THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY
BY Harsimran Kaur ON Aug 05 , 2021 IN BOOK REVIEWS, The Midnight Library/Matt Haig/Fiction
Rating: 3.5/5
We all at some point regret the choices we made. When we plan to do something, circumstances prevent us to do the needful. Our lives deter us from taking risk-laden challenges, and sometimes we disparage our faith in life for the wrong choices made. Our choices are our reflection of the conceivable, but their outcomes are arbitrary. Therefore, we regret, ponder and pummel our soul with remorse and poignancy.
The Midnight Library’ penned by Matt Haig reflects on the meaning of life and the consequent decisions we make. It raises one imperative question:
“With infinite choices, what is the best way to live bereft of mediocrity and disappointment?”
The book subtly answers this question with a tale that dives deep into your heart. The protagonistNora is in her thirties. She regrets the uncertainty of life and feels alienated without a sense of belonging. With passage of time, she grows more despondent and decides to commit suicide. In the depths of her wallowing, she comes across the Midnight Library in her subconscious state. In the library, each book represents a portal into another variation of what her life could have been. Each book allows her access to different versions of her life— from an Olympic swimmer, successful singer to a polar bear’s dinner. ‘Midnight Library’ provides her an opportunity to find that life is worth living and should be led with a motive and purpose.
The book has a thought-provoking narrative. Nora represents the anxieties, insecurities, frailties and quirks embedded in all of us. An impressionable read with great mix of sci-fi, fantasy and philosophy! The book has snippets of philosophy from a range of philosophers like Thoreau, Bertrand Russell, Aristotle and Davis Hume. One of quotes about life is very intriguing as reflected below:
‘You don’t have to understand life. You just have to live it.’
Takeaway
Our lives will never be miraculously free from pain, despair, grief, heartbreaks, hardships, loneliness and depression. Through the flow and ebb of our life, these emotions are intertwined with the complexities of life. We should consider each struggle as a stepping stone to success, each mistake a silver lining in the blemished cloud and sadness a part of the fabric of happiness.