*

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig was my book club’s pick for this month and though I was unable to make our meeting, I think it is an ideal book club pick because there’s so much room for discussion! The novel follows Nora, a woman whose life has been filled, she feels, with failure and regret, and who finds herself face to face with all the choices she could have, would have, should have (?) made. This book is a literary interpretation of the quantum mechanical interpretation of many worlds: a universe with infinite choices and therefore infinite parallel and perpendicular lives, where we exist alongside all the versions of us that could have been. SO COOL. While it at times felt heavy handed or predictable, I was captivated by the premise and enjoyed watching it play out. I found Nora’s characterization reminded me a great deal of Martha from Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason — like different branches of the same tree. I think depending on where you are in life when you read this book, different things may resonate with you; this particular scene stopped me in my tracks: “We spend so much time wishing our lives were different […] It is so easy, while trapped in just the one life, to imagine that times of sadness or tragedy or failure are a result of that particular existence. A by-product of living a cerain way, rather than simply living […] no way of living can immunize you against sadness, and sadness is intrinsically part or the fabric of happiness. You can’t have one without the other.” Please check CWs before reading. 📸: I’m holding up a hardback copy of The Midnight Library with one hand. Trees, grass, and sky are visible in the background. via Instagram https://instagr.am/p/DHvnGm0A2mO/