Some claim that the date of October 31 was chosen intentionally to coincide with a Celtic festival called вЂњSamhain,вЂќ a pagan holiday marking the end of harvest. The more ancient history of Halloween, however, is murky. The evening before this feast became known as вЂњAll HallowsвЂ™ EveвЂќ and was, for centuries, a time when Christians honored the saints and prayed for the souls of their departed loved ones. As far back as the ninth century, Pope Gregory IV moved the вЂњFeast of All SaintsвЂќ day to November 1. We know, for instance, that commemorating October 31 is centuries old. Though the history of Halloween is a rather muddled affair, certain details are rather uncontested. What bothers the anti-Halloween crowd isnвЂ™t current practice itвЂ™s the history behind the holiday.Д«ut what if the dark side of Halloween has something to teach us? I would go so far as to say that if the only relic left of Halloween is costumes and candy, we miss a dangerous truth-that dark powers are still at work in our world. If Halloween were only a day for little kids to dress up like their favorite princess or-for the more budget-conscious parent-ghosts (hello old bed sheet!), itвЂ™s unlikely Christians would raise much of a fuss. But then, halfway through the autumn season, we stumble across a holiday that (at least traditionally) relishes in darkness and death-Halloween.Д¬hristians have long debated, and will continue to debate, whether they should engage in the various traditions that surround Halloween. We find just about any talk of death morbid and out of place. We Americans donвЂ™t usually share in that impulse. William Shakespeare recognized that the coming of autumn was an apt time to reflect on his own mortality. Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,Д«are ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.вЂќ When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang, Tales From the Radiation Age is his latest book.вЂњThat time of year thou mayst in me behold, He is currently the restaurant critic at Philadelphia magazine, but when no one is looking, he spends his time writing books about giant robots and ray guns. Jason Sheehan knows stuff about food, video games, books and Starblazers. And in a multiverse of infinite choice and infinite possibility, I'm just not sure that the answer matters enough. The only question left hanging over all of it is which one she'll finally choose. Enough of a theoretical portion of an infinity that she feels as though she has seen them all by the time we're closing on the final pages. The story, then, forms solely around the lives she passes briefly through, the choices and their consequences. He gives her a tree, and though there are many branches, it is still just a tree. Ultimately, Haig gives Nora (and those of us following along with her) a straightforward path from suicide to closure, from regret to acceptance. And a character who doesn't actively want something - even when it is something so basic as to keep on living - is a hard character to identify with.

Or maybe she does, but the arc of the plot hinges on her trying to figure out what exactly it is. what sucks a measure of the color and life from 'The Midnight Library' is that Nora, as a character, doesn't really want anything.Д«ut what sucks a measure of the color and life from The Midnight Library is that Nora, as a character, doesn't really want anything. After meeting another 'slider' (as those who can bounce around between multiverse possibilities are called), and discussing the pop-science implications of a multi-dimensional existence, Nora muses on her situation:

A simplicity to the narrative that has to be taken as a choice on Haig's part, not an accident. When she finds herself excited again about living, things calm down.ДЄnd there's a deliberateness to it all. When Nora loses hope, the library starts to collapse. Infinite possibility, sure, but only one shot at each of them. Infinite options, yes, but maybe not an infinite amount of time in which to choose. Elm's job is to present everything to Nora very clearly and to lay out the stakes very directly. The Midnight Library is unusual in that it follows a plot with no twists, no turns that don't feel like a gentle glide. Haig presents all of this as a straight line. 'The Midnight Library' is unusual in that it follows a plot with no twists, no turns that don't feel like a gentle glide.Д«ut here's the problem.

Walking papers leave me in the dark