“That’s why everyone hates each other nowadays,’ he reckoned. ‘Because they are overloaded with non-friend friends. Ever heard about Dunbar’s number?”
Nora attempts suicide and lands in the Midnight library, a place between life and death where books guide her to reconsider her life, the choices she made, and what she might have done differently to feel more fulfilled. She has the opportunity to explore several life scenarios with the advice of Mrs. Elm, a librarian from childhood who had been kind to her. Each supposition of her life is based on interests and aspirations she has experienced and involves some of the people who have been instrumental in her formative and early adult years. In essence, each chapter is an imaginative version of Nora’s self if she had followed through on things instead of lacking the confidence to persist. As a glaciologist, she faces a ferocious polar bear. In other scenarios, she is an Olympic swimmer, performs in a rock concert, runs a vineyard, works with animals, speaks in front of a large crowd, and so much more. She experiences great wealth and ordinariness. She sees people die, and she learns to love. She also learns about hope, conquers her fears, and gains confidence and self-esteem.
In her “root” life, she studied philosophy, and the text is interspersed with philosophical quotes and words of wisdom she should have or could have shared with people in her life. During the midnight library limbo, Nora meets the kindred spirits that she lacked before her suicide attempt. She realizes that she had adopted a loser mentality in her root life, and she is a winner in possible lives presented by Mrs. Elm and the infinite books in the library.
This is a great story of a young woman gaining self-awareness and the themes of life’s paths and regrets, and the multiple ways to define success.
