Book Club 11 December: Matt Haig - The Midnight Library

[Jason L.]

Join us on Sunday, 11 December for a discussion of Matt Haig's The Midnight Library. Link and additional questions will be posted in this thread.

 

[Bloo]

Finished.

 

[Bloo]

Well...this blows.

I am unable to make the bookclub discussion on 11 December. Too bad, coz I was looking forward to it

 

[LJ Beck]

Here's a few links.... I was curious about the reviews.

The Midnight Library (reviews below)

Award:

The Midnight Library is the Goodreads Best Fiction Award Winner for 2020!

The Midnight Library is the Goodreads Best Fiction Award Winner for 2020!

canongate.co.uk

I'm looking forward to hearing what you think, and hopefully you can explain to me how this won anything. haha.

This review was more how I felt... 2021: “The Midnight Library” by Matt Haig

 

[Bloo]

I made a point not to read any reviews untill I express my own - influence and all that. I may post my thoughts on Midnight Library after the BC discussion.

I really wish I could make it, but I'm going to be zooming 36,000 feet over the Pacific while the rest of you are just Zooming. Last-minute air travel sucks. Maybe I'll get lucky and the flight will be delayed.

FML

 

[LJ Beck]

Ah shitballs. Hope everything is okay, Matt.

 

[Bloo]

Thanks, LJ. My name isn't Matt, though. I'm either Bloo or "Monsieur"

 

[LJ Beck]

Goodness. Sorry Bloo!! I was typing that while also typing something to Matt. haha. I really shouldn't multitask that early in the morning.

Hope everything is okay, Bloo!

 

[Bloo]

Thanks, LJB. I'm tired, but okay. I'm actually at the gate now. I stayed up all night (afraid I wouldn't wake up)

But yes...shitballs.

 

[Jason L.]

Here are the questions:

• Let’s start with Nora at the beginning of the novel. Nothing is going right for her and she feels her life is already full of so many regrets. Why did Nora feel this way? Why do you think she felt she had no other option but suicide?
• As Mrs. Elm tells Nora how The Midnight Library works, she asks her, what would you have done differently, if you had the chance to redo your regrets? Have you ever thought about if you made a different choice, what your life would be like now?
• If you somehow ended up in a place like The Midnight Library, how do you think you would handle it? Would you want to see all the different outcomes that your life could have taken?
• Nora goes to so many different realities from marrying her ex-boyfriend to studying glaciers. Which alternate reality did you find the most interesting?
• Every time Nora goes to one of these realities, there’s usually a lot of good but also something bad. Whether it’s her brother dying in the rock star storyline or her mother passing away alone when Nora kept going with swimming. What do you think the author was trying to say there with how each of these concepts had huge consequences?
• Let’s now talk about Nora’s relationship with the real-life Mrs. Elm. Why was this such a significant relationship for her?
• Throughout the novel, Nora realizes how people blamed her for their own shortcomings. And that the different realities she chose, were based on hoping for a better outcome for her loved ones. Let’s talk the significance of Nora realizing this. How did it help her move forward with her own life?
• What did you think about the storyline where Nora marries Ash and has a daughter? Why wasn’t she able to stay in this alternate reality?
• What were some of the key realizations that made her want to go back to her original life?
• How will things be different for Nora going forward? What happens next for her?
• What are some of the takeaways from Nora’s journey?
• In your opinion, what’s truly fulfilling in life?

 

[Jason L.]

Jason Locke is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: The Midnight Library
Time: Dec 11, 2022 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

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[James Charles]

Lot's of fun. Great discussion.

 

[LJ Beck]

Definitely!
Sorry to be so Angry Debbie Downer about the book. LOL
I promise the next book club I attend I will bring positive reviews!

The SFF novella I was talking about is this one:

All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)

"As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure." In a corporate-dominated space-faring future, planetary missions must be app...

www.goodreads.com

If you want to get a feel for the story and Well's voice, here's the first chapter:

Meet Murderbot in Chapter One of Martha Wells’ All Systems Red

“As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure.” We’re pleased to encore the first chapter of Martha Wells’ award-winning novella All Systems Red, the first entry…

www.tor.com

L

 

[Hannah F]

It's great hearing other folk's take - so many ways of interpreting the one story!

 

[Bloo]

I regret missing last week's book club. Where's a midnight library when you need one? In any case, here's what I thought about this month's choice.

I enjoyed The Midnight Library a lot more than The Woman in the Library. Matt Haig's characters and dialogue are a lot more credible. The situations - and his character's reactions to them - feel natural most of the time. He has a much better understanding of human behavior than Sulari Gentill does.

Even so, I did have issues with the book.

The biggest was Hugo. Dammit…I wanted to see how that thread played out. It's Chekhov's Gaul…if you introduce a Frenchman in an early chapter, you damn well better use him by the end. When Hugo disappeared mid-conversation, I thought he had either come out of his coma or died. What a disappointment that he had simply…left. I realize Monsieur Ennui is easily bored with all the sliding he does, but that was an ass move. I hope Hugo gets stuck in a life where there is only English wine and American cheese to sustain him.

It would've been so much cooler if something more was made of Hugo. What if he got killed in an altercation with the piano student gone bad? What if Nora took a trip to the hospital in France just in time for him to wake up (that would explain why he disappeared mid-convo)? So. Many. Possibilities.

The second issue for me is the cheesy-feelgood-selfhelp vibe going on. Yeah…we all know how this was going to end - more or less. I just wish the author brought more to the table. Let's face it, Midnight Library is bracketed by the twin 800-pound gorillas of A Christmas Carol and It's a Wonderful Life. So it's go big or go home.

Matt Haig just barely pulls it off. Recasting living vicariously to regrets was a novel take in this context. Pretty much everything about the library held my interest. I liked the concept of "sliding", and the rules governing it made sense. Nora meeting up with someone in a similar situation was a nice surprise - too bad it ultimately went nowhere.

The turning point fell a bit flat for me. I thought Piano Punk's impression on Nora was a bit melodramatic. It's not like he killed somebody, for Christ sake.

I found Matt Haig's female voice quite convincing. At times, I was imagining a woman had written this. Even so, the relationship between Nora and her daughter felt a bit forced to me.

On to the questions, and my answers to them…

*****

Let’s start with Nora at the beginning of the novel. Nothing is going right for her and she feels her life is already full of so many regrets. Why did Nora feel this way? Why do you think she felt she had no other option but suicide?
Nora felt useless. No one cared about her. No one would miss her when she was gone. Losing her job, her piano student, and her cat were the final triggers for her decision. These made her think of opportunities she never followed through on - ones she had more control over. Now there's nothing left. A life where one is unwanted, unneeded, and unnoticed is not worth living.

As Mrs. Elm tells Nora how The Midnight Library works, she asks her, what would you have done differently, if you had the chance to redo your regrets? Have you ever thought about if you made a different choice, what your life would be like now?
All. The. Time. I really should've taken my formal education further. However, my biggest regret is not adopting a child. There are so many mean people out there. It would've been nice to raise someone to be a good person. The world needs more good people.

If you somehow ended up in a place like The Midnight Library, how do you think you would handle it? Would you want to see all the different outcomes that your life could have taken?
I would - and definitely would've chosen a different life than the one I'm living now.

Nora goes to so many different realities from marrying her ex-boyfriend to studying glaciers. Which alternate reality did you find the most interesting?
The one with glaciers was cool (SWIDT). That's also where we first meet Hugo and get his take. I would've chosen that life and worked to make it my own.

Every time Nora goes to one of these realities, there’s usually a lot of good but also something bad. Whether it’s her brother dying in the rock star storyline or her mother passing away alone when Nora kept going with swimming. What do you think the author was trying to say there with how each of these concepts had huge consequences?
I'm reminded of an old television show called M*A*S*H. It was a comedy centered on a mobile army surgical hospital during the Korean war. An underlying theme was that the characters almost never get what they want because the situation is so out of their control. Their attempts at agency are often thwarted by events both large and small. Sometimes, a character gets the opposite of what he or she had intended. So I guess the lesson is that life has too many moving parts to effectively micromanage. Even with the benefit of hindsight, it's hubris to try.

Let’s now talk about Nora’s relationship with the real-life Mrs. Elm. Why was this such a significant relationship for her?
The library was Nora's shelter; Mrs. Elm was the caretaker of that shelter. It was the one place she could escape to herself. Nora also came to appreciate in adulthood all the little things Mrs. Elm was that she didn't fully perceive when younger.

Throughout the novel, Nora realizes how people blamed her for their own shortcomings. And that the different realities she chose, were based on hoping for a better outcome for her loved ones. Let’s talk the significance of Nora realizing this. How did it help her move forward with her own life?
This is what saved the book for me. In more well-known works than this one (It's a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol), the MC regrets mistakes made over a lifetime. In The Midnight Library, Nora realizes those regrets aren't truly hers. Others have tried to live vicariously through her. Conversely, she was regretting vicariously through them.

What did you think about the storyline where Nora marries Ash and has a daughter? Why wasn’t she able to stay in this alternate reality?
She was willing to live the lie to be with her daughter because it was something she truly wanted. However, lying to Ash came with seemingly unrelated consequences. Nora effectively traded her lost opportunity with that of the piano student. With his opportunity taken away, the student became a criminal. Was it bitter coincidence? Was it Karma? Was it Nemesis balancing the scales? I dunno.

What were some of the key realizations that made her want to go back to her original life?
Nora found out that she was more than an asterisk. Her life as she had actually lived it had made a positive impact on others. When she made the decisions on its direction, the outcomes were actually better. Her cat lived longer; the bookstore remained open; her brother didn't overdose; her mother didn't die alone. Once she was able to segregate her needs from those of others, she realized staying true to herself was the best course all along. The lack of follow-through may we'll have been her subconscious dismissing pursuits she didn't want in the first place.

How will things be different for Nora going forward? What happens next for her?
Nora now has agency she only thought she had before. Hopefully, she will live more for herself, and pursue things that matter to her on a more conscious level. She has a better idea of her purpose in the world, and is more content with it. She is finally aware that the self-imposed isolation from her brother hurt him more than not staying with the band.

What are some of the takeaways from Nora’s journey?
Everything I said above condensed to…
- Live your life, not someone else's.
- Care for others by caring for yourself first.
- Hindsight is not always 20/20.
- Frenchmen are fuck-all hard to please.

In your opinion, what’s truly fulfilling in life?
I'm still trying to figure that out.

*****

The Midnight Library is a bit derivative, yet has the chutzpah to freshen up a classic recipe. Even though the ending was never in doubt, it arrived with a less schmaltz than expected. Matt Haig throws in a few twists to make the journey interesting. I wish Hugo could've joined us the end.

 

[Bloo]

Here's a few links.... I was curious about the reviews.

The Midnight Library (reviews below)

Award:

The Midnight Library is the Goodreads Best Fiction Award Winner for 2020!

The Midnight Library is the Goodreads Best Fiction Award Winner for 2020!

canongate.co.uk

I'm looking forward to hearing what you think, and hopefully you can explain to me how this won anything. haha.

This review was more how I felt... 2021: “The Midnight Library” by Matt Haig

I see Nataliya didn't enjoy her stay at the Library very much. I had a lot of the same issues with the book. However, they didn't bug me as much as it did her - or apparently you.

I would've enjoyed hearing your take on the book in real time.

 

[LJ Beck]

I see Nataliya didn't enjoy her stay at the Library very much. I had a lot of the same issues with the book. However, they didn't bug me as much as it did her - or apparently you.

I would've enjoyed hearing your take on the book in real time.

Great that you weighed in Bloo, really interesting to hear your take.

I felt that Hugo, like many elements of the book, were devises rather than integral parts of a compelling story.

I think expectations play a lot into regrets, but what we think would have happened is probably not at all what would have actually happened. I would have like to see Nora really dropped in the shit, like in a big way, with something she thought would have been awesome. Like the rock star life, she thinks she'll be a rock star, but she actually becomes a drug addict and homeless. So what she regrets is the expectation of the best case scenario, not what actually would have happened.

What's truly fulfilling in life? For me it's helping others, and enjoying creativity (mine or other's.)