![]() ![]() Every library is a liminal space the Midnight Library is different in scale, but not kind. The invention of the library as the machinery through which different lives can be accessed is sure to please readers and has the advantage of being both magical and factual. It’s an absorbing but comfortable read, imaginative in the details if familiar in its outline. The narrative throughout has a slightly old-fashioned feel, like a bedtime story. By the time it comes, in fact, only one choice still seems possible. ![]() The ending is satisfying but not surprising. At just the right moment, not too soon and not too late, Nora makes her final decisive move, taking us into the last section of the book. There is likewise a danger that such a recursive plotline will tire the reader. It can be hard to keep a reader’s energy invested in a depressed and somewhat listless character, but Nora is smart and observant she remains good company. The issue of the many Noras temporarily displaced from their own root lives is somewhat troubling. Into this ever-popular genre, Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library is a welcome addition. ![]()
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