The world goes black. It turns out she would have made it to the Olympics, and her dad would still be alive (in her root life, he died young). Different packaging; same us. I read the whole thing in about 3 days. She jokingly suggests glaciology. When she is released from the hospital, Nora visits the real Mrs. Elm in a care facility. Later, we learn that Hugo experienced it as a video store, with a cherished uncle instead of a librarian. Is Ravis experience After a suicide attempt, Nora Seed finds herself in a magical library at midnight. And the magnitude of that is staggering, given that a life can be determined or redirected by a single event. In this storyline, she owns a pub with her husband Dan. Despite him being perfectly nice, Nora wasnt too enamoured with this life and she bids it farewell. 2. Chapters 44 50 (Love and Pain, Equidistance, Someone Elses Dream, The Gentle Life, Why Want Another Universe If This One Has Dogs?, Dinner with Dylan, Last Chance Saloon). The two were close: Nora would often play chess with Mrs. Elm during breaks, and Mrs. Elm was the one who informed Nora of her fathers unexpected death in the middle of one school day. Nora also tells Joe that she knows that he tried to go in after her the day she almost drowned when crossing the river, though Joe doesnt know how she knows it. They have a dog named Plato. Noras mother, Donna, had at one point had some type of breakdown that resulted in her never returning to work. Instead she had to simply commit to one direction and go for it. When Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. But on the brink of death she is transported to The Midnight Library, where every book acts as a gateway to the past. Nora discovers that she is surprisingly content in this life, and she suspects this is the one shell want to stay in. Really, it's a therapist simulator, minus the couch. 'The Midnight Library' is unusual in that it follows a plot with no twists, no turns that don't feel like a gentle glide. Nora explores a series of these other possible realities, returning to the library each time she feels dissatisfied. Nora is bright and talented, but she hasnt managed to turn her gifts into a fulfilling career. When Doreen calls, Nora apologizes profusely about missing Leos lesson, but Doreen is just letting her know that Leo wants to continue his lessons. Depression is a terrible illness, heaven knows; but I doubt whether any sufferer has ever experienced such an elaborate and fantastical treatment for it as the . Hugo explains that quantum superposition is what allows all these infinite lives to exist at once. The Midnight Library: The No.1 Sunday Times bestseller and Web THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLING WORLDWIDE PHENOMENON READERS' MOST LOVED BOOK OF 2021 WINNER OF THE GOODREADS CHOICE AWARD FOR FICTION 'BEAUTIFUL' Jodi Picoult, 'UPLIFTING' i, 'BRILLIANT' Daily Mail, 'AMAZING' Joanna Cannon, 'ABSORBING' New York Times, 'THOUGHT-PROVOKING' I'd give it 0.5 stars for having a great cover, and really that's all thanks to Rafaela Romaya. As it nears midnight, Nora decides that its time for her to die. Hes slightly drunk, and Nora realizes that she has recently dumped him. All orders are custom made and most ship worldwide within 24 hours. Nora doesnt understand what is happening. Out of it she sees a building, which is revealed to be filled with endless rows of unlabeled books, all with covers colored in shades of green. But, plot twist, each is about a life that could have been, had one made. For a non-spoiler version of the plot synopsis, see The Bibliofile's review of The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. Joe also tells her that he happened to run into Ravi, who he hasnt seen in 10 years in this life, and he invited Ravi to Noras talk. Nora thinks about the many expensive instruments she did manage to sell in her original life. With that, Nora finds herself in a life with Ash sleeping next to her. Nora thinks about the career in glaciology shed considered but didnt end up pursuing after Mrs. Elms (joking) suggestion so many years ago. 4. To see how things would be if you had made other choices . But Nora longs to find a life to settle down in. The call is amicable, and they agree to remain friends. So she decides to die. Still, she wonders what would have happened if shed stuck with it. "Every life contains many millions of decisions," says Mrs. Elm. She is playing chess with the school librarian, Mrs. Elm, when she gets the news about her father's death. Upon her arrival, the Midnight Library glitches slightly until Nora thinks about her desire to remain alive. Next, Nora goes by Mr. Banerjees house. The rest of his friends didn't love . T-shirts, posters, stickers, home decor, and more, designed and sold by independent artists around the world. the midnight library ending explained, books like the midnight library, the midnight library . Start earning points for buying books! Nora gets out of the pool and has no clue where she lives or what she does for a living. Matt Haig is the number one bestselling author of Reasons to Stay Alive, Notes on a Nervous Planet and six highly acclaimed novels for adults, including How to Stop Time, The Humans and The Radleys. Meanwhile, Noras father, Geoffs, life had taught him the lesson that life was meant to screw you over. His guide is his Uncle Philippe. And there's a deliberateness to it all. We tend to romanticize other variations of our lives we would have no cares in the world, if only we had done this and that differently. . In the world of the Midnight Library, the books take on the role of portals into alternate realities. Mrs. Elm: The librarian. Joe also tells Nora that hes thinking about becoming a sound engineer in Hammersmith, and theres a cross-training gym nearby. As she begins to read, Nora is transported into a pub called The Three Horseshoes with Dan there as her husband. Log in here. Haig presents all of this as a straight line. Afterwards, feeling impulsive knowing that any decision is just one iteration of her life, she kisses Hugo and they sleep together. The Midnight Club Ending Explained. Matt Haig's latest book, 'The Midnight Library,' discusses the potential lives every human can experience depending on the choices they make in the present. Nora is able to see this memory, and she also sees that Joe had tried to go in after her to help, but others had stopped him. Where the Mind Is Without Fear (Gitanjali 35), The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child. They have dinner together and watch a Ryan Bailey movie. Shed be very cold and almost eaten for lunch by a giant, menacing polar bear. Few fantasies are more enduring than the idea that there might be a second chance at a life already lived, some sort of magical reset in which mistakes can be . Nora immediately gets up out of the interview and heads downstairs, in shock and sadness, and soon she finds herself back at the Midnight Library. 'Easy read' books often get a bad reputation. And there we have it: Noras root life, the one she so despised, had a purpose after all. When she inquires about Mrs. Elm, they inform her that Louise Elm died peacefully about three weeks ago. She just lost her job and cat, has fallen out with her brother and best friend and generally assumes she's a giant disappointment. She thinks about how she loves them and forgives them for the ways theyve disappointed her. Nora sees the cat and feels sadness, but also a bit of envy at seeing him lying there peacefully. [1] It was abridged and broadcast on BBC Radio 4 over ten episodes in December 2020. In her present life, she wonders what might have . Mrs. Elm tells Nora how to exit, by finding the book representing her original life, and the Midnight Library dissolves. If there are two dates, the date of publication and appearance She and her brother have become estranged to such an extent that he avoids her when he visits Bedford. 'The Midnight Club': The Full Ending Explained and Your To her surprise, she comes to understand and forgive herself better through this process, too. 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. Nora experienced it as a library because of the meaningful relationship she had with Mrs. Elm, her childhood school librarian. Humans are fundamentally limited, generalizing creatures, living on auto-pilot, who straighten out curved streets in their minds, which explains why they get lost all the time. Nora also seeks out the real Mrs. Elm at the care facility to resume their games of chess. Nora sees that her neighbor, whom she used to help out, ended up having to move to a care facility. His latest novel is The Midnight Library and the audiobook edition is read by Carey Mulligan. "In chess, as in life, possibility is the basis of everything.". In a last-ditch effort to save the world, The Midnight Suns decide they'll interrupt Lilith's ritual and destroy the Darkhold with the God Killer, cueing the team to suit up and head into battle . The story, then, forms solely around the lives she passes briefly through, the choices and their consequences. And yes, it really is presented that plainly. Follow along on Goodreads, or keep in touch via the newsletter. While The Midnight Club already tells a beautiful story of self-acceptance and mortality, the show has plenty of loose threads to explore in an eventual Season 2 and the ending of the series . As many of you know a book with a library speaks to me. Even as a rock star, Joe had stuck with her because she was making him money, not because theyd sorted out their issues. Next, Nora asks to experience fame, and she is transported to a life where her band Labyrinth had made it big. A simplicity to the narrative that has to be taken as a choice on Haig's part, not an accident. In this life, she never ended up teaching him piano. It was the ending that this broken character of Nora Seed needed and I am in awe of how Haig transformed a predictable ending into one that was naturally the part of her journey with The Midnight Library. Nora is now 35 and has been working at a local music store, String Theory, for nearly 13 years now. Over the past year-and-a-half, as the coronavirus pandemic drop-kicked plans and routines somewhere far, far away, Ive had a recurring daydream about what would have been. Our teacher made us read this, now writing an essay about the book and this is quite helpful for summarising all the key events of the book so thanks. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. 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. The grand clock on the librarys front reads 12:00 a.m. The new Mike Flanagan series dropped many bombs in its final episode. eNotes.com, Inc. The system has broken down entirely, Mrs. Elm reveals, which means that Nora must be dying in her root life. The interviewer, Marcello, also mentions that the media seems to give her a hard time and talks about her tumultuous career. The moment you decide you want that life, really want it, then everything that exists in your head now, including this Midnight Library, will eventually be a dream. She drops into new lives, again and again, awaiting the one that makes her want to stay. She is overwhelmed by her happiness but also plagued by the notion that this life is not hersit belongs to some other version of Nora, and she has taken it from her. This story is part of a series for people who have already read the book and want to think more deeply about the plot and ending. After being checked-in on by the doctors, Nora deletes the post shed written on social media before overdosing and replaces it with a hopeful post on what shes learned. T.J.Parker 212 Followers My not so random reviews and thoughts Just for joining youll get personalized recommendations on your dashboard daily and features only for members. This article was published more than1 year ago. See the archives. Advice for the relationships in your life and how to boost your own well-being. The music store she used to work at as a salesperson has closed down. Online, Nora learns that Izzy died a month after they arrived in Australia. The Midnight Library. Her relationships are in shambles and her cat is dead. Comment on the use of imagery in "Games at Twilight.". Mrs. Elm says that Nora has become lost because she's still trying to live for other people. The NY Times. 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. As she comes to understand her loved ones better, she comes to forgive them more easily for their transgressions and the complications of their relationships. The Midnight Library is different for each person who enters it. In that life, Nora has patched up her relationship with Joe, and he is happily married. THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY Characters By Chapter: EDITOR: Remy Hale CH: FIRST NAME: LAST NAME: DESCRIPTION: 1 : A Conversation About Rain : Nora: Seed: An Olympian, a rock star, a music teacher. She explains that Nora can stay as long as she likes in each life, but she warns Nora that if she loses the will to carry on while she is between lives, then Nora will truly die with finality. Nora tells Mrs. Elm that she was there for her when she needed her, and Nora assures Mrs. Elm that she will make time to play chess for her. As she gets to one part, many of the regrets are related to Dan. Nora tries a life where she stayed in her band and became a famous rock star, but she learns that becoming famous lead to Joe dying from substance abuse. As they talk, Nora is disappointed to learn that shes still on antidepressants in this life. -- Nora decides to die, and she overdoses on pills at midnight. The questions are that simple. Nineteen years later, Nora is now a 35-year-old woman who is unhappy in her life. Also, in the original life, she and Joe had been there for her mother before her death. Chapters 60 63 (No Longer Here, An Incident With the Police, A New Way of Seeing, The Flowers Have Water). Elsewhere in the neighborhood, she sees the police arrest a boy for theft that turns out to be Leo.