This was an interesting look at what could have been in a person's life. The writing was great as always and i enjoyed how this was told. There were a few moments that made me tear up. This was excellent and it is highly re-readable.

Nora isn’t happy with her life. She has so many regrets. She decides she wants to die after her cat is found dead, she is let go from her job and feels as though she has always let everyone down. She thinks her life isn’t worth living so decides to end it. She is then stuck between life and death, but is given the chance to make amends.

I loved the concept of this book, and was worried I would be disappointed. I read this in a day, was immediately drawn in to the story, and Noras choices. The mental health and suicidal issues were handled beautifully and the sense of loss in Noras life was so real. Having just recently lost my mother, I thought this would make it harder for me to read the Midnight Library, but it fact it gave me a great deal of comfort. I love it. I hadn’t been sure how the author would be able to end it, but it was exactly as I would have hoped. Great read.

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for an honest review.

It is no secret that Matt Haig has mental health issues, dogged by the darkness of depression that has taken its toll on his life. His acute observations and experience of his condition informs this exquisite, inspiring, compassionate and empathetic novel where he creates the concept of the midnight library, to be found in the spaces between life and death, to explore life, the issues that afflict our world, through philosophy and more, endeavouring to tease out what might make life worth living and a joy and what gives it meaning. The device used to implement his goal is the ordinary Nora Seed, who has lived her life trying to please others, who has hit rock bottom, suffering the loss of her cat, her job, overwhelmed by the burden of a lifetime of regrets, seeing no light in her life whatsoever. She is tempted by thoughts of suicide that has her ending up at the midnight library.

The midnight library is magical, for a start, the library has a limitless number of books, and these books are from ordinary, Haig sprinkles gold dust in each book, offering Nora the opportunity to see how her life would have turned out if each and every decision at every point in her life had been different. The books illustrate the endless possibilities that life holds for Nora and all of us. Nora explores each book, with inquisitiveness and curiosity, the widely disparate lives that could have been hers, no easy task as she has to slip into each new life with the complications of being unfamiliar with it and do so without alerting the other people present. It soon becomes clear that there are pros and cons to each book/life, to each decision and choice made, each life containing its own mix of despair, pain and regrets that must be accommodated and handled.

Haig offers a touching narrative that speaks of the joys to be found in living, attained through Nora's eyes as she tries to untangle what really matters in life, putting life in context and perspective with all its ongoing changes, complexities, and an understanding no life is perfect in itself. In some ways, this is a version of It's A Wonderful Life, a favourite film for so many people. What I was so struck by is just how many readers might find this helpful for our lock down times, so many have suffered unbearable losses and illness, have had to face not seeing all those we love and mean so much to us, whilst being weighed down with worries and concerns about how to cope with fears regarding jobs, childcare, money and more. A beautifully nuanced novel that I am sure many will love as much as me. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Canongate for an ARC.

This is a wonderful concept exploring the irresistible sliding doors aspect we all have in our lives. What if we'd done this, what if we had done that? What is the best life for us?

A great read as ever with Matt's writing. It's sparse and to the point giving a pacy read that really makes you think about the value of living in your own life, not worrying about what could be.

I'll do a full review of this book in The Bert's Books Podcast on 31st May 2020

I loved this book. It is such an obvious premise and yet takes the genius that is Matt Haig to realise it! The story is simple and universal. Bittersweet- it will make you laugh and I defy you not to cry. I will definitely be recommending to my teenage customers as there are such important messages here for them.

Nora is not having the best day, week or life, for that matter. Her cat dies, she loses her job and the other tentative tethers to this earth disappear one after the other. She sees no reason to live, and actually believes that the world would be better without her in it.
“The Midnight Library’, by Matt Haig, is the latest in his bibliography of life affirming and somehow unflinching novels, tackling depression and anxiety and suicide with bravery and compassion.

I loved the concept of the story – a library between life and death, which houses not only every bit of your life, but every but of your lives – the decisions not made and the ‘what ifs’ paths not followed. Nora finds herself in this hallway, a library with books on her life, and her school librarian in it.

She tries on different lives, one where she pursued her career in swimming to Olympic standard level, one where she became the lead singer of a world famous rock band and one where she pursued her boyfriend’s dream of owning a country pub.

The story ticks along well, and Matt Haig does not pull any punches around Nora’s mental health, ill or otherwise. He’s active on social media about his depression and suicide attempt, and I think that rings true in Nora’s stories too. It’s compassionate but matter of fact – never indulgent and somehow, it offers a level of solidarity, a recognition that there are others like you, which helps so much.

I did get slightly irritated that Nora was so great at a number of things that her choices were ‘be a rockstar or not’, or ‘be an Olympic athlete or not’ – my choices would be nowhere near as impressive. Maybe, continue playing the bass trombone and end up in an orchestra? Or really put some effort in to dancing and become that 5’9” ballet dancer?
I also thought it was unfair that ‘our’ Nora was dropped into her chosen life without a little bit of residual knowledge, or memory, of what she was doing. She was in a couple of different stressful situations which would be unlikely to result in thinking that this is the best life. This is explained through the ‘rules’ of the library though, so I understood it a bit more then, although that wasn’t until quite late on.

Read this if you liked the film Sliding Doors, if any kind of exploring new opportunities within the realm of your own life interests you. Read it if you know someone who is depressed, or anxious – read it if it’s you.

Thanks to Netgalley and Canongate for the copy, and thanks to Matt Haig for continuing to provide support, a voice and compassion for those in need.

The best book I've read so far this year. I read it in one sitting, I couldn't put it down.
This is the story of Nora Seed; her cat has died, she has lost her job, she no longer sees her brother and she believes that she has no reason to carry on living. Then she finds herself in the Midnight Library.
It is beautifully written and the story is so touching. It is full of hope, love, the philosophy of Henry David Thoreau and even Schrödinger's cat. Uplifting and thought-provoking, this book is highly recommended.

Even though this premise is a little overdone, the idea of living other lives, Haig does it so very well. Reminiscent of the Blake Crouch novel Recursion, The Midnight Library follows Nora Seed and her seemingly mundane life. However, she is given the opportunity to see how her other lives would play out, with interesting consequences. Haig offers a heartwarming novel, with profound words of wisdom throughout.

The Midnight Library is a novel about regret and all the different ways your life could have gone, as a woman finds herself in limbo. Dealing with mental health issues and feeling like nobody in her life needs her and she's let them all down, Nora Seed attempts suicide. And then she finds herself in the 'Midnight Library', a place between life and death where each book is a possible life, based on changes that could've been made due to her regrets. Nora finds herself each time suddenly in a life she doesn't know, piecing together who she is and what has happened to the people around her, but only as long as she wants to be in that life. Otherwise, she returns to the library, to make another choice. With all these options, Nora has the chance to work out if she wants to live any of these lives.

The novel follows Haig's distinctive, easy to read style that has made his previous books popular, with short chapters and statements about life. Also as with his previous books, The Midnight Library looks at mental health, though the focus is less upon Nora's depression and more around existential questions of regret and what life you actually want to lead. The opening, counting down to her suicide attempt, can be intense to read, but beyond that it is more of a quirky, life-affirming book as Nora realises her dreams were other people's dreams and her regrets may not have been so important after all. The narrative is very predictable, but a lot of people will probably like that about it, and it is in some ways part novel and part manifesto to focus on the small changes not the big ones.

Fans of Haig's other books will probably enjoy this one, which has a similar atmosphere and messages to his other works. It felt a bit too schmaltzy and easily resolved for me, as I would've liked something that dug a bit deeper and looked at the complexity of things a bit more, but I did enjoy the various philosophy references.

Matt Haig has an amazing way of storytelling. It's immersive, descriptive, funny in the right places, and wonderfully emotional. I loved the story of 'The Midnight Library', it's a fascinating concept and it's been executed brilliantly here.

You're really taken on a journey through Nora Sneed's lives, each one subtly different. I personally found the ending to be a little predictable, but that doesn't matter because the journey to reach the end of the book is one of the best I've read in a long time.

Haig has an interesting way of weaving his positive life outlook into his fiction work; if you've read 'Reasons to Stay Alive' or 'Notes on a Nervous Planet' you'll hear the authoritative voice on mental health in other fictional works. I think that's what makes 'The Midnight Library' so special.

It managed to transport me away from my life and into Nora Sneed's (many) lives. I flew through the book as it was so immersive I just couldn't put it down.

I would urge everyone to read this book. It's just incredible.

If you had the choice of any life which one would you choose? Matt Haig deals with mental health, making the best of oneself and bringing things back from the brink. Surprisingly cheery bearing in mind the subject matter. Likeable characters, not too preachy and a happy ending.

Some books just speak to you. They seem to access a part of your soul that you weren't even aware of; that you didn't even know you needed. This is one such book. I've read other books by Matt Haig but none have affected me in the way that this did. I'm speechless. Everyone should read this. Everyone needs this magic in their lives.

This is a book about life, in all of its messy perfection. It's a fantasy novel, in a way, but it's also more real than most contemporaries. It's almost impossible to review because it's impossible to capture the feeling that it gives you. I've rarely read a book and felt so profoundly moved.

'The Midnight Library' is an in-between place, somewhere between life and death. The protagonist, Nora, wants to die. Her life has gone in a completely unexpected direction and she no longer has the will to keep herself alive. But instead of dying, she finds herself in a library of endless possibilities - a library where she can live out every other possible life, all the lives that could have happened if she made different choices, from the large to the small. As she explores all of her other lives, Nora comes to profound realisations about her own - and what it means to be alive.

There are no perfect things in life, so of course this isn't a perfect book. But it comes close to. I encourage everyone to read this book - read it, and seek joy in the small moments that make up humanity.

Matches a very readable and accessible style that tackles big themes with a punchy, neat concept. The end is maybe easy enough to predict with quite a tidy, positive resolution but no less satisfying for it. The plot explores ideas of unfulfilled potential and what makes for a happy and successful life. Our heroine is easy to relate to and sympathetic and what’s not like about the concept of magical library full of all your parallel unlived lives?

Kind thanks to netgalley and canongate for the arc.

The story surrounds Nora whose life is spiralling out of control. Having tried to live her life in the past to make others happy, she finds herself in a state of despair. After losing her job and isolating herself from friends and family, she feels like no one cares. The last straw comes when her cat Volts dies and Nora comes to the conclusion that the world is better off without her.
And so appears the Midnight Library- a place where you get to see your regrets and relive opportunities that could have been. But, as Nora soon finds out, when we get to see what our other lives are like, will they actually be as great as we imagine them to be?

So I found this to be a really interesting, insightful tale. Nora clearly has troubles which are shown at the beginning of the book and you feel for her, yet what is slow to emerge is a novel of hope and joy as she learns what life can be like if you try not to focus on the ‘what ifs’ and ‘what could have beens’. The grass is always greener on the other side, we often like to think, but actually is it? This novel explores that theme.

The parts for me that really stood out here, were the lives that Nora got to live, I so enjoyed them. I also got a great education into philosophers and their ideas!!

Matt Haig writes wonderfully on the theme of mental illness here and how even when life seems impossible, there is still much to live for.

Nora Seed has hit an all-time low. After losing her cat, her job, and is full of regret, she takes her own life. However, she suddenly finds herself in the Midnight Library – a point between life and death – and learns that she has an opportunity to live as if she had done things differently. She had felt like she had let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change.

“Because, Nora, sometimes the only way to learn is to live.”

The concept of ‘The Midnight Library’ is wonderful, and Haig executes it brilliantly. How different could life be if we made another choice? How could one decision change the lives of the people around us? And, is there any such thing as a perfect life? In one life Nora is an internationally famous rock star. In another, she works as a scientist in sub-zero temperatures in the Norwegian archipelago. She is an Olympic athlete, a vegan powerlifter, rich, poor: the possibilities are infinite. Throughout it all, Haig seamlessly interjects magic into the most prosaic of details.

Furthermore, in his bestselling memoir ‘Reasons to Stay Alive‘, Haig chronicled the personal anxiety and depression he experienced which lead him to consider taking his own life. In ‘The Midnight Library’, he is just as unflinching in his depiction of depression. He seamlessly articulates how debilitating it can be, how it can feel like you’re stuck in a black hole. And yet, his writing never feels dismal. Rather, he counterbalances sombre moments with a hopeful tone and a touch of humour. While sometimes Nora’s monologues were repetitive, the meaning was clear: even when you feel like you’re trapped, there is always a way out of the darkness.

There’s so much more to unpack in this book. From ideas around climate change and the connection between ourselves and the world to familial relationships, fame, and the nature of happiness. Matt Haig tackles so many themes with such grace: a reminder to live life to the fullest and appreciate every moment, even the hard ones. As Nora tries on the many shoes of her infinite lives, we see how making space for regrets is one step towards softening their hold over us. We can have regrets without being their prisoner.

Overall, ‘The Midnight Library’ is a truly inspiring story that, yes, is full of hurt and despair, but also love and transformation. Haig eloquently articulates the consuming nature of depression for those who find that words escape them. As with ‘Reasons to Stay Alive’, I’m so grateful for this book and vouch that everyone should read it. The only way to learn is to live.

Thank you, Matt Haig, Canongate Books, and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A life-affirming story that is beautifully written & full of wonder! I find myself highlighting excerpts on almost every page. Guaranteed to be a story that stays with many people for a lifetime!

I recieved an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review, and I was so excited about this one! I love Matt Haig's stuff, particularly Reasons to Stay Alive and the subject matter is exactly the sort of thing I love to read. That being said, I felt the writing was a little...I don't know, simple? I was hoping for this big, sweeping epic about a woman who finds herself through this magical library and what I got was...not quite as magical as I'd hoped.
Don't get me wrong, I still very much enjoyed it and if you like Matt Haig you're very likely to love this. It can be a little twee, a little overly sentimental (again if you're into Matt Haig this won't be an issue for you) and I felt the ending was maybe a little too neat for me.

That being said, Haig does what he's best at here: lovely little gems of insight in small, tight chapters and a prose light enough to lift you off your feet at times. While I much preferred How To Stop Time, I'd still recommend this one for summer reading.

Utterly magnificent thought provoking book. For anyone who has ever wondered if there's a better life out there.

This book made me cry, and I don't think I will ever forget it.

I love how easy it is to read one of Matt Haig's books, yet they leave such a great impact on you and have you thinking about them long after you finish. This book joins Haig's other works that leave you feeling positive about life and its possibilities. I would highly recommend! Great bookclub book as well!

"'Between life and death there is a library,' she said. 'And within that library, the shelves go on for ever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be different if you had made other choices...Woukd you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?'"

Nora Seed is unhappy, living her ordinary life of regrets with beloved cat Voltaire, in Bedford, England. Miserable, having fallen out with brother Joe and feeling she has let everyone down, she decides enough is enough and she no longer has any reason to live.

She finds herself I. This mysterious in The Midnight Library, where her old school librarian, Mrs Elm, is there to guide her way. Will it give her the chance to put things right and live a life free of regrets?

Ensconcing and magical science fiction, I fell in love with this book within a few pages. It reminded me a little of The Charmed Life of Alex Moore by Molly Flatt in its examination of life and its many potential meanings. Nora is relatable and engaging. Short chapters kept this nice and pacy and I read it quickly to find out the fate of Nora and The Midnight Library. Splendid escapism, shot with optimistic realism about the importance of perception. This is a truly beautiful and inspiring book.