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A review by labello
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Right from the beginning I was on pins and needles as the second the main driving plot mechanic was introduced, that she could die or choose another life to live. There was just no good way of ending the story in a satisfying way to me.
And for me personally, it did not stick the landing.
To me, it was, frankly, depressing. It just seemed to say that no matter what the main character did it, it would have always led to her being depressed. There was no chance for a life in which she did not end up having depression.
She didn't feel she fit in the life that supposedly was the happiest of them the doctor and the child and neither did she feel she fit in any other life, not even her own real one. As though there truly was no place for her without the pain of depression.
What immediately unsettled me as the mechanic of jumping between lives was introduced was, that there were only two possible ends:
1. she would stay in another life. Which would have given me the message of: "Your life is shit and the life you wanted for yourself is now unobtainable to you thanks to your mistakes in the past. And the best you Can do is obtain a watered-down version" or
2. she would go back to her original life, which she did, and the message would be "You're so inherently damaged that even in better lives and better situations you will always stick out like a sore thumb."
I am aware that I am interpreting it in the least charitable way, however, as someone who has depression and felt like the main character does at the beginning of the book, this is how it reads to me. so I personally wouldn't recommend it
And for me personally, it did not stick the landing.
To me, it was, frankly, depressing. It just seemed to say that no matter what the main character did it, it would have always led to her being depressed. There was no chance for a life in which she did not end up having depression.
She didn't feel she fit in the life that supposedly was the happiest of them the doctor and the child and neither did she feel she fit in any other life, not even her own real one. As though there truly was no place for her without the pain of depression.
What immediately unsettled me as the mechanic of jumping between lives was introduced was, that there were only two possible ends:
1. she would stay in another life. Which would have given me the message of: "Your life is shit and the life you wanted for yourself is now unobtainable to you thanks to your mistakes in the past. And the best you Can do is obtain a watered-down version" or
2. she would go back to her original life, which she did, and the message would be "You're so inherently damaged that even in better lives and better situations you will always stick out like a sore thumb."
I am aware that I am interpreting it in the least charitable way, however, as someone who has depression and felt like the main character does at the beginning of the book, this is how it reads to me. so I personally wouldn't recommend it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Death of parent, Cursing, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship