The Midnight Library - Matt Haig

"Sometimes the only way to learn is to live"

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I may be a newcomer to the book-blogger world but I have seen this book advertised to me EVERYWHERE so I folded and bought it and I'm glad I did. While it may be a little predictable, it is beautiful, so I fully understand why people are loving it and it's author Matt Haig alike!

There is a place between life and death where the time is always midnight, and the walls are covered in endless shelves of books. When perpetually unhappy Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library she is given an opportunity, a second chance to change her biggest regrets in life and live better. Each book on the shelf will take her to a different timeline, but how do you know what your best life would be, and what decisions do you need to make to get there?

After I took a moment to be thoroughly freaked out by the strange number of coincidental references to important locations in my life, I realised the concept of this novel is reminiscent of Dicken's A Christmas Carol; jumping through time to see the impact of our decisions on our lives and the alternative possibilities different decisions would bring about. But Haig brings this idea to the modern arena and does so brilliantly. He offers a simply written, easy read, that also provides the layman a really interesting and accessible leap into the world of philosophy.

It is important to note that Haig does not shy away from the dark themes of suicide and mental health throughout the novel, as well as making references to addiction and alcoholism, but he manages to do so in a way that isn't suffocatingly sombre, but shows a light at the end of the tunnel. Full of teachable moments, this is basically a self-help book for the fiction forward, with the added benefit of having none of the painful condescension. Most importantly it is a book full of hope.

H x