After Wilbur dies as an old man, he gets the chance to relive his best moments after he boards The Midnight Train. He quickly realises that his best days were with Maggie on their honeymoon in Venice, but knows only too well that things don't work out the way he had expected them to. Now, as his life literally flashes before his eyes, he wishes he go back and do things differently, but that could risk everything.
It must be quite something to have your life flash before you, to have to relive the painful moments and to find you can't linger as long as you would like to with the moment to that brought you the most happiness. But what if you can do something about your regrets? Wilbur by many standards has had a very successful life, certainly career-wise, but his one regret is losing the love of his life and, as his journey on the Midnight Train progresses, he desperately feels that he needs to do something about it, but his guide, Agnes, has already told him in no uncertain terms that he must not interfere with the past as it could have catastrophic repercussions.
I have to say that this was a really wonderful read and one I found myself completely lost in. The second in the Midnight series, it was lovely to see Nora whilst also getting to know Wilbur and Maggie. Matt's writing is full of heart and emotion as we see Wilbur realise the consequences of various actions at different times in his life: he is forced to face the decisions he made and to accept those actions.
Without doubt, The Midnight Train is a thought-provoking read and one that has stayed with me after I've finished reading it, both in terms of Wilbur and Maggie's story, but also my own. What exactly would I see from the window of my own midnight train? I started the book on a flight last week and finished it lying on a sunbed, and it definitely reminded me that it's good to reflect upon things and to remember what's important in our life.
The Midnight Library publishes on the 21st May.
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