Plot Summary

1. The Midnight Library begins with Nora Seed in

elementary school, playing chess with the school
librarian Mrs. Elm, and discussing different moves in
the game.
2. The story then skips ahead to Nora's life as a
thirty-five-year-old adult. In the span of a day, she is
fired from her job at a music store and then loses a
music student because she misses their scheduled
lesson. After this, she returns home to find out that
her cat has died.
3. Reflecting on how lonely she is, she recalls her
fractured relationship with her brother and the
engagement she broke off.
4. She feels that she has no remaining connection to the
world and decides to end her life. She takes an
overdose of pills and subsequently passes out.
5. She wakes up in a strange library run by Mrs. Elm,
who appears exactly as Nora recalls her. Mrs. Elm
informs her that she is in the "Midnight Library," a
place in which people are given the opportunity to
explore the possibilities within the lives they did not
lead.
6. In the first of these lives, she owns a pub with Dan,
who she used to date. In this life, she chose to go
through with their engagement and also help Dan
pursue his dream of owning a bar. She helps close up
after a trivia night has just concluded. She quickly
Summaries created by Miss K. Vorster
The Midnight Library

discovers that this life is less than ideal. Dan is

somewhat rude to her and resentful of the things she
says. She learns that he has had an affair in this
timeline. She returns to the library, frustrated that
this life was not what she envisioned.
7. She enters into another life in which she kept her cat
inside. She assumed this would prevent her cat from
dying, as she thought it had been struck by a car.
Instead, she learns that her cat actually had a health
condition that shortened its lifespan, so in that
timeline, it actually died years earlier. She complains
that Mrs. Elm keeps leading her to lives that are
unhappy.
 Plot Summary
8. She travels to another timeline in which she moved to
Australia to be closer to her best friend Izzy. In that
life, she finds out that Izzy has recently died in a car
accident.
9. She continues to explore other lives. In one, she didn't
quit swimming in high school and competed at the
Olympic level. She is close with her brother and
delivers motivational speeches. She discovers that in
this life her father is still alive but her mother is not,
as she became an alcoholic after Nora's father left
her. She gives a speech and talks about her idea of
life as a tree, with multiple branches being created
from various decisions. She adds that the idea of a
"successful" life is fictional, as every version of
someone's life contains frustrations.
10. She goes back to the library and finds that there is a
system error. The library is having issues because she
might be dying and the space will cease to exist if she
actually dies.
11. She travels to a life in which she became a
glaciologist. She talks with a coworker and then is
told to keep watch for polar bears. She has a
terrifying experience in which she narrowly avoids
being attacked. She also meets Hugo Lefebvre,
someone else who is traveling through various
iterations of his life. They have a disappointing sexual
encounter and she goes back to the library.
Summaries created by Miss K. Vorster

12. In another life, she is a famous rockstar, as she stayed

The Midnight Library

in the band she started with her brother. In that life,

her brother is no longer alive, but she is rich and
famous, admired by many people for her musical
talent. She also finds that she is dating a famous
movie star. She goes on a podcast and learns more
details about her music life. She returns to the
library, frustrated with the process, and grows
increasingly despondent about finding a good life to
live.
13. She lives multiple other lives. In one, she works at a
dog shelter with her boyfriend, who has long hair and
treats her kindly. In another, she has a troubled
marriage and owns a vineyard.
 Plot Summary
14. d. She hops around into many other possible lives
before settling into one she finds meaningful and
fulfilling.
15. In her supposed best life, she is married to her
neighbor Ash, teaches philosophy, and has a
daughter. She spends a long time in this life,
considering how perfect it is and slowly slipping
further and further into it. One day, she comes
across a boy who was her piano student in her
original life as he is being arrested. She realizes how
important their music lessons were to him and the
outcome of his life. She returns to her home and
departs from that life back to the library.
16. The library starts to come apart as Nora decides she
wants to live. She escapes the library and returns to
her original life.
17. She is able to find her neighbor before passing out.
She wakes up in the hospital and talks to her brother.
They patch things up over the course of a
conversation. She also contacts the mother of the
student whose lesson she missed and tells her that
her son is extremely talented and she won't forget
their lesson time again.
18. Aware of all of the possibilities in her life, Nora feels
happy again. She visits the real Mrs. Elm in a nursing
home and they share a nice moment over a game of
chess.
Summaries created by Miss K. Vorster
The Midnight Library

➔
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regrets.

around her.
her brother.
In her thirties.
Main character.

and disappointing.
CHARACTERS:
NORA SEED

gives piano lessons.

musician, she currently

Feels generally detached

her time reflecting on her

Difficult relationship with
works in a music shop and

She spends a great deal of

the emotions of the people

from the world around her.
Once a gifted swimmer and
Leads a life she finds lonely

Thoughtful and sympathetic

person, often thinking about
 The Midnight Library
CHARACTERS:
MRS. ELM
➔ Librarian from Nora's
elementary school days.
➔ The novel opens with her
playing chess with Nora and
talking about the possibilities
of life.
➔ She later reappears as a
younger version of herself in
the Midnight Library, where
she assists Nora in traveling
to her various unlived lives.
Summaries created by Miss K. Vorster
DAN LORD
➔ Dan is Nora's ex-fiancé.
➔ In her real life, she often ruminates about
their breakup.
➔ However, in one of her parallel lives, she
learns that he is unhappy with her and
cheats on her. He is more interested in the
idea of being married to her than the
reality of their relationship.
➔ They own a small bar in the countryside
together in one life.
ASH
➔ Surgeon.
➔ Nora's neighbor who informs
her that her cat has died.
➔ He purchases a Simon and
Garfunkel guitar songbook
from her at the music store.
➔ He asks Nora on a date once.
➔ In a parallel life they are
happily married.

NORA’S FATHER IZZY JOE

➔ Nora's father dies when she is
fairly young.
➔ But in her life as a competitive
swimmer, he is alive. He is
depicted as pushing her to work
hard and pressuring her to try to
compete in the Olympics.
➔ Nora's best friend.
➔ Loving and warm.
➔ Nora feels sad that
they have drifted
apart over the years.
➔ Nora's brother. They were in a band together
and their relationship was fractured when
Nora decided to not pursue a record deal or
tour with the band.
➔ Joe is gay and struggles with his father's
disapproval of his sexual orientation.
 ➔
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envisioned.
up with him.
CHARACTERS:

MOLLY
Nora's daughter.
Fictional movie star.
RYAN BAILEY
HUGO LEFEVRE

her alternative life as a

and intelligent than she

Sweet and happy child..

Hugo is a fellow traveler

through parallel timelines.

When Nora meets him, she

through his alternative lives.

result of his continual journey

Somewhat aloof and cold as a

finds him to be less interesting

Nora has a crush on him and in

rockstar, she dates and breaks

THEMES:
REGRET
● In the present timeline of her life, Nora is filled with
regret about her various choices.
● She often wonders how her life might have turned out
differently had she made various other choices or taken
certain risks.
● When she arrives at the Midnight Library, Nora is
shown a book called the "Book of Regrets" which
compiles the things in her life that she wishes she had
handled differently.
● However, the book complicates this idea by showing
Nora taking different paths but still remaining unhappy.
● In a life where she is stuck with competitive swimming,
she is close with her brother and her father is still alive,
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but her mother is dead and she struggles with her

Summaries created by Miss K. Vorster

mental health.
● In a life where she married her ex-fiancé, they own a
pub together and are deeply unhappy.
● What she learns over the course of the book is that
choices have consequences that can't be precisely
predicted and that some regrets are more complex than
they initially appear.
 The Midnight Library
THEMES: Summaries created by Miss K. Vorster
PURPOSE
● Nora struggles to find meaning in her life.
● At the beginning of the novel, she loses her
job at the music store as well as one of her
piano students. Her cat dies and she is told
her neighbor no longer needs her to deliver
her medication.
● Feeling estranged from other people and
lacking any real purpose in her life, she
decides she no longer wants to live.
● What she discovers in visiting parallel
versions of her life is that people do rely on
her in ways she did not immediately perceive,
and that her small actions (being a piano
teacher, keeping her cat outside) actually
have a definite positive impact on the world.
● In this way, by the end of the book, she
develops a renewed sense of purpose and
decides to keep living.
LONELINESS
● When she decides to end her life, Nora is driven by the feeling that
she has no remaining connection to the people around her.
● She and her brother are on bad terms. She no longer speaks with her
ex-boyfriend, Dan.She was acrimoniously fired from two jobs and she
lives far away from her best friend, Izzy.
● She has the distinct sense that no one in the world loves or cares
about her anymore and feels a crushing sense of loneliness.
● In this way, the book emphasizes the importance of human connection,
as Nora being able to reach out to the people she loves at the end of
the story helps her to regain her sense of meaning and happiness.
SUCCESS
● In various versions of her life, Nora attains a certain level of success
and renown in different careers.
● In one, she is a famous rock star with millions of fans.
● In another, she is a swimmer who has competed in the Olympics. In
that life she delivers a speech reflecting on the nature of her success,
noting how its definition is vague and how every life has its good and
bad aspects.
 The Midnight Library
THEMES: Summaries created by Miss K. Vorster

CONTROL
● While the narrative contends with the impact of various decisions, it also notes how little control people have over these
outcomes.
● In one life she decides to marry her ex, thinking that she was too hasty in breaking off their engagement. However, she finds
that they are both unhappy in their marriage and that he cheats on her.
● In another, she sticks with her rock band and becomes famous, but learns that in that life her brother is dead and that she has
had a number of difficulties with mental illness.
● In revealing the complexity of these lives, the book shows that Nora’s perception of these decisions as mistakes isn’t entirely
accurate.

POSSIBILITY
● The story begins with Nora playing chess with her elementary school librarian Mrs. Elm. She explains to Nora that many
possible lives branch out from the minor decisions that people make every day, in the same way that a chess game can hinge on
the placement of a seemingly inconsequential piece.
● This idea is expanded on when Nora enters the Midnight Library and is able to explore the repercussions of her actions.
● She discovers how wildly different her life could be as a result of seemingly small choices, like going on a date or teaching a
piano student.
● At the end of the book, Nora realizes that her life is full of possibility, as she recognizes how much she can change things.
 The Midnight Library SWIMMING
THEMES: Summaries created by Miss K. Vorster Swimming is
symbolic of how
LOVE THE LIBRARY Nora cannot live
● In different lives, Nora has different The library functions as a symbol of an entire life
romantic partners. Nora’s parallel lives. The books are a trying to please
physical representation of how many her father and
● In one, she marries Dan and they own a
unique lives she could have as a of their strained
pub together. relationship.
result of each choice she makes,
● In another, she is married to Ash and
however big or small.
they live in Cambridge with their
daughter.
● In another, she had a relationship with a SYMBOLS MOVIE POSTERS
famous movie star who she realizes is The posters
very shallow. function as a
CHESSBOARD symbol of false
● In all of these lives, she finds various
A symbol of possibility. Mrs. Elm promise in Ryan
degrees of satisfaction and frustration. remarks on how every piece on the Bailey, as his
With Dan, she realizes she is deeply chessboard has the potential to appeal from a
unhappy. With Ash, she feels content make a game-changing move. Mrs. distance does
but somewhat unsettled. Elm mentions this to show Nora how not actually
● Through these different relationships, much possibility is contained in each translate into
the book examines what Nora actually of her choices. Like the pieces on the anything
needs in a relationship, often showing board, she has the power to significant in
how it contrasts with what might seem dramatically alter her person.
initially alluring, like dating a movie star. circumstances.
 The Midnight Library
SIMILES AND METAPHORS Summaries created by Miss K. Vorster
A Weight She Can't Carry (Simile)
As she reflects on her misery, Nora feels completely hopeless. The narrator describes "her despair growing like a weight she couldn’t
carry." This simile suggests the way that Nora feels completely crushed by the heaviness of her circumstances.

A Black Hole (Metaphor)

While looking at a copy of the magazine National Geographic, Nora notices its cover: “As she stared now at the magazine cover—an
image of a black hole—she realised that’s what she was. A black hole. A dying star, collapsing in on itself.” This metaphor gives a sense
of how little hope she has for the future, as she feels that her life is so bleak it resembles the void of a black hole.

Like a German Symphony (Simile)

When Nora learns that her cat has died, the narrator describes how "her mind felt loud, like a Sturm und Drang symphony, as if the
ghost of a German composer was trapped inside her mind, conjuring chaos and intensity." This lengthy simile is employed to depict the
intense distress she is experiencing in her mind at that moment, comparing it to the drama of a symphony by composers like Wagner.

Her Heart Pounding Like a Drummer (Simile)

When Nora encounters a polar bear in her glaciologist life, "her heart pounded like a drummer reaching the crescendo." This simile
works to suggest her intense terror, as her fear manifests in an intense physical reaction. It also uses musical terminology to remind
the reader of Nora's background as a singer and pianist.

Like A Mosquito in Amber (Simile)

While talking with Dylan in her "gentle" life, Nora learns that Mrs. Elm is still alive and is surprised. She realizes that her image of
Mrs. Elm is "preserved in [her] memory like a mosquito in amber." This simile works to suggest how solidified Nora's image of Mrs. Elm
is in her mind.
DRAMATIC IRONY The Midnight Library
Summaries created by Miss K. Vorster
a situation in which the
audience or reader has a
better understanding of
events than the characters
in a story do.
1. Voltaire has a heart condition: Nora’s cat dies on the road at
the beginning of the novel. This is one of the events that
makes her feel so hopeless. In the Midnight Library she asks
to go to a life where she kept her cat inside. In that life
Voltaire also dies, as he was suffering from a heart condition.
He would have died either way, whether she kept him inside or
not.
2. The polar bear encounter makes Nora want to live: In her life
as a glaciologist, Nora is asked to keep watch for polar bears
as they present a danger to the research team. She goes
outside and first sees a walrus. Then, she notices a bear in the
distance. She is overcome with fear and tries to make some
noise to ward it off. She also discovers that she is unable to
return to the library. In the moment that she feels terrified,
she becomes aware of how badly she wants to live. In this
instance of dramatic irony, a moment in which she is in real
danger reminds her of how much she wants to keep living.
SITUATIONAL IRONY
a situation in which actions
have an effect that is
opposite from what was
intended, so that the
outcome is contrary to
what was expected.
1. Ryan Bailey is boring: Nora has a small crush on the movie star
Ryan Bailey. In various other lives, she sees posters of a movie he is
in and thinks about him. However, during a phone call in her life as a
rock star, she learns that she was in a relationship with him. After
talking to him for a few minutes, she gathers that he is actually
extremely shallow and not very intelligent. In this moment of
situational irony, she finds that while he appeared alluring from a
distance, up close he is not very appealing.
2. The Labyrinths do not save Joe : Nora decides to see the life she
would have led had she made a record and gone on tour with her
band, The Labyrinthes. She hopes that in that life she and her
brother will be close. She feels this way because breaking up the
band caused a great deal of friction in her root life. Unfortunately,
she learns during a podcast episode that her brother died in this
timeline and that being in the band together did not strengthen their
relationship. In this instance of situational irony, Nora attempts to
salvage her relationship with her brother, only to discover the
unexpected consequences of her actions.
 Visual imagery
The Midnight Library
Pictures created in your mind
Summaries created by Miss K. Vorster
with words.
When Nora wakes up in her
home in Cambridge, she finds
herself in the living room: "It
was morning. Light flooded
through the curtains now.
Cuddly toys—including Panda,
and the elephant Nora had
identified earlier—littered the
floor." The morning light is
described in a way that
indicates the surprise she feels
from falling asleep away from
her bed and also indicates the
lack of familiarity she has with
the toys that are spread all
over the floor.
Types imagery:
Visual Imagery (Sight)
Olfactory imagery Auditory Imagery (Sound)
The smell of the conference room Nora speaks in is described in
the following way: "It was hard to breathe in this room. It Tactile Imagery (Touch)
smelled of musky perfume and new carpet." The details about
"musky perfume" and "new carpet" give the impression that the Olfactory Imagery (Smell)
room is alien to Nora and adds to the uncertainty she already Gustatory Imagery (Taste)
feels about speaking.
Auditory imagery
Sounds. In the same pub scene, Nora overhears some sounds
IMAGERY
coming from inside the bar: "She heard the sound of clinking
IN THE glass." The "clinking" sound that the glasses make slowly
NOVEL allows her to establish where she is. The description
situates the reader as Nora begins to piece together the
details of this life.

Haptic imagery
Creating a feeling in the reader.
Anxiety constricts Nora’s chest. In her alternative life as the co-owner of a pub, Nora is
surprised and a bit overwhelmed by her changed circumstances: "Nora felt anxiety
constrict her chest." This haptic imagery serves to depict her agitation as a physical state.
Genre Speculative fiction

Setting and Context Bedford, England

Narrator and Point of View The point of

view is third-person and the story is told from the
perspective of an omniscient narrator.

Tone and Mood The tone of the novel is

sympathetic and humorous. The mood is contemplative.

Protagonist and Antagonist The

protagonist of the novel is Nora Seed. There is no primary
antagonist character.

Major Conflict Nora's major conflict is

struggling to find meaning in her life. After a particularly
bad day, she is left feeling as if she has nothing to tether
her to remaining alive, as she thinks no one needs or cares
about her.

Climax The climax of the novel occurs when

Nora struggles to stay alive as the library collapses in
flames.

Foreshadowing The end of the novel is

foreshadowed in the first chapter, as Nora plays chess
The Midnight Library
Summaries created by Miss K. Vorster

with Mrs. Seed, and this exact scene is repeated many

years later.

Allusions The writer Thoreau is alluded to

multiple times throughout the novel, as he is Nora's
favorite writer. The musical duo Simon and Garfunkel is
also mentioned on multiple occasions.