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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
This is a really hard book to review.
The premise is absolutely thought-provoking. Still, this book is best read during certain seasons of your life. If I had read this book three months ago, I can imagine giving it a higher rating. If you are feeling like you've lost your way, then this my be the book for this season in YOUR life.
The premise is absolutely thought-provoking. Still, this book is best read during certain seasons of your life. If I had read this book three months ago, I can imagine giving it a higher rating. If you are feeling like you've lost your way, then this my be the book for this season in YOUR life.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The book had a really interesting premise, some excellent writing, and it was a unique, immersive experience but it left something to be desired. The world was beautiful, and the audiobook narrator was great. It did my favorite thing a book can do (and that many can’t) and quickly and easily pulled the reader right into a well-developed and fantastic world (or here, worlds). The story presented an engaging set of experiences (although at times these felt redundant) but it was ultimately somewhat unsatisfying. Everything concluded a little bit too easily and while I liked that nothing was set in stone - which was sort of the theme of the book - the author had to do a lot of preachy “telling” rather than showing us how the character and her world changed as a result. I was also a little thrown off at how the magic changed toward the end of the book in misalignment with the established rules of its operation.
I’m glad I read this one but it didn’t do much for me on an emotional or intellectual level despite the premise and topics with which it grappled. I would recommend it to anyone who is an existential thinker, or prone to hypotheticals and “what ifs”. I am many things - anxious and never not grieving which I view as a condition of life - but I am not a dweller or wonderer. I am pretty pragmatic and literal and I don’t have any meaningful regrets (at least at this point in my life, and as far as I’m aware). So, I think I connected with the story much less than someone else might. I also think it just needed a little more loss to ring true.
I’m glad I read this one but it didn’t do much for me on an emotional or intellectual level despite the premise and topics with which it grappled. I would recommend it to anyone who is an existential thinker, or prone to hypotheticals and “what ifs”. I am many things - anxious and never not grieving which I view as a condition of life - but I am not a dweller or wonderer. I am pretty pragmatic and literal and I don’t have any meaningful regrets (at least at this point in my life, and as far as I’m aware). So, I think I connected with the story much less than someone else might. I also think it just needed a little more loss to ring true.
The Midnight Library started good. I really liked the concept of trying out your different possible lives, and no matter how frustrated I am for the most part, I truly admire Haig for thinking and writing a story like this one. Honestly, the story itself is complex, but the message he was trying to convey was very simple. I want to give him a clap for pulling it off. There were many instances where I thought that, “This part could be better,” but when I think of “how” I can’t think of anything that could make it better. That’s how difficult the plot was for me.
The only thing that made sense to me was the mechanics of not remembering the past of her all posssible lives. At first, it made no sense to me, because how could she choose and enjoy a life that felt like a stranger to her own skin? But as I read on, I sensed that there’s a purpose behind that. As the story progressed, I realized that maybe not remembering her past in those possible lives wasn’t to remember who she was before, but to feel who she truly is.
That’s why, for me, The Midnight Library wasn’t really about finding the perfect life. It was about helping her figure out what she actually wanted. It’s a slightly cruel way to rediscover herself, living based on regrets and all the “what ifs” that come with choices she might’ve made differently.
One of the many things that didn’t work for me was how Haig handled Nora’s condition. Depression isn’t just a passing feeling. It’s an illness. If I were in Nora’s place, being thrown into life after life like that, I don’t think I’d be in the right headspace to reflect, let alone “grow.”
The concept is well-thought, but something about the execution left me feeling more tired than moved.
The only thing that made sense to me was the mechanics of not remembering the past of her all posssible lives. At first, it made no sense to me, because how could she choose and enjoy a life that felt like a stranger to her own skin? But as I read on, I sensed that there’s a purpose behind that. As the story progressed, I realized that maybe not remembering her past in those possible lives wasn’t to remember who she was before, but to feel who she truly is.
That’s why, for me, The Midnight Library wasn’t really about finding the perfect life. It was about helping her figure out what she actually wanted. It’s a slightly cruel way to rediscover herself, living based on regrets and all the “what ifs” that come with choices she might’ve made differently.
One of the many things that didn’t work for me was how Haig handled Nora’s condition. Depression isn’t just a passing feeling. It’s an illness. If I were in Nora’s place, being thrown into life after life like that, I don’t think I’d be in the right headspace to reflect, let alone “grow.”
The concept is well-thought, but something about the execution left me feeling more tired than moved.
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5/5 (rounding up to 5 hehe)
Suicidal ideation be gone!
Suicidal ideation be gone!