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, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place. g'r
“And that sadness is intrinsically part of the fabric of happiness. You can’t have one without the other. Of course, they come in different degrees and quantities. But there is no life where you can be in a state of sheer happiness for ever. And imagining there is just breeds more unhappiness in the life you’re in.”
― Matt Haig, The Midnight Library
That’s a pretty neat idea, and I must admit that I would like to peek into my own library. I would love to see how things could have possibly changed. However, I don’t think we should dwell on those things. Even in our hypothetical, those “other lives” are but fictional fairy tales. I love the life I live. Could it be better? Perhaps. Could I ask for more? Yes, I suppose, but that doesn’t mean I’ll get an answer. Everything is as it is because what else could it be?
ReplyDeleteWell, that's a retrospective view. Going forward, the point is that it IS possible--and for some, highly constructive--to believe that things COULD be otherwise than they will in fact be. That is, our choices will contribute to the actualization of a universe of possibilities. The point, in other words, is not to dwell with regret on an unchangeable past, but to approach the future with creative expectancy and zest. This is the view we'll explore when we turn to Wm James's "pluralistic universe".
DeleteI like this perspective!
ReplyDelete