The Midnight Library
Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices . . . Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?” 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. Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. 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. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better? In The Midnight Library, Matt Haig’s enchanting new novel, Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realiz
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On a bad night in the small English town of Bedford, thirty-five-year-old Nora Seed tries to end her life. She wakes in the Midnight Library, where her old school librarian hands her a book of regrets and pulls volumes from the shelves so Nora can step into the lives she might have lived.
Yes. A film adaptation directed by Joe Wright has been announced. As of 2025, the project remains in development.
Yes. The Midnight Library has been compared to Ken Grimwood's Replay, A Christmas Carol, and It's a Wonderful Life. Matt Haig's premise of a library where you can try alternate lives draws on a long tradition of life-review fiction.
The Midnight Library was written by Matt Haig, published in 2020 by ABDR.
The Midnight Library is 304 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, The Midnight Library takes most readers 5 to 7 hours to finish.
The Midnight Library is a standalone novel by Matt Haig, not part of a series.
The Midnight Library is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
