sofaschreib's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
nisah_books's review against another edition
5.0
'In one life, I might be married. In another, I might be working in a shop. I might have said yes to this cute guy who asked me out for a coffee. In another I might be researching glaciers in the Arctic Circle. In another I might be an Olympic swimming champion. Who knows? Every second of every day we are entering a new universe. And we spend so much time wishing our lives were different, comparing ourselves to other people and other versions of ourselves, when really most lives contain degrees of good and degrees of bad.'
The Midnight Library tells the story of Nora Seed, a depressed woman who get multiple tries at various lives she has not lived, in parallel universes. In between life & death after a suicide attempt, Nora was somehow transported to a library of life - The Midnight Library - where she met an old acquaintance, a librarian called Mrs Elms, who encourages her to experience lives she had regretted not living, to imagine lives in which she would have loved to settle for; to live.
Reading this reminds me of The Road Not Taken, a poem by Robert Frost. Along the timeline of our lives, at least once, we must have wondered; what would our life be like if we had taken another road? The outcome might have been favourable or disagreeable; different, definitely yet not entirely. And if I were to travel back to that yellow wood where two roads diverged, where I had taken one, I would have taken another - or many others - just to eliminate the lingering what-if & it-would-be-great-if queries in my mind.
Regrets are a given, for life with all its fragility, monstrosity, wonder, beauty, confusion, unpredictability, good, bad and ugly - which may happen simultaneously - are not made to be fully understood by many. Yet it is through the act of living that we ultimately learn and eventually grant life with our own meaning.
The Midnight Library tells the story of Nora Seed, a depressed woman who get multiple tries at various lives she has not lived, in parallel universes. In between life & death after a suicide attempt, Nora was somehow transported to a library of life - The Midnight Library - where she met an old acquaintance, a librarian called Mrs Elms, who encourages her to experience lives she had regretted not living, to imagine lives in which she would have loved to settle for; to live.
Reading this reminds me of The Road Not Taken, a poem by Robert Frost. Along the timeline of our lives, at least once, we must have wondered; what would our life be like if we had taken another road? The outcome might have been favourable or disagreeable; different, definitely yet not entirely. And if I were to travel back to that yellow wood where two roads diverged, where I had taken one, I would have taken another - or many others - just to eliminate the lingering what-if & it-would-be-great-if queries in my mind.
Regrets are a given, for life with all its fragility, monstrosity, wonder, beauty, confusion, unpredictability, good, bad and ugly - which may happen simultaneously - are not made to be fully understood by many. Yet it is through the act of living that we ultimately learn and eventually grant life with our own meaning.
euri's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Animal death
lazydazey's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Suicide attempt
bookhussy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
thebookemperor's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ahross's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
caitlincurran1007's review against another edition
4.0
Very thought provoking read. What happens after you die? Could your life have been different, happier? What decisions changed your outcome as well as the outcomes of those around you? What would you do differently given the chance? The concept of this book is different from any other I’ve read and I enjoyed it.
jakeclark6's review against another edition
5.0
We all have our regrets in life, but we can determine how much they affect us - ultimately, we can get to the same outcome with different choices, as this book exemplifies. Haig does an excellent job of portraying an average, not overly accomplished protagonist (which i like) to allow us to reflect on our own lives and the choices we have made. In the end, our choices are our choices and we cannot alter our lives, but that doesn’t mean we can’t live many different types of lives in our single life!