Last Updated on July 8, 2021, by eNotes Editorial. Aim to be the truest version of you. Like Nora, Hugo is a fellow traveler through his alternative lives. Once a gifted swimmer and musician, she currently works in a music shop and gives piano lessons. The paradox of volcanoes was that they were symbols of destruction but also life. This would not have been a problem had there been more to the main character. What do the chessboard, fire, swimming, space, and the library symbolize inThe Midnight Library? What is the atmosphere in the short story "Private Tuition by Mr Bose" by Anita Desai? Despite the fantastical nature of the plot, Nora is the anchor of the story: whether at home on the verge of taking an overdose, or browsing through magical books in the midnight library, she is absolutely real. Aim to be the truest version of you. While Nora sees many different versions of her life throughout the book, the story ends with her back in Bedford. In one she is a famous rockstar. The basic premise is that a woman called Nora decides to kill herself, and before she dies she finds herself in the Midnight Library. "You know what the matter is. Ryan Bailey is a fictional movie star. Then, she is fired from her job of Best summary PDF, themes, and quotes. Fine is the basis of a midlife unravelling. More books than SparkNotes. One square after another. Ive read a few Matt Haig books before and I always really enjoy them. She discovers that all the dreams she thought she lost out on were really other peoples dreams. In the Midnight Library, Mrs. Elm says that she can't overlook minor decisions, because, in chess, every piece has the potential to radically change the course of a game, just like these choices can reshape a life. Best summary PDF, themes, and quotes. In this way, she experiences separation from her body, as it provides "clues" to cracking whatever "mystery" is part of the life she is exploring. "Doing one thing differently is often the same as doing everything differently.". Want, she told her, in a measured tone, is an interesting word. WebThe Midnight Library Quotes and Analysis "Doing one thing differently is often the same as doing everything differently." She is described as a sweet and happy child. It is dead. Accessed 4 Mar. This is a moment late in the book in which Mrs. Elm informs Nora that the library will cease to exist if she dies. By the end of The Midnight Library though I was left feeling like an even keel doesnt really cut it. The library allows Nora to reverse her regrets and pursue different iterations of her existence. Aim to look and act and think like you. My views may probably be a little surprising for some, given that this book is an award-winner and has a rating of more than 4 out of 5 on various review websites. In some cases, the shift in relationships is more dramatic. Finally, there are plenty of allusions in this novel. Already a member? A) They were about to sign a record deal. Ash is a surgeon and Nora's neighbor who informs her that her cat has died. Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts. And between her and herself., Happy moments can turn into pain, given time.. Just as, she supposed, it is hard to have a sense of the vastness inside any one person. The excess of fame emphasizes his substance abuse problems to the point of fatality. All you need to do is find a way to keep moving forward. eNotes.com To be the world, witnessing itself., Sometimes regrets aren't based on fact at all, The lonely mind in the busy city yearns for connection because it thinks human-to-human connection is the point of everything. This moment occurs at the end of Nora's first adventure in a parallel life. Haig bases The Midnight Library around one central theme and a common human curiosity: what is the purpose of life? Maybe even the most seemingly perfectly intense or worthwhile lives ultimately felt the same. The idea of success is complicated and questioned as the novel progresses. "This is the best life," she told herself, a little desperately now. It also shows her that her choices often have surprising outcomes. His books are YA, but theyre not advertised as YA. Assuming the errors were somehow removed from the book, do you think you would have felt differently about the book had it been sold to you as a YA title? She is portrayed as a thoughtful and sympathetic person, often thinking about the emotions of the people around her. She loves this life and finds herself feeling both content and fulfilled, working on a book about Thoreau and spending time with her daughter. The experiment offers evidence suggesting that an unseen cat might, by the laws of physics, be understood to be both dead and alive at the same time. Aim to be you. In a parallel life, they are happily married. And imagining there is just breeds more unhappiness in the life youre in., Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. B) It foreshadows Noras tragic death. WebSymbolism In Night By Elie Wiesel. It was weird, to have your own body offer clues to a mystery. You dont need to be famous or rich or medal winning to lead a spectacular life. Regardless of their genre, his writing explores the many elements that impact a persons satisfaction with life. The main theme of the novel is possibility. The final line suggests the remaining precariousness of her situation, as she is still just barely alive after ingesting this overdose of medication. This line indicates that Nora is beginning to learn that marrying Dan would have been a huge mistake and that some of the things she regrets not doing would have turned out poorly. PartSliding Doors,part-philosophical quest, this is a moving novel with a powerful mental health message at its heart. Alice OKeeffe,The Bookseller, Haigs latest (after the nonfiction collectionNotes on a Nervous Planet, 2019) is a stunning contemporary story that explores the choices that make up a life, and the regrets that can stifle it. Note: When citing an online source, it is important to include all necessary dates. A few chapters later, Noras cat dies, she loses her job, her It reveals how exploring these unlived lives has opened her up to the idea that she can make a change in her daily life. The basic premise is that a woman called Nora decides to kill herself, and before she dies she finds herself in the Midnight Library. In this way, Noras understanding of choice becomes somewhat more nuanced. This is the key realization that ultimately leads her to a greater chance at happiness in her root life. He is portrayed as being more interested in the idea of being married to her than the reality of their relationship. Nora then begins to hop from universe to universe, testing out these alternative realities. The last date is today's Mired in this repeating pattern, regret becomes the predominant emotion in Noras life. WebThe midnight library represents a chance for Nora to erase her regrets. There may be bits you don't like, a few dodgy side streets and suburbs, but the good stuff makes it worthwhile., As Thoreau wrote, Its not what you look at that matters, its what you see., You dont have to understand life. However, death is not that simple, as Nora embarks on a journey of other potential lives she could have lived. To be the world, witnessing itself. At one minute and twenty-seven seconds after midnight, Nora Seed marked her emergence back into life by vomiting all over her duvet. Curl up in a window seat or He also purchases a Simon and Garfunkel guitar songbook from her at the music store. The author of Reasons to Stay Alive, Notes on a Nervous Planet, and How to Stop Time, in his latest novel The Midnight Library, Matt Haig charts her story, from the hours before she attempts to kill herself, to the days she spends hopping between infinite possible lives on a time-travelling adventure. The Midnight Library was my introduction to Matt Haig and I thoroughly enjoy his writing. "And Nora smiled as she stared at all the pieces she still had left in play, thinking about her next move.". WebThe Midnight Library. InThe Midnight Library, Matt Haigs enchanting new novel, Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. This seems initially surprising, especially given the fact that she seemed to find many seemingly good versions of her life, but the reason for this becomes quite clear in the last chapter. "A Conversation About Rain" to "The Chessboard", "The Only Way to Learn Is to Live" to "System Error", Read the Study Guide for The Midnight Library. 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This was not the life she imagined it to be. WebThe closest secondary character, Mrs Elm, is witty, but feels more like a transient character without much power to accelerate the events in the novel. In one life, she is a rock-star. Knowing now that her choices can have a dramatic and unforeseen impact, she feels more hopeful about how much she can change things. Contact Us Get Involved, uscannenbergmedia.com 2022 USC Annenberg Media. The Question and Answer section for The Midnight Library is a great It's you, Nora. Melendez, John. One of the pivotal moments in the book happens when, in one of her parallel lives, Nora is confronted by a polar bear. In these depictions, the image of a chessboard is used to illustrate the idea that life is full of variable outcomes. Matt Haig. "A Conversation About Rain" to "The Chessboard" Summary and Analysis. Nora has a crush on him and in her alternative life as a rockstar, she dates and breaks up with him. I am staying here. The Midnight Library study guide contains a biography of Matt Haig, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. The lessons than Nora learns from her other lives feel less about letting go of regrets, and more about embracing the whole wide range of emotions of which human beings are capable. What is the significance of the multiverse or many-worlds theory in The Midnight Library. eNotes Editorial, 19 Feb. 2022, https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-literary-devices-are-used-in-the-midnight-3023590. The Midnight Library is available from NLB Overdrive and copies can also be bought from retailers such as Amazon. Petrified by fear, Nora realizes she has to do something to scare off the bear before it mauls her. I particularly enjoyed the way the library was affected by the choices Nora made, culminating in a climactic ending when Nora Seed sealed her final decision. That idea of a root life is one of the central metaphors of the story. from St. Though this immediate danger quickly passesNora survives the encounter with the polar bear and is complimented for her bravery by the other members of the expeditionthis is an important moment in the book as it shows her definitively deciding she wants to keep living. They werent mosquito bites. Web Matt Haig, The Midnight Library 1115 likes Like If you aim to be something you are not, you will always fail. Self-harm is discussed throughout the novel, with calmness and grace, as Haig describes the tell-tale scar lines that Nora notices on her body in some of the different lives that she enters. Confused and self-questioning, Nora is eventually greeted by Mrs Elm, the school librarian, who guides Nora through the tomes, and encourages her to open a heavy book called The Book of Regrets. In each of them, she gradually gathers details about the life she is inhabiting from conversations and the physical feeling of her body. From as far back as she could remember, she'd had the sense that she wasn't enough. She ruminates on the failures she has made, believing, Every move had been a mistake, every decision a disaster, every day a retreat from who shed imagined shed be.. Symbolism is especially heavy in this story. Shes lived in Alaska, Australia and England. And Each book in it represents the way Nora's life might have turned out had she made different decisions. Nora likens herself to a black hole because her life is imploding daily; when the novel opens, the omniscient narrator mentions that Nora will commit suicide. Endless stacks of books tower over Nora as she walks up-and-down the isles of The Midnight Library. Consequently, the reader is able to focus all their attention on Nora and her sorrows. Eventually facing disappointment with every regret she expunges, Nora returns to the library confused. The feeling she experiences is envy: she is jealous of the cat's complete absence of pain. Nora's inner landscape is artfully rendered on the page: She was afraid of motherhood.The fear of deeper depression. I felt my gut wrench as I read this sentence never before has a writer so perfectly captured my experience of the power of mental illness to haunt and destabilise, to instill a fear of further suffering. More books than SparkNotes. As the main character, Nora Seed, traverses through her different life possibilities, the library becomes the main place where she returns to reflect upon the paths she could have chosen. In this library, Nora Seed finds endless books which contain different versions of the life she could have lived. In some lives shes been a mother and in others she raises no one besides her tabby cat, Voltaire. Bestselling author Matt Haig's new book The Midnight Library explores themes of sadness and regret; Therapist Catherine Sweeney reviews; Perhaps it takes a clever author with their own mental health issues to write such a heartfelt yet entertaining novel about depression.In Matt Haig's wonderful new book The Midnight Library we follow the She later reappears as a When Nora meets him, she finds him to be less interesting and intelligent than she envisioned. Let's look at some examples of these. Cooper, James ed. The citation above will include either 2 or 3 dates. Matt Haig fills his novel The Midnight Library with many literary devices, especially symbolism, metaphor, and allusion. I got the sense that if three-quarters of the novel were cut, we would have reached the endpoint all the same, and with less stagnation. You get the flow of the story quickly Nora reflects on a key milestone or regret, she makes a decision, and she experiences the consequences of that choice. Educators go through a rigorous application process, and every answer they submit is reviewed by our in-house editorial team. This is the best life. Would any of these other lives truly be better? WebThe library is a symbol of possibilities and choices. Aim to look and act and think like you. Why are Ravi and Joe upset that Nora left the band? Would your expectations have changed, and as a result, would your reaction have changed? eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. She is despondently lonely and thinks that she no longer has a purpose. Standing, There is also one life wherein Noras long-dead father never had his heart attack, having adopted much healthier habits after being inspired by his daughters success as an athlete. A symbol is carried through the work and consistently represents something than adds to the meaning of the piece. She explains how dissatisfied she is to the world in one final Facebook post before attempting suicide. Yet, the library can only intrigue one so much. This is the last line of the novel. Then, she is fired from her job of twelve years. She takes a bottle, hoping to die, but wakes up at midnight in a massive library. Nineteen years later, after a series of painful events, including the loss of her job and the death of her cat, Nora feels that the world would simply be better off without her. The Midnight Library explores the complex psychological dynamics of choice and regret. The Midnight Library is out now in the UK and America. Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?. We don't have to have tried every variety of grape from every vineyard to know the pleasure of wine. This moment comes after Nora has traveled through a few different lives. It is about a young woman named Nora Seed, who lives a monotonous, ordinary life and feels TW: mentions of suicide ideation and attempted suicide, Somewhere between life and death, Nora Seed finds herself wandering the marble hallways of a never-ending library; The Midnight Library.. The pivotal moments for Nora dont happen when shes just CONTENT. Seeing this allows her to realize that Dan was never the right person for her and that she shouldn't regret having broken things off with him. This means that the novel can Plain and simple. Faced with a number of promising opportunities in her lifehigh-level competitive swimming, a pending marriage, a record deal, a move to AustraliaNora has, at each turn, chosen inaction. As Mrs. Elm, the librarian at the Midnight Library, puts it, You have as many lives as you have possibilities. My word of the year this year is SELF, and I dont feel like I can be my best self if Im only experiencing a limited range of feelings. Sometimes if we fill that lack with something else the original want disappears entirely., You see, doing one thing differently is very often the same as doing everything differently., And even if you were a pawn - maybe we all are - then you should remember that a pawn is the most magical piece of all. In her present life, she wonders what might have happened if she had gone through with her engagement to Dan. In Matt Haigs The Midnight Library, Nora is a woman in her thirties who feels as if her life has been full of regrets and sadness, and her future looks dismal. Here, she finds herself slowly slipping away, despite wishing she could stay longer, as she knows this is not where she belongs. Love and laughter and fear and pain are universal currencies. from Signum University. As readers, her journey is our journey, and by the end, my own book of regrets felt considerably lighter. 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. Already a member? Where the Mind Is Without Fear (Gitanjali 35), The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child. She now has a chance to sample some of those possibilities. Joe is Nora's brother. If you aim to be something you are not, you will always fail. Not affiliated with Harvard College. She is described as loving and warm. English novelist and author of The Midnight Library, Matt Haig, has written several fiction and non-fiction books. After her overdose, the novel follows her imaginative journey through the various lives she didn't lead. Discuss the theme of childhood as presented in "Games at Twilight" by Anita Desai. In the first life Nora travels to, she owns a pub with her husband Dan. 1,304,772 ratings, 4.02 average rating, 141,977 reviews. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. It is also important in that it depicts Mrs. Elm trying to show Nora the value and importance of her life. However, as this moment reveals, she comes to find that this life too has its shortcomings. We dont know if she will live another five years or five minutes. You have more to offer. And yes, it is about that the plot isnt surprising in that sense but its about something else too, which Im not sure I had expected or appreciated quite as much. What is the theme of the short story "Games at Twilight"? Not affiliated with Harvard College. I usually read three books at Mrs. Elm, p. 32 This quote is taken from early in the novel, as Mrs. Elm explains to Nora how lives are shaped by seemingly minor choices. "The Midnight Library Essay Questions". The novels simple yet fantastical premise renders Noras story a modern day parable, exploring regret, pain and the richness of the ordinary in life. online is the same, and will be the first date in the citation. When I started reading The Midnight Library I figured I knew exactly what was coming its a lesson in living life with no regrets, of not always wishing the grass was greener or imagining what your life might be like if only. You are giving up at the worst possible moment. I cant describe how much his work means to me. In this life, she did not break off their engagement and they went through with his plan to buy a bar. But there is no life where you can be in a state of sheer happiness for ever. Yet Nora is not particularly tragic or heroic, so I found that I couldnt connect with her, which is a shame because there are no true secondary characters in the novel. The novel alludes to Henry David Thoreau, too, whose writings guide Nora to understand the difference between loneliness and solitude. The library offers her the chance to reflect on her life and her regrets and to try different lives, lives where shed made different choices. As a consequence of her self-critical thoughts, Nora overdoses and is surprised to find herself in the library, where the time on her watch is stuck at midnight. In another she is a swimmer and Olympic gold medalist. GradeSaver, 29 December 2022 Web. WebThe Midnight Library by Matt Haig. She later reappears as a younger version of herself in the Midnight Library, where she assists Nora in traveling to her various unlived lives. We are as completely and utterly alive as we are in any other life and have access to the same emotional spectrum.. Nora returns to her old life because she has a renewed sense of possibility. Like Nora, our regrets encourage us to make different decisions in our future, and redirect our time and energy towards activities, people and ways of living that make us feel happy. Choice and regret: The novel So necessary[Matt Haig is] the king of empathyJameela Jamil, actor and host ofI Weigh with Jameela Jamil, A beautiful fable, anIts a Wonderful Lifefor the modern age impossibly timely when we are all stuck in a world we wish could be different. Jodi Picoult, author ofMy Sisters Keeper, An absorbing but comfortable reada vision of limitless possibility, of new roads taken, of new lives lived, of a whole different world available to us somehow, somewhere, might beexactly whats wanted in these troubled and troubling times. TheNew York Times, When unemployed, loveless, depressed Nora Seeds cat dies, its the last straw. How does Nora change and grow over the course of The Midnight Library? WebThe Midnight Library Themes The Point of Life Is Life Itself One of the biggest issues with Noras root life is that Nora felt like she wasnt doing anything noteworthy. Remember how you felt after the polar bear. But in her life as a competitive swimmer, he is alive. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. Eventually, Nora finally slips into a life shed like to stay in. D) It indicates that the book will end when Nora dies. This description lays out the mechanics of this otherworldly setting, framing Nora's subsequent adventures in the rest of the novel. Error rating book. In this timeline, she is happily married to Ash, a surgeon who is her neighbor in her real life. Nora's father dies when she is fairly young. Haigs novel suggests that the purpose of life is to live. Writing from lived experience, Haig is right to critically examine the efficacy of powerful medication; however, in a book that treats every other aspect of mental health with such compassion, it is disappointing to find an implicit disregard for what is, for many who battle with suicidal urges, a life-saving and life-maintaining treatment. Nora's cat's name is Voltaire, and this alludes to both the philosopher himself and his character Dr. Pangloss, who says that he lives in the best of all possible worlds. There is also a dog named Plato in the story, and indeed, Nora is searching for the ultimate reality. Mrs. Elm is her guide, a figure of authority but also of companionship and wisdom. She now has a She is attempting to tell her that, as her adventures have revealed, her life still contains so many hidden possibilities. Mrs. Elm is the librarian from Nora's elementary school days. But it is boring. It isnt long, however, until disappointment slowly creeps back into Noras heart and transports her, unwillingly, back to The Midnight Library. With our Essay Lab, you can create a customized outline within seconds to get started on your essay right away. This final life, however, gave Nora hope that there is a world in which she can be happy. It can also be a character, or an act. And yet the moment you make a move on that board, things change. That was how she had felt most of her life. Easy to wish we'd worked harder, loved better, handled our finances more astutely, been more popular, stayed in the band, gone to Australia, said yes to the coffee or done more bloody yoga. She is a professor of philosophy and has a daughter. Such a gorgeous, gorgeous book. Fearne Cotton, host of theBBC Radio 1 Chart Show, [The Midnight Library] will follow in the bestselling footsteps of Haigs earlier books . The Question and Answer section for The Midnight Library is a great When she loses momentum, she then finds herself stuck in situations that foster situational depression. He tells us what life isnt through Noras journey, who demonstrates that life isnt meant to be lived to please others, nor is it meant to be spent alone, completing mindless tasks you lack passion for, or beating yourself up over past decisions you wish you could change. The image of the chessboard symbolizes possibility in the novel. It is easy to mourn the lives we aren't living. Haig himself is an accomplished writer, and his books have been very successful in approaching the darker themes of mental illness, regret and death, often in unique ways. One evening, she decides to put herself out of her misery and end it all. More opportunities to have. date the date you are citing the material. Photo by Ivo Rainha on Unsplash. It concludes on an optimistic note, showing Nora as she is about to play a move in a game of chess with the real Mrs. Elm at a retirement home. An exquisite depiction of existential depression and the lessons it can reveal, The Midnight Library is a captivating story and an uplifting antidote to the cult of self-improvement: a manifesto for true self-acceptance. She decides to overdose on pills,but does not meet the oblivion she was hoping for. Through the terrifying encounter with the polar bear, Noras survival instinct is triggered, and she has a very clear and concrete thought that has previously eluded her: I dont want to die. Although Nora may never fully grasp the meaning of life, she does come to appreciate its value. Completely agree, feeling all of the feels is being alive even when the tears flow. *Im sure if I actually came face to face with a polar bear I would NOT want polar bears. The library described in the book turned out to be different from what I had imagined, although it was intriguing all the same. Most heartbreakingly, after choosing to go for a coffee with her kind neighbour instead of turning down his offer, Nora meets the seven-year-old daughter they could have had together. In her real life, she often ruminates about their breakup. After being able to see many different iterations of her life, and the impact her choices can have, she realizes there is still so much she can do to make her life better. She spends a great deal of her time reflecting on her regrets, like not pursuing a career with her band the Labyrinthes and calling off her engagement to her ex-boyfriend. Best summary PDF, themes, and quotes. When the story begins, Nora is figuratively buried under the weight of her regrets. WebThe Midnight Library is told from a third-person limited point of view. Once the lava slows and cools, it solidifies and then breaks down over time to become soil - rich, fertile soil. There are so many versions of you out there. Joe is gay and struggles with his father's disapproval of his sexual orientation. date the date you are citing the material. Readers first meet Nora almost two decades before she tries to end her life. because a pawn is never just a pawn. Melendez, John. This brainy, captivating pleasure read feels like what you might get if TVsTheGood Placecollided withWhered You Go, Bernadette. People, Clever, emotional and thought-inspiring. Jenny Colgan, author ofThe Bookshop on the Corner, Amazing and utterly beautiful,The Midnight Libraryis everything youd expect from the genius storyteller who is Matt Haig. Joanna Cannon, author ofThe Trouble with Goats and Sheep, Noras life is burdened by regrets. Ed. This is the best life.". Haig bases The Midnight Library around one central theme and a common human curiosity: what is the purpose of life? These relationship changes are often the best indicator of a given lifes suitabilityin lives where she is still close to Joe and Izzy, in particular, she feels a sense of relief that a universal wrong has been righted. Let us know your assignment type and we'll make sure to get you exactly the kind of answer you need. Nora has a life, one that she has nearly turned her back on, and this life roots her, grounds her, in reality. Endorse it. In The Midnight Library, thirty-five-year-old Nora finds out from a handsome young surgeon, Ash, that her beloved cat has been killed.