Ruminations on ‘The Midnight Library’ by Matt Haig
How many times in our lives, have we wondered — “what would have happened if I had done things differently? If I had made a different choice ?” If only I had a penny for each time I amused this trail of thoughts!
If our choices bear satisfactory results, we cherish them and try our best to embrace similar logic in our future choices in anticipation to repeat the results. If our choices bear less than satisfactory results, more often than not, we transform the appearance of this choice to regret and carry it as a lesson for the future. At times, when these lessons pile up, they metamorphose to melancholy and despair.
Time and again I have found myself at crossroads. What if I had ordered the lasagna instead of trying this burger? What if I stick to the haircut I know works for me, instead of trying new ones? What if I took medicine instead of engineering all those years ago? What if I took that job offer that needed me to relocate? Some trivial some significant, but quintessential choices we make throughout our lives. And each of these choices inevitably leads to various paths and probably different parallel lives. That’s the theory anyway.
Multiverse or parallel universe has been a popular topic in fiction. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Rick and Morty, Stranger Things, Dark, The OA, etc. are some of the popular content I have consumed in recent days. The latest addition being this book I intend to rave about, The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. Usually, we debate the plausibility of the theory and/or attempt to decipher the logic, sequence of events, and science behind the theory. However, this book won’t delve into any of it.
I have never been much of a poetry consumer, but Robert Frost’s ‘The road not taken’ has stuck with me forever. ‘Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.’, which coincidently was also quoted in the book.
I felt overwhelming reading this book. In the first few chapters, I knew I will end up loving this. By the end, I was bawling. Not tears of grief, but hope and joy. This book falls under the contemporary fiction genre. However, in my experience, this was self-help, mystery, science, and philosophy all rolled in one. One can easily sail through this read and be compelled to think, introspect, and retrospect along the journey.
There were so many points in this book where I drifted to reflect on my self-discovery journey so far. I can’t deny, I have had moments where I felt “Was that really me?”. Often, we surprise ourselves in brief moments of impulsiveness, breaking our expected behavioral pattern. We overthink and analyze ourselves, only to repeat our perceived mistakes or recreate exhilarating experiences. I believe that along the path of self-discovery, we become more sure of the things we don’t fancy, rather than things we do like. I enjoy reading and writing, and I love dancing my heart out in a club too. I love analyzing mundane sometimes interesting data on excel and I cherish presenting decks to an audience as well. I take pride in being independent but I also welcome the solace of depending on a loved one. I enjoy my me-time and I have tremendous fun hanging out with my friends. We are never ‘one’ personality. We have contrasting opinions, varying interests, and fulfilled and unfulfilled aspirations. We are a complex lot and more often than not, it’s utterly difficult to untangle us.
A brief synopsis of this masterpiece —
Between life and death, there is a library. When Nora seed finds herself in the midnight library, she has a chance to make things right. Up until now, her life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change. The books in the midnight library enable Nora to live as if she had done things differently. With the help of an old friend, she can now undo every one of her regrets as she tries to work out her perfect life. But things aren’t always what she imagined they’d be, and soon her choices place the library and herself in extreme danger. Before time runs out, she must answer the ultimate question: What is the best way to live?
This was my first read from Matt Haig and I intend to try many more. Great premise and a satisfactory ending. Give it a go, I am sure you won’t be disappointed.
