To quote the Midnight Library’s librarian, “You don’t have to understand life. She learns that everyone, everywhere has their own problems in life, and that changing her lot in life does not immediately lead to contentedness with herself.

Even taking the proper steps to learn how to manage it does not always work, which is cleverly shown through Nora’s multiple lives. It is a disease you cannot get rid of simply by wanting it gone. In each of her lives, Nora is depressed, showing that just simply making the right choice does not mean that someone’s depression will go away. Thematically there is a lot going on here. Eventually she learns what is most important to her and obtains the happiness she has been craving for her entire life. Through pure circumstance, she ends up at the Midnight Library, where she gets the chance to live through several of her own lives, based on regrets that she had in her previous one. In reality, Nora is just like everyone else – barely hanging on in a world that refuses to do her any favors. Her cat dies, her job fires her, her brother refuses to talk to her, and worst of all, she meets an old acquaintance who talks her ear off about how successful she thought Nora would be. The protagonist of this novel, Nora, is a depressed adult who is going through some difficult times. Matt Haig is a renowned, best selling author who has written several books for a wide audience of both children and adults. This choice then led you to meet someone new, someone who invites you to join them in exotic, overseas adventures. That is the premise of Matt Haig’s new book, The Midnight Library. Imagine slipping into a parallel world where instead of getting that chocolate sundae at your local ice cream parlor, you instead opted for a parfait somewhere else.

Our book of the month recommendation is Matt Haig’s novel The Midnight Library. Author: Nick Kelson-Packer Weber State University

Book the midnight library