In the Midnight Library, each book on the shelf is another version of the protagonist, Nora Seed’s, life. I have always been fascinated with fantastical libraries, such as Jorge Luis Borges’s LIBRARY OF BABEL, because I feel libraries are a kind of magic in themselves. I’d had an idea about a library between life and death for a long time.

Where did the idea for THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY originate? Matt Haig:

Matt, welcome! I am always so intrigued with that initial spark for a book. But first, please join me in conversation with the fabulously talented Matt Haig: Leslie Lindsay: This was a heady delight to read–and discuss, one I will go back to again, because I am sure I missed a few things, or will glean new insights on another read. It was a bit like A CHRISTMAS CAROLmeets IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFEwith a toss of a fairy godmother (in the form of a sweet but sometimes stern librarian). But is there any such thing as a ‘perfect life?’Įach of these lives offer Nora a new way of looking at the world, at her regrets, her choices.I found THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY brimming with gorgeous prose, profound insight, and meaningful scenes. They are a delightful mix of pain, despair, love, joy, luck, fame, and more. She finds herself in the Midnight Library, a magical, mystical place filled with a limitless number of books containing the narratives to so many possible lives. Maybe she’s let everyone down, including herself: She is unmarried and just got fired/laid off and isn’t really sure if life is worth living. Nora Seed is bummed.She’s 35 and bored and full of regret. THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY, like many of my book selections, focus on mental health: depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation. Also, you’ve likely heard how a person can live multiple lives if s/he reads? Yep, that too. You know how certain books call out to you at ‘just the right time?’ This was one of those. I quickly fell into the rhythm of Matt Haig’s lovely and delightful THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY (Viking, September 2020) and I’m so glad I did. What’s not to love about a book that takes place in a library? At midnight? Okay, maybe the ‘midnight’ part, because, let’s face it, you can’t start a book at midnight like you can’t go to the 9pm movie. ~ WRITERS INTERVIEWING WRITERS| ALWAYS WITH A BOOK~ An instant New York Times bestseller A sublime, dazzling novel of what it means to make choices–and how non-choices are a choice, and then living a life well-lived.

Matt haig the midnight library