After an attempted suicide, Nora Seed hovers between life and death in a library where every book is a possible life she could have lived. Guided by her old school librarian, and a book titled ‘the book of regrets’, Nora explores the many different choices she made in life and the alternative choices that she could have made. Each choice leads to a different life which is contained within a different book. Having chosen a book Nora opens it, reads the first page and lets the book pull her in. Literally. If she finds a life in which she is truly happy then Nora will be allowed to stay in that life and claim it as her own. If not…
This is a book of possibilities. One book at a time, Nora tries out each of her regrets and, one by one, she lets them go. She is a rock-star, a scientist, an academic, a mother, a wife, a nobody; she owns a pub, a vineyard, a dog, a cat, a gun. But in each life there is something missing: a person, a feeling, an aspect of herself.
The elements of each life flow seamlessly together and it is easy to see how each twist and turn comes about. Throughout the book little details are dropped to link the lives together, such as the whale photos sent by her best friend or the same characters floating through but with different roles. These details help the book flow seamlessly from beginning to end, despite its disjointed nature, and they allow us to follow each twist and turn as we can see for ourselves how they have been created. The scenes within the library are also well crafted to set the perfect tone going into each new life. They add a level of analysis which creates a deeper, more meaningful read.
Nora is an extremely relatable character and I felt myself connecting easily to her emotions as she felt grief, happiness and despair. Her flaws and her ordinary background make her a believable person, as well as her varied relationships and interactions with other characters. A large cast of characters wander in and out of Nora’s various lives and each one, even those who only live for a few sentences of the book, have been built-up into well-rounded, three dimensional, and fully believable characters.
It is impossible to read this book without engaging with your own mental health in a surprisingly positive way. For this reason alone, although also for the brilliant writing and fantastic characters, I will be recommending this book to everyone I know.
Escape to the Bookshelf 