Matt Haig seems to have a predilection for tales about death and reimagining of one’s life choices to find a better way to live, love, and be well… better.

I was given an advanced reading copy of Haig’s latest novel, The Midnight Train, but it sat for awhile on my To Be Read pile (like any reader that pile is a respectable size and I moved it to the top of the list as much as I could).

That being said, I was looking forward to diving into this story. I quite enjoyed The Midnight Library, and this story seems to take place in a similar story-telling universe.

Wilbur is dead. He dies in his 80s, missing out the love of his life, Maggie, a love he ruined, over the choices he made. Now, he is able to see his life one last time. He is taken aboard the Midnight Train, and he is told that when the train stops he can revisit moments in his life, but when the train calls, he must board. He can’t interfere with his past self, and he must NEVER be there when his past self falls asleep.

A bit of It’s a Wonderful Life bleeds through into the story, as Wilbur, the deceased, surveys his past life, experiencing the good and the bad, and seeing how he spent his life, and where he feels he screwed it up.

And that all centers around Maggie.

Is there a way he can change his past even if it means completely sacrificing a chance at eternity?

Haig tells incredibly positive and hopeful tales, despite often using death as a backdrop. I feel that this stories serve as guideposts or warnings, to not let the truly important things pass us by. Love, friendship, joy, these are the things that truly define us, that truly make us rich, not the accumulation of things or money, there’s more riches found in loving and being loved than financial boons and successes.

It’s easy to put it in a story, to suggest to the reader that empathy, listening, caring and being true to yourself serves one best, it’s harder to do in practice, but Haig shows that it is definitely worth the effort.

I quite enjoyed the journey he takes Wilbur on, and what he shows us as we journey with Wilbur aboard the Midnight Train. It’s lovely, poetic, heart-wrenching, and in the end, powerfully hopeful. Haig’s writing is a joy to explore and soak in and I keep reminding myself to explore more of his work.

If you enjoyed The Midnight Library, The Midnight Train is a must, and maybe it’ll help all of us remember what and who is truly important in our lives, and how we can keep them.

I loved this book.