's central conceit of a library containing the many lives Nora Seed could have lived, noting its streamlined structure and focus on psychological implications rather than scientific detail, though Pulley observes some reflections on life may feel overly simplistic. [10] Similarly, Karen Joy Fowler of The New York Times praises the imaginative, comforting exploration of parallel lives and the well-timed pacing of Nora's journey, while cautioning that the philosophical conundrum of a "root" life remains largely unexamined, and framing the narrative as familiar, old-fashioned, and optimistic. [11] Jason Sheehan from NPR echoes the view that Haig's approach is comforting but finds it overly simplified, arguing that the author tames complex multiverse implications into a gentle, therapeutic story that lacks surprises and emotional depth. [12] Kirkus Reviews provides a mixed evaluation, appreciating the accessible fantastical logic and playful tone but noting that the predictable narrative and light treatment of suicide render the fantasy sweet yet somewhat forgettable. [5] Nessa Ordukhani of Zyzzyva similarly praises the philosophical meditation on regret, free will, and human resilience, while acknowledging that the earnest, straightforward style may not satisfy readers seeking stylistic or emotional complexity. [13] Publishers Weekly highlights Haig's imaginative conceit and agreeable narrative voice but cautions that the repetitive formula can feel taxing, rewarding patient readers despite the occasionally wearying structure. [14] Mike Vidakovich of Post Independent gives a generally positive review of The Midnight Library, highlighting Nora Seed's journey through alternate lives and her eventual appreciation of her own. Vidakovich emphasizes the book's themes of regret, personal growth, and the value of life, praising its emotional resonance. [15] Library Journal underscores the novel's core exploration of regret and the elusiveness of a perfect life, emphasizing Nora's journey through infinite possible lives as both poignant and subtly subversive. [16] Joyce McMillan of The Scotsman frames the novel as a highly stylised, fantastical depiction of depressive crisis, noting structural repetitiveness and familiar thematic content from Haig's non-fiction, yet concluding that Nora's ultimate epiphany and renewed appreciation for her life deliver an emotionally satisfying resolution. [17] In addition, Good Morning America selected it as a Book Club Pick, [18] while Booklist [19] and BookPage [20] awarded it starred reviews, and both The Book Reporter [21] and The Arts Desk [22] raved about the novel. Reviews from The Sunday Times [23] and The Washington Post [24] were also generally positive.
| Year | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction | Winner | [25] |
| Audie Award for Fiction | Nominee | [26] | |
| 2021 | Earphones Award | Winner | [4] |
| British Book Award "Fiction book of the year" | Shortlist | [27] |
The book was also included in "Best of" lists from The Christian Science Monitor , [28] PureWow , [29] She Reads, [30] Lit Hub, St. Louis Public Radio, and The Washington Post. [22]
The Midnight Library was adapted for radio and broadcast in ten episodes on BBC Radio 4 in December 2020. [31] [32]
