Review

TOP 4 BOOKS TO READ THIS MONTH

The 22 Murders of Madison May by Max Barry A thrilling chase through time on the trail of a killer. A blend of psychological suspense and incidental humour in a gripping well-paced novel. Karen’s pick of the month.

The Good Wife of Bath by Karen Brooks An engaging, funny retelling of Chaucer’s Good Wife of Bath which gives this much maligned character a chance to tell, in her own words her (mostly) true story.

So you think you know What’s Good For You by Dr Norman Swan Brimming with detailed research and irreverent character sketches, Rum looks at how much was drunk in colonial Australia (a lot!), and the lengths people went to get their hands on it.

Mega Monster by David williams More glorious fun and games from David Walliams. An actionpacked page turner set on an island in the middle of a shark infested sea, where strange goings on happen in The Cruel School.

A BOOK LOVER’S REVIEW BY JACQUI SERAFIM

The Midnight Library

by Matt Haig

Nora Seed is 35 years old. She is intelligent, well-educated, a gifted athlete and musician but she is lonely, isolated and depressed. Her parents are dead, she is estranged from her brother, her best friend is overseas and out of contact, she has lost her job and her cat is dead. She can see no hope for the future so, late one night she decides to end her life. It is then that she finds herself at The Midnight Library. The Midnight Library is filled with possibility – the shelves go on forever and are filled with limitless books. Each book represents a possible life that, if she had done something differently, Nora could have lived. The librarian explains to her “Every life contains many millions of decisions. Some big, some small. But every time one decision is taken over another, the outcomes differ. An irreversible variation occurs, which in turn leads to further variations.” As she hesitates between life and death, Nora is offered the opportunity to experience a multitude of lives that she might have lived had she made a different choice. If, for example, she had continued competitive swimming; stayed in the band; become a glaciologist; or accepted the offer of a coffee date. Was there a life out there for her in which she would have had the success and happiness that would make life worth living? As Nora selects a past decision and makes a different choice, the book which represents that version of her life is opened at exactly the current point in time and she finds herself living that life: an Olympic athlete, a rock star, a climate scientist, a wife and mother. She lives that life until it disappoints her, then finds herself back in the library to select a different choice. Haig’s engaging novel is based on the speculative fiction “many lives, many worlds” concept. As Nora chooses different versions of her life to explore, she discovers truths about herself, about the other people in her life and about what’s important. Over time, she comes to see that “the prison wasn’t the place, but the perspective.” The narrative is simple and straightforward; it operates as a vehicle for the message: the damaging power of regret and the importance of looking forward not back. It is an intriguing exploration of the possibilities of the road not taken and conveys that even the smallest of decisions on a daily basis can have an impact on one’s life and on the lives of others: a knock on the door, a phone call, accepting the offer of a cup of coffee. Ultimately, Nora learns that a wonderful life can be embedded in the ordinary and that in all human life is the possibility of change and growth through the smallest of actions. And that in itself contains a powerful message of hope. Haig’s gentle but uplifting novel reminds us all to banish regret and embrace the possibility of change in our lives.