The Midnight Library - Matt Haig

Okay. Just going to say it - top five of the year! I bloody LOVED this absolutely delightful and heartwarming book, and found it completely moving and uplifting. I’ve read one other of Matt Haig’s books, Notes on a Nervous Planet, which I also loved, and I cannot wait to dive into more of his writing.

The book follows Nora Seed, a woman who is filled with regret and totally disenchanted with her life. She could’ve been an Olympic swimmer, she could’ve been married, she could’ve had children, she could’ve been a better cat owner, she could’ve had a better relationship with her brother. She blames her own faults for everything in her life that has not turned out the way she hoped, and has been left hollowed-out, lacklustre and eagerly wanting to depart the earth.

On the night that Nora decides to die, she finds herself in a sort of limbo between life and death. For her, this state of limbo appears in the form of a library, occupied by her old school librarian Mrs Elm who she once shared a bond with. Mrs Elm explains that each book is a possible life that Nora could’ve lived, had her choices been different. All except one book - the Book of Regrets. You can imagine what this book contains, and it’s a hefty tome.

The novel documents a number of lives which Nora decides to try living - once she becomes disappointed in a life, she finds herself fading from it and back to the library. Matt Haig’s storytelling is just beautiful, and the message which shines through is that the moments in Nora’s life which she considers to be regrets are often beyond her control. Her Book of Regrets begins to shrink as she lives her various lives. Could she be an Olympian, a glaciologist, a rock-star, a mother? Would it make her happier?

I totally adored this book and the meaning behind it, and had a good cry at the end. It makes you think deeply about how life is based on a series of choices and that regrets only drag you down. You will be filled with a zest for living once you have read this novel, and your heart will be a little fuller. I’d love to hear your Matt Haig recommendations if you have any!