Matt Haig's latest novel opens with a lonely, despairing woman who tries to commit suicide, only to be suspended between life and death in the titular library. Each book (except for one) is a different version of her life, what would have happened if she continued to swim competitively or stayed in the band or had gone through with the wedding, and she's given the choice of picking any one of those lives to live; if none appeal, she can choose to die.
Despite the high-concept plot, there are no big twists or shocking revelations. It's just an ordinary woman figuring out that there is no one path through life, and no way to avoid suffering. Nora must find meaning and value in whatever life she has, not the ones that could have been. At first she's focused on reversing the decisions she made in the past, but of course she learns that there are downsides to every life; loneliness, dissatisfaction, and grief cannot be permanently avoided. So she begins to just experience whatever her lives have to offer, and that's where her true growth comes from. The plot is predictable, but the character portraits are touching, the storytelling is gentle, and the ending is utterly satisfying.
This sounds good, I had it on my list when it came out in hardback but it never reached the top of the pile!
ReplyDeleteI do enjoy pondering "what if" I'd done different things at key moments of my life!