The Midnight Library

Nora Seed is a woman in her thirties who feels overwhelmed by the regrets that have accumulated over the course of her life. The novel follows her discovery of the mysterious Midnight Library and her… read analysis of Nora

There are two versions of Mrs. Elm that Nora encounters: the real Mrs. Elm (Nora’s former school librarian) and the otherworldly Mrs. Elm who lives in the extradimensional Midnight Library. Both versions of the librarian… read analysis of Mrs. Elm

Joe is Nora’s older brother and one of the most important people in her life. He appears in many different versions of Nora’s life, but their relationship is usually complicated and often strained. In… read analysis of Joe

Nora meets Hugo Lefèvre in her life as a glaciologist in the Arctic. Hugo is like Nora in that he’s one of many people who travel between realities and “try on” different versions of their… read analysis of Hugo

In the version of Nora’s life where she married Ash, the two of them had a child named Molly. Molly is a bittersweet character in Nora’s journey, allowing Nora to suddenly and unexpectedly… read analysis of Molly

Izzy is Nora’s friend who lives in Australia. In her original life, Nora had backed out of her plans to move to Australia with Izzy and live with her, as she was still struggling… read analysis of Izzy

Ravi is one of Joe’s friends and a former member of their now-defunct band, The Labyrinths. He contributes to Nora’s terrible day at the beginning of the novel by arguing with her about… read analysis of Ravi

In her original life, Nora was engaged to Dan and supported his dream of opening and running a pub in the countryside. But when her mother became deathly ill and Nora felt overwhelmed by the… read analysis of Dan

Dylan is a kind, cheerful man whose love of dogs is rivaled only by his love for Nora. When Nora visits the version of her life where she works at an animal shelter in… read analysis of Dylan

Mr. Banerjee is Nora’s elderly next-door neighbor in her original life. Nora usually delivers his pills from the pharmacy to him, but at the beginning of the novel, he informs her that someone else… read analysis of Mr. Banerjee

Doreen is the mother of Leo, a young boy who’s been taking piano lessons from Nora. When Nora is late to Leo’s lesson at the beginning of the novel, Doreen calls her, frustrated, and… read analysis of Doreen and Leo