The Midnight Library is a fantasy novel by Matt Haig, published on 13 August 2020 by Canongate Books.[1] It was abridged and broadcast on BBC Radio 4 over ten episodes in December 2020.[2]
 First edition | |
| Author | Matt Haig |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Canongate Books |
Publication date | 13 August 2020 |
| ISBN | 978-0-525-55948-1 |
| OCLC | 1255441549 |
The novel follows a 35-year-old English woman unhappy in her dead-end life who is given the opportunity to experience lives she might have had if she had made different choices.
Plot
editNora 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.[3] 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 are 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 traveler, 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 neighbor 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 neighbor. 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.
Reception
editAccording to Book Marks, the book received "positive" reviews based on 14 critic reviews with 5 being "rave" and 8 being "positive" and 1 being "mixed".[4] In Books in the Media, a site that aggregates critic reviews of books, the book received a 
(4.10 out of 5) from the site which was based on 5 critic reviews. [5] On Bookmarks Magazine Jan/Feb 2021 issue, a magazine that aggregates critic reviews of books, the book received a 
(3.0 out of 5) based on critic reviews with a critical summary saying, "Karen Joy Fowler suggests that "a vision of limitless possibility... might be exactly what's wanted in these troubled and troubling times" (NY Times Book Review). However, other critics felt the premise lent itself to cliche: "What can you change, and what can't you? These are big questions that are difficult to respond to with elegance and depth, and sometimes... the narration lapses into the trite and obvious" (Guardian)".[6]
The Midnight Library was named a bestseller by The New York Times bestseller,[7] The Boston Globe,[8] and The Washington Post.[9] Good Morning America selected it as a Book Club Pick.[10]
Booklist[11] and BookPage[12] gave the book a starred review. The Book Reporter[13] and The Arts Desk[14] raved about it. The book also received positive reviews from The New York Times,[15] The Guardian,[16] ZYZZYVA,[17] The Scotsman,[18]The Sunday Times,[19] Library Journal,[20] Kirkus Reviews,[7]The Washington Post,[21] Publishers Weekly,[22] and Post Independent.[23] NPR gave a mixed review.[24]
The book was also included in "Best of" lists from The Christian Science Monitor,[25] Amazon,[26] PureWow,[27] She Reads,[28] Lit Hub, St. Louis Public Radio, and The Washington Post.[14]
| Year | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction | Winner | [29] |
| Audie Award for Fiction | Nominee | [30] | |
| 2021 | British Book Award "Fiction book of the year" | Shortlist | [31] |
The Midnight Library was adapted for radio and broadcast in ten episodes on BBC Radio 4 in December 2020.[32][33]
References
edit- ^ "Title: The Midnight Library".
- ^ Reader: Bryony Hannah; Abridger and Producer: Jeremy Osborne (December 2020). "The Midnight Library by Matt Haig". The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. BBC. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
- ^ Pulley, Natasha (27 August 2020). "The Midnight Library by Matt Haig review – a celebration of life's possibilities". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ^ "The Midnight Library". Book Marks. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
- ^ "The Midnight Library Reviews". Books in the Media. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
- ^ "The Midnight Library". Bookmarks Magazine. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
- ^ a b "The Midnight Library". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
- ^ "Local bestsellers for the week ending July 11". The Boston Globe. 15 July 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ "Washington Post hardcover bestsellers". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ "'The Midnight Library' is the 'GMA' October 2020 Book Club pick: Read an excerpt". Good Morning America. 29 September 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ Wathen, LynnDee (August 2020). The Midnight Library. Retrieved 22 September 2021 – via Booklist.
- ^ Freedenberg, Harvey (October 2020). "Book Review - The Midnight Library by Matt Haig". BookPage.com. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ Palen, Ray (2 October 2020). "Review: The Midnight Library". The Book Reporter. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ a b "The Midnight Library: A Novel". IndieBound. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ Fowler, Karen Joy (29 September 2020). "In 'The Midnight Library,' Books Offer Transport to Different Lives". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ Pulley, Natasha (27 August 2020). "The Midnight Library by Matt Haig review – a celebration of life's possibilities". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ Ordukhani, Nessa (1 December 2020). "'The Midnight Library' by Matt Haig: All That Could Have Been". ZYZZYVA. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ McMillan, Joyce (28 August 2020). "Book review: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig". The Scotsman. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ Critchley, Ian. "The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, review — the power of books to change lives". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ Alessi, Stacy; M., Eugene; E., Christine (1 October 2020). "The Midnight Library". Library Journal. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ "Review | Now that you've read 'The Midnight Library,' let's talk about the ending". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ "Fiction Book Review: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig". Publishers Weekly. 8 July 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ Vidakovich, Mike (7 September 2021). "Vidakovich column: 'The Midnight Library' is a good read". Post Independent. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ Sheehan, Jason (3 October 2020). "It's Not Quite Dark Enough In 'The Midnight Library'". NPR. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ "See the world differently with the best fiction books of 2020". Christian Science Monitor. 9 December 2020. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ "Editors' Picks". Amazon. October 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ Stiefvater, Sarah (21 December 2020). "The 20 Best Books PureWow Staffers Read in 2020". PureWow. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ "What BookSparks Reads: Best Books of 2020". She Reads. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ "Announcing the Goodreads Choice Winner in Best Fiction!". Goodreads. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ Haig, Matt (29 September 2020). The Midnight Library. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-525-55948-1.
- ^ "The British Book Awards 2021 Winners". Waterstones. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ Writer: Matt Haig; Reader: Bryony Hannah; Abridger & Producer: Jeremy Osborne (7 December 2020). "The Midnight Library by Matt Haig". The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. BBC. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
- ^ "Books of the Year: Fiction". British Book Awards 2021. The Bookseller. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.