The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Lynnie    

Amy       

 

contemporary fiction, magical realism

Nora has to decided to no longer live with her many regrets. Her life hasn’t turned out the way she’d hoped and she no longer feels needed. As she attempts to end her life, she finds herself in The Midnight Library where she can try out alternate versions of her life as if she had made different choices.

Lynnie's Review

 

I have read & enjoyed several of Matt Haig's previous novels & The Midnight Library might be my favorite.

Tackling the subject of depression in a unique and thoughtful way, the story follows Nora Seed as she tries to decide which is the life she is meant to live. The multi-verse of the Midnight Library allows Nora to explore all the different ways the choices in her life, if made differently, would have affected the trajectory of her life- different careers, different relationships, different cities, different homes- Nora has the opportunity to explore them all to find the place she most belongs. 

 

While the ending felt predictable it was also very satisfying. It was a joy to cheer Nora on throughout the book as she shed her regrets one by one and learned to feel comfortable in her own skin and to enjoy life as it presents itself to her every day. 

Amy's Review

The novel investigates the consequences of life decisions as well as dealing with the hard knocks life can bring. I liked the way Nora’s fairly dismal outlook on life was eventually turned into something hopeful during her journey through the “books” of her what-ifs.  The fantasy device of the magical library was fun and creative and I felt Matt Haig did a nice job with leading the reader through the concept and playing it out through trial and error. The story was well crafted and never dull. Points were made.

Some good quotes:
“Never underestimate the big power of small things.”
“The only way to learn is to live.”
“It’s not what you look at that matters. It’s what you see.”

However, in the end, while I enjoyed it, I had expected so much more based on the rave reviews and I was let down by the build-up.  I wonder if I would have rated it higher had I not been expecting to love it. I liked it. I didn’t love it. Yes, it was a beautiful story and I’m glad I read it. But I was ready for it to end.

The audiobook was narrated by Carey Mulligan. She did a great job with the voice acting but her repertoire of different voices was limited and I sometimes lost track of who was speaking during dialogues. I’ll give her a B+.