Summary
In the next following part of the book, Nora travels to a life in which she went on a date with Ash. She awakens next to him in bed and sees, from the ring on her finger, that they are married. She then sees a child in the hallway and realizes they have a daughter together. She learns that her daughter's name is Molly. Nora holds her hand and comforts her after she has just had a bad dream.
She plays a game with Molly in which she asks her series of questions. From this game, she finds out that she and Ash are happily married, Molly is their only child, they have a dog named Plato, she is a professor of philosophy at Cambridge, Ash is still a surgeon, and she is close with her brother. Molly eventually falls asleep, leaving Nora to reflect on everything she has just learned. Nora also falls asleep in the living room and wakes up when the sun rises.
She finds Ash standing in the doorway with two cups of coffee. They talk a bit and then Ash departs to go for a run. Nora spends the morning looking around the house, trying to get a better understanding of this life. She also finds that she is writing a book about Thoreau, her favorite writer. She thinks about the fact that this life seems like a definitively good and happy one. The family goes to visit Nora's brother, Joe, and his husband, Ewan, in Hammersmith. Nora is gratified to find that Joe appears to be happy and healthy.
Slowly, as she spends more time in her "perfect" life, Nora grows increasingly content, and even starts to be able to recall pieces of her other self's memory, as she assimilates into the timeline. Still, she is nagged by the feeling that something isn't quite right in this life. She tries to visit the real Mrs. Elm in a retirement home, but learns that she has passed on. On the same day, as she is walking home, she sees Leo, her piano student from her original life, being arrested by the police. She realizes that, in this life, without the focus of their lessons, Leo struggles to stay out of trouble. She goes home and starts to feel herself fading away from this existence.
When she gets back to the library, things are starting to come apart. She is upset and uncertain about what to do next. The only thing she is certain about is the fact that she is determined to live. Mrs. Elm tells her she needs to escape. The library catches fire and she narrowly escapes with the Book of Regret. She writes the phrase "I am alive" on one of the pages. She awakens in her flat and vomits up the medication she swallowed. She manages to make it to a neighbor's house to ask for help.
Nora returns to her old life with a renewed sense of possibility. Her brother visits her in the hospital and they seem to patch up their relationship. She receives a text from Izzy suggesting that they see each other soon. She tells Leo's mother that she won't miss another lesson and that Leo is exceptionally talented. Informed by this new sense of purpose and drive, Nora feels more optimistic about her life's trajectory. She travels to Mrs. Elm's retirement home and they play chess. The book ends with her considering her next move in the game.
Analysis
In this part of the book, Nora finds the life she thinks is "perfect." She is happily married and has a daughter she loves. She also has a job that she values, a close relationship with her brother, and a comfortable living situation. For all of these reasons, she believes she has found the best possible iteration of her life. She begins to feel increasingly at home in this timeline, but is dogged by the feeling that something is wrong. After traveling to the nursing home where Mrs. Elm used to live, she finds out that in this life she is no longer alive. She also discovers, after witnessing an incident with local police officers, that her piano student Leo is being arrested for shoplifting. This makes her realize that no life is without its flaws and that not everyone can be happy in each version of her life. This makes her let go of the notion of the "perfect" life, in the same way that she gave up on the idea of a "successful" one.
While Nora does not find an alternative life to settle into, this last journey seems to cement her will to stay alive by making her aware of how significantly different her life can be as a result of a minor choice—in this case, going on a coffee date with Ash. Being able to see how happy she is in this life—in almost every aspect of it—gives her the sense that she can change her life for the better. If the moment with the polar bear gives her a visceral desire to survive, then this life allows her to see that she has the potential to be happy in her main life.
This part of the novel contains its climax. As Nora returns from the "perfect" life, the library begins to come apart. This comes as a result of the fact that if she dies in her root life, she cannot survive in the Midnight Library. With time running out and the library catching fire, Nora grabs the Book of Regret and writes the phrase "I am alive" to fight for her life in the midst of this upheaval. She awakens on the floor of her bathroom and manages to struggle to a neighbor's door and call for help. This moment is important to the story in that it shows her having completed her mental journey. She fully reclaims her will to live, so much so that she is willing to fight for it in dire circumstances.
The novel concludes with Nora visiting Mrs. Elm in a retirement home. They talk and play chess. Mrs. Elm is happy to see her and they talk about how the chess board contains so many possibilities, making it impossible—until the game's end—to know exactly how it will unfold. At the very end of the book, Nora looks over the board and happily considers her next move. In this moment, Nora feels in control of her choices, aware of how many different potential endings there might be to the game. This moment indicates how Nora's perspective has changed. Her newfound awareness of the many possibilities her life contains is subtly indicated in the new way she looks at the chessboard.
The novel ends on an optimistic note, as Nora returns to her life and makes use of what she has learned from her time in the Midnight Library. Having rediscovered her desire to keep living, she comes back to this life with a new awareness of what her life can be. The novel's final scene underscores this, as Nora's story has not really concluded but—in the same way that her next chess move hasn't been decided—may proceed in any number of surprising ways.
