The Midnight Library
- Downloads：3847
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-06 14:54:33
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Matt Haig
- ISBN：0525559477
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
“Between life and death there is a library， and within that library， the shelves go on forever。 Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived。 To see how things would be if you had made other choices 。 。 。 Would you have done anything different， if you had the chance to undo your regrets？”
A dazzling novel about all the choices that go into a life well lived， from the internationally bestselling author of Reasons to Stay Alive and How To Stop Time。
Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books， each one the story of another reality。 One tells the story of your life as it is， along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life。 While we all wonder how our lives might have been， what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself？ Would any of these other lives truly be better？
In The Midnight Library， Matt Haig’s enchanting new novel， Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision。 Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one， following a different career， undoing old breakups， realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life， and what makes it worth living in the first place。
A dazzling novel about all the choices that go into a life well lived， from the internationally bestselling author of Reasons to Stay Alive and How To Stop Time。
Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books， each one the story of another reality。 One tells the story of your life as it is， along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life。 While we all wonder how our lives might have been， what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself？ Would any of these other lives truly be better？
In The Midnight Library， Matt Haig’s enchanting new novel， Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision。 Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one， following a different career， undoing old breakups， realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life， and what makes it worth living in the first place。
Reviews
izzy
，
this is a good book！ i don't think its groundbreaking or anything but it was a fun lil book that was quite easy to read （although sometimes the descriptions or explanations of things seem just a lil too long and a lil redundant/repetitive so thats maybe why i didnt LOVE it） but yeah its good！ this is a good book！ i don't think its groundbreaking or anything but it was a fun lil book that was quite easy to read （although sometimes the descriptions or explanations of things seem just a lil too long and a lil redundant/repetitive so thats maybe why i didnt LOVE it） but yeah its good！ 。。。more
YvonneN
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Wer hat noch nicht darüber nachgedacht， wie das Leben hätte verlaufen können， wenn man manche Entscheidungen anders gefällt hätte？Ziemlich genial fand ich in dem Zusammenhang die Idee von Matt Haig， der seine Protagonistin Nora Seed das „Was wäre wenn…“ durchspielen lässt， indem er sie sich in einer riesigen Bibliothek wiederfinden lässt， nachdem sie verzweifelt beschlossen hatte， sich das Leben zu nehmen。 Hier eröffnet sich für Nora plötzlich die Möglichkeit herauszufinden， was passiert wäre， w Wer hat noch nicht darüber nachgedacht， wie das Leben hätte verlaufen können， wenn man manche Entscheidungen anders gefällt hätte？Ziemlich genial fand ich in dem Zusammenhang die Idee von Matt Haig， der seine Protagonistin Nora Seed das „Was wäre wenn…“ durchspielen lässt， indem er sie sich in einer riesigen Bibliothek wiederfinden lässt， nachdem sie verzweifelt beschlossen hatte， sich das Leben zu nehmen。 Hier eröffnet sich für Nora plötzlich die Möglichkeit herauszufinden， was passiert wäre， wenn sie sich anders entschieden hätte。 Denn jedes Buch in der Mitternachtsbibliothek bringt sie in ein anderes Leben， in eine andere Welt， in der sie sich zurechtfinden muss。Was für eine geniale Prämisse， dachte ich， als ich diese kurze Zusammenfassung der Geschichte las。 Und weil ich gerade ein Guthaben bei Audible [Werbung] übrig hatte， entschied ich mich für „Die Mitternachtsbibliothek“ als Hörbuch， das wunderbar von Annette Frier vorgetragen wird。Und doch geht mir die 35jährige unter Depressionen leidende Protagonistin Nora Seed， die nach einem Selbstmordversuch in der Mitternachtbibliothek landet， recht schnell auf die Nerven。 Es fehlt der Tiefgang um dem Leser das Wesen dieser Erkrankung nahe zu bringen， so dass hier eher der Eindruck entsteht， dass bei Nora gerade einiges schief läuft und sie darum weinerlich bereit ist ihr Leben einfach wegzuwerfen。 Ein echter Augenrollmoment und umso erstaunlicher， wenn man berücksichtigt， dass der Autor selbst bereits unter Depressionen litt。Aber genaugenommen habe ich bei diesem Buch nicht erwartet das Krankheitsbild vernünftig beleuchtet zu sehen， sondern war vielmehr darauf gespannt， wie der Autor die Protagonistin unterschiedliche Lebenswege ausprobieren lässt – und davon gibt es einige。 Manche werden ausführlich geschildert， wobei sich das Erzählschema wiederholt und irgendwann zu langweilen beginnt。 Weder Leser noch die Protagonistin kommen so recht in der Geschichte weiter， so dass es fast eine Erlösung ist， als einige Lebenswege nur noch kurz zusammengefasst werden。Als Leser sieht man die Konsequenzen der einzelnen Entscheidungen überdeutlich， da sie fast schon ein wenig plump daherkommen。 Irgendwann fragt man sich， wohin Matt Haig einen mit diesen vielen kleinen meist sehr vorhersehbaren Geschichten eigentlich noch führen möchte。 Die Charaktere bleiben eher flach und auch zu Nora will sich bei mir keine rechte Verbindung aufbauen。 Und doch habe ich die Geschichte immer weiter gehört， nicht zuletzt weil der Erzählstil flüssig ist und das Hörbuch hervorragend von Annette Frier gelesen wurde。 Übrig bleibt jedoch von diesem Buch nur ein flaues Ende， bei dem die Depressionen verschwinden， wenn man sich nur für das Leben entscheidet und die Gewissheit， dass die Grundidee dieses Romans besser ist， als ihre Umsetzung。 Schade。 。。。more
BETTY DELGADO
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Loved this book。。 was such an easy ready I found my self rooting for Nora the whole time。
Nanette
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Entertaining in a simple way。 Predictable but sweet。 Kinda sappy and full of cliches but within a slightly fresh frame story。 Nothing offensive or disturbing。 Just a feel-good bedtime story。
Rohini Swaminathan
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For someone who actively search for the very many lives I could possibly experience， this was a great read。 One of the best fiction I have read in a long time。 If you are someone with lots of regrets， I highly recommend。 'Life is not to be understood， but to live' ！ For someone who actively search for the very many lives I could possibly experience， this was a great read。 One of the best fiction I have read in a long time。 If you are someone with lots of regrets， I highly recommend。 'Life is not to be understood， but to live' ！ 。。。more
Timothy Easthope
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3。5 stars。Easy to read book with nice messages about enjoying life and living with/without regrets。Teaches people to be grateful for what you do have and to appreciate the smaller and more subtle things in life。
Celeste
，
4。5 stars。 I totally enjoyed this read。 It was unexpected and philosophical， yet interesting and easy to fall into。 I love the forgiveness that the character learned to have for herself and those around her。
Ellen Moore
，
I don’t remember the last time I found a book this moving。 This won’t be one that will be forgotten any time soon。
Norman Praught
，
Feels like this could have been incredible but the life realization moment was expected and a bit uninspiring （though all true。）
Mareeh
，
oh my god this book。 It is precious， I just-🤧
Gio Ricacho
，
Going in， I had high hopes for the book considering the plethora of positive press/reviews this book had。 And I will admit， the book starts off very strong， and I was very intrigued by the setup of the plot and where we would go from the point of "entering" the midnight library。However， as the book went on， I found myself enjoying it less and less， and by the end I did not find myself with nearly the same amount of enthusiasm that I had when I started。 I feel that at a certain point， the book lo Going in， I had high hopes for the book considering the plethora of positive press/reviews this book had。 And I will admit， the book starts off very strong， and I was very intrigued by the setup of the plot and where we would go from the point of "entering" the midnight library。However， as the book went on， I found myself enjoying it less and less， and by the end I did not find myself with nearly the same amount of enthusiasm that I had when I started。 I feel that at a certain point， the book loses the "fantasy/magical realism" element that was pervasive at the start， and delves into this sort of positive， "everything will be alright" story。 While that's not necessarily a bad thing， the book certainly makes it feel that way with the way it stumbles and meanders its way to this point， losing ground and intrigue for boring monotony and a final solution that feels both obvious and archaic。 Without spoiling the ending， I have to say that I ultimately found the books conclusion and final trip to be disappointing。 。。。more
Meg Izzy
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Cool premise。 Poor execution。 The protagonist is insufferable which made it incredibly hard to root for her。 The entire story is predictable and the characters all fell pretty flat。 If anything， it gets you thinking about your own life and how every choice you make leads to a different outcome。 While it might be fun to see how those lives turned out， ultimately you’re where you are for a reason。 “Life begins on the other side of despair。” -Jean-Paul Sartre。 **The novel deals with suicide （in a f Cool premise。 Poor execution。 The protagonist is insufferable which made it incredibly hard to root for her。 The entire story is predictable and the characters all fell pretty flat。 If anything， it gets you thinking about your own life and how every choice you make leads to a different outcome。 While it might be fun to see how those lives turned out， ultimately you’re where you are for a reason。 “Life begins on the other side of despair。” -Jean-Paul Sartre。 **The novel deals with suicide （in a fairly light manner）， but a trigger warning for those to whom this may apply。** 。。。more
Jill Furgason
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Didn’t love it but didn’t hate it 🤷🏼♀️。 Some of the details just didn’t fit for me。 I also didn’t really connect with the protagonist and feel overall it was missing depth。
Edward Wayland
，
Not often that I’m pulled into an audiobook enough to listen to it when I could be doing something else。 I tend to consume them running or driving。 This was the exception。 I went in cynical about the plot。 I figured I knew where it was going and I was right。 But I was moved by it anyway。 I think because the ending felt well-earned。 A book that earns its way past my cynicism has earned its stars。
Kerry
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This book was utterly amazing。 Definitely a book I would pick up and read again。 The philosophy of millions of parallel universes has always intrigued me。 What if you decided to do something different。 What would your life be like？ The ending is beautiful and incredibly thought provoking。Trigger warning: suicide
Stacey
，
I loved the premise of this book。 I found myself wondering about my parallel lives。 A fun read--though a bit of a predictable 'A Christmas Carol' type of ending。 I loved the premise of this book。 I found myself wondering about my parallel lives。 A fun read--though a bit of a predictable 'A Christmas Carol' type of ending。 。。。more
Ashton Turk
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This book is simply beautiful about life as we know it。 Believe in yourself！！
Elizabeth Benz
，
A little magic for everyoneSome definite take-aways for enjoying and appreciating the life we have。 I wasn't expecting the magical aspect， but enjoyed this easy read A little magic for everyoneSome definite take-aways for enjoying and appreciating the life we have。 I wasn't expecting the magical aspect， but enjoyed this easy read 。。。more
raygunmachine
，
This is not the book for me。 The premise is great， but this is basically a cheesy self help book passing trite platitudes off as storytelling。
Leymy
，
4。5。 This was a great book to get out of a reading slump。 It's uplifting even though it's predictible。 It did make me question what I would do if I was given the chance to live another version of my life。 It's also a great conversation starter。 Anyway， I would recommend this book。 I can see myself picking it up again in the future or when I'm feeling a little down。 4。5。 This was a great book to get out of a reading slump。 It's uplifting even though it's predictible。 It did make me question what I would do if I was given the chance to live another version of my life。 It's also a great conversation starter。 Anyway， I would recommend this book。 I can see myself picking it up again in the future or when I'm feeling a little down。 。。。more
Kathleen Berrigan-Lockhart
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Great themes and messages throughout the book！ Although I kind of knew where the main character would end up， it was still entertaining and uplifting。
Diana Prince
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Good but not great。 If you have read one time travel book this is not much different。 Girl gets book of regrets from her life- she gets to “fix the mistakes “。
Thomas
，
An incredible， positive and uplifting book that renews one’s sense of excitement to go out and live your best life。 This book embodies the spirit of Carpe Diem。 It is chock full of wisdom that I will carry with me for the rest of my life。 Thank you to my dear mother Diane in Long Island， New York for giving me this very special book。
Kailakk
，
This had been the third book I've read from Matt Haig and I really enjoyed it！ To be fair， since I've read and loved Matt Haig's Reasons to Stay Alive before， I had an idea of what kind of story this would be （a bit cheesy and self-helpish but heartwarming）。 Specifically， knowing and relating to his experience battling depression helped make the book more personal and toned down the self help flavor a bit。 Overall it's a solid good story， and I had a great time！ This had been the third book I've read from Matt Haig and I really enjoyed it！ To be fair， since I've read and loved Matt Haig's Reasons to Stay Alive before， I had an idea of what kind of story this would be （a bit cheesy and self-helpish but heartwarming）。 Specifically， knowing and relating to his experience battling depression helped make the book more personal and toned down the self help flavor a bit。 Overall it's a solid good story， and I had a great time！ 。。。more
Andrea McDonald
，
Loved it - Carey Mulligan captured the character perfectly in the audiobook！ A perfect holiday read！
Carolyn
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A most delightful escape into another life。 A favorite of the year so far！
Mallory Noble
，
Aghhh I hate giving this such low stars but I wasn’t impressed！！ I had such high hopes and I just thought it was ok。 Sweet one liners， really great underlying message， I just got tired of all the different lives。 I felt like I never knew our main character， and character building is one of my favorite parts of stories。 I was just。。。。 bored idk。
Karla Vann
，
This book surprised me！ The concept was interesting to me， but it was executed in a way that wasn’t super predictable and was definitely meaning and interesting。 I love a book that makes me think and makes me feel， and this book did both really well。 Plus I really enjoyed Nora as a character！ This may be the best fiction I’ve read so far this year！
Alex S
，
At first I was really enjoying it and it reminded me a bit of The Five People You Meet in Heaven。 However， that changed after about 100 pages in， and I found each chapter more and more disappointing。 I thought overall it was pretty mediocre and really predictable。 You just know what’s coming each chapter， and I guess there’s a “lesson” there， but the predictability removed all impact for me。
Jessica Padgett
，
1。5⭐️The concept of this was great， but then it just kind of flopped in my opinion。 Once I read the last page， I just felt。。。"Okay。 What was the point？" 1。5⭐️The concept of this was great， but then it just kind of flopped in my opinion。 Once I read the last page， I just felt。。。"Okay。 What was the point？" 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Midnight Library
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Midnight Library&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Midnight Library&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0