

This is a book that is very popular with Book Clubs at Tenbury. I think a lot has to do with the many aspects of fiction that go into making this odd duck a real swan. The Story holds magic realism at its core but all along you get the sci-fi element mix with a mental health guide. [like I said, odd.]
The first chapter has me wanting to put the book down , go outside and lay down in the traffic. However, The Midnight Library speedily redeems itself as you enter the endless library where every book provides a chance to try another life. The main character Nora is dancing at the edge of the universe in suspended animation with decisions to make and remake. With a Librarian from her childhood as a guide Nora explores old job opportunities and old heartbreaks relived. We get boiled down to the last question of the existential crisis; What is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living?
I liked this book in the middle parts. I didn’t like the diary of a suicided at the start and that just before the end it suddenly decided to moonlight as a self-help manual. The narrative hits hard as we deal with complex issues of self and life verses goals, freedom to live and our definition of success. It’s a really exciting concept, that between life and death you enter a library of all your life choices. I find its a great metaphor for the minefield of regrets. Interesting book, well written, do tell me what you thought of it.