Miss Lee's Midnight Library

這是一所神奇的圖書館！李詠儀老師早會介紹”The Midnight Library"這本英文書後，立即已有同學前來查詢，當時書局一度斷市，近來終於購入！現在先重溫一下Miss Lee的介紹：

Have you ever thought of turning back time and changing a past decision? Or have you ever thought about living someone else’s life? I’m sure that if we had power to choose which ‘path of life’ we want, many of us would try our very best to opt for a road to wealth and success, and avoid failures, sadness and regrets. The book which I’m going to introduce to you is ‘The Midnight Library’ written by Matt Haig. This book is both a fantasy novel as well as a feel-good book. The main character, Nora, is given chances to make many of her life decisions again.

你曾否幻想回到過去，改變昔日的決定，甚至活出另一個人生？如果可以決定我們想要的「人生旅程」，大部分人都會希望名成利就，避開失敗、哀愁或後悔。介紹Matt Haig的這本作品《午夜圖書館》，是本勵志的奇幻小說，主角Nora得到眾多改寫人生抉擇的機會。

Nora Seed is a desperate lady who tries to kill herself after encountering different so-called ‘failures’ in life, like being fired by her employer, having a poor relationship with her brother and family, and the death of her cat. She is unable to find any satisfaction in what she’s doing. Everything in the world seems to go against her. Nora feels useless, helpless and disappointed. That’s why she decides to put an end to her suffering. However, the ‘end’ isn’t really an ‘end’. She ends up entering the Midnight Library where she sees her beloved old school teacher. In the Midnight Library, there are numerous bookshelves with indefinite number of books. The school teacher tells her that by choosing a book, Nora will have an opportunity to decide how she wants to live again. She can then make new choices which she thinks will lead her to a perfect life. It sounds incredible, doesn’t it?

Nora是個打算自殺的絕望女子，她面對生活中不同的所謂挫折，例如被解僱、跟家人關係惡劣、愛貓離世等。事事失意，世界好像與她對立。Nora自覺無用、無助、無望，決定了結生命。可是，這個「了結」卻非真的「結束」，她去到午夜圖書館，重遇敬愛的中學老師。午夜圖書館眾多的書架擺放數之不盡的圖書，老師告訴她選出當中圖書，就有機會重新編寫她想要的完美人生，很不可思議吧？

However, after Nora tries out some new lives in a few of the books, she begins to realize that there is no such thing as a ‘perfect’ or ‘100% successful’ life.

但是隨著Nora體驗書中的不同人生，她卻開始理解根本沒有「完美的成功人生」。

I remember teaching If conditional sentences in S.2 – the ‘If I were, I would’ pattern. Once I asked students to make sentences using the pattern, some of you gave me sentences like:

‘If I were Li Ka Shing, I would have a lot of money.’

‘If I were Keung To, I would have a lot of fans who would buy me flowers and presents.’

‘If I were Lionel Messi, I would play football extremely well.’

‘If I were that YouTuber, I would have 10 million viewers watching my videos.’

Yes, it’s easy to imagine ‘If I were… I would…’ but have you ever really thought about the real life of these famous people? Are their lives truly perfect and without any failures? On the surface, one may see that these people are having flawless and successful lives, but in reality, they are facing what all of us are facing – setbacks, obstacles and failures. What matters most is how you handle difficulties and turn them into opportunities for growth and enjoyment. This is what Nora has learnt after going to the Midnight Library.

曾經教授中二級同學"if conditional”句式(同學作句例子請參閱英文版本)，你想過名人的真實生活嗎？真的是完美無瑕，絕無失誤？表面上他們看似擁有成功的人生，但現實他們跟我們一樣，要面對挫折、困難和失敗。最重要的是我們如何應對難關，把它轉化為成長良機好好享受。Nora在午夜圖書館學會了當中道理。

‘Stamina is essential to stay focused in a life filled with distraction. It is the ability to stick to a task when your body and mind are at their limit…’ (p.93)

「毅力能幫助你專注，當身體和心到達極限，毅力能幫助你堅持……」(108頁)

‘The thing is… what we consider to be the most successful route for us to take, actually isn’t.’ (p.112)

「重點是……我們認為最成功的人生道路，其實都不值得。」(130頁)

‘…the things that looks the most ordinary might end up being the thing that leads you to victory.’ (p.188)

「……看似最平凡的棋子，也許最後能帶你走向勝利。」(212頁)

‘The Midnight Library’ is an uplifting book. The beginning may be a bit dark and gloomy, but as you go through different life journeys with Nora, the main character, you’ll feel like embarking on adventures of hope, belief and self-understanding.

"The Midnight Library"《午夜圖書館》是本振奮人心的圖書，起初可能較為灰暗，但當你與主角Nora一起經歷不同的生命之旅，你就會開展充滿希望、信念和自我認識的旅程。

I hope you’ll find this book interesting too. Do borrow ‘The Midnight Library’ from our school’s library. It will surely give you fascinating insights into life. Share with me how you feel about it after reading! Bye for now!

希望你同樣喜愛閱讀本書，去學校圖書館借閱《午夜圖書館》，你會洞察迷人的生命，讀後可以來和我分享感受！

 

Matt Haig的"The Midnight Library”(F HAI)，稍後將在圖書館推出。