I read this book back in August, the universe conspired to bring me a handful of books about books back-to-back. Bookish serendipity. I was not expecting the depth of this book, it sat on my tbr for 2 years before I got around to reading & I’d forgotten at that point what the story was about. I would love to see this story on screen. Let’s review.
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
- Category – Contemporary Magical Realism
- Length – 304 Pages
- Read Time – 5 Days
- GR Rating – 4 Stars
This books’ subject centers mental health, is quite sad & touches on a very tough subject, trigger warning for suicide. Our main character, Nora Seed, has had many disappointments throughout her young life. She is & has been struggling with depression & suicidal thoughts for years, ultimately choosing to take her own life by overmedicating.
“Doing one thing differently is often the same as doing everything differently.” – Matt Haig
The Midnight Library is Nora’s limbo. Upon “arriving” she finds a familiar face, Mrs. Elm, her high school librarian. There is a connection between Mrs. Elm & Nora which definitely explains why she appeared to her here. This library is like nothing Nora has every seen, with rows upon rows of bookshelves that seem not only endless in length but also in number. Mrs. Elm is her guide in this space, giving her the little instruction necessary & encouraging her to pick up another book. Each book in the library is another life Nora could have led, sucking her into the pages Jumanji style to “live” that other possibility. What might her life have looked like if she’d chosen to follow the rockstar dream or the dream of the swimmer, every book was a different possibility. Noras’ who could’ve been. Nora sees this as a way to correct all that she regrets, sure that had she made this or that decision differently she would’ve been living an ideal life.
You know what they say, the grass is not always greener on the other side…
With each new book Nora enters she ends up finding that even in the lives which at first seem great, there were still deep disappointments. What if is a never ending question, there’s always another what if & it’s easy to see the “other side” through a rose colored lens. It’s natural to hope for the best, to envision the better that could’ve been but chasing perfection is unrealistic. What is perfection, does perfect even exist?
“She realized that she hadn’t tried to end her life because she was miserable, but because she had managed to convince herself that there was no way out of her misery.” – Matt Haig
I find it so fitting that Noras’ in-between space was a library because it was definitely a learning journey for her. I liked this book & recommend it if the subject isn’t too heavy for you.
While doing review prep for this book I found out it is being film adapted & was expected to release this year, however I couldn’t find anything indicating that it has been as of yet. I’ll be watching it when it is.
Thank you for joining me for another review & as always, happy reading.
Hasta la próxima – V
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