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A review by schnaucl
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
fast-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
I read this book as part of a reading challenge that included a prompt for reading a book about a library or set in a library. I'm not sure I would have picked it up otherwise. I strongly suspected how it would end even before I opened it (the life she had was the best life for her and/or she had a great effect on other people a la It's a Wonderful Life) and I was not wrong.
I spent most of the book being strongly reminded of one of the better SNL skits in recent years where host Adam Sandler plays a tour guide (I believe in Italy) and makes the point that when you go on vacation you're still you. If you were lonely and depressed at home, you'll still bring your loneliness and depression when you're in vacation. You won't magically turn into a better, happier version of yourself just because you're temporarily somewhere else and it's not fair to give him a poor rating because your vacation didn't fix whatever was going wrong in your life.
Same deal. The way this worked wasn't really like Nora was watching other versions of her life, instead she was actually living it but she was still the same person as in her root life. So she didn't know facts or people the new version of her life that she should have if she'd actually been living that life, which I would think would make it frustrating and scary and leads to all kinds of imposter syndrome and not really be a good indication of what it was like to live that life. Maybe there's a life where I'm an extreme extrovert instead of being an introvert and maybe that me is very happy being an extreme extrovert. But if you just put introverted me into that life I would be miserable. To say nothing of what it would be like to be in a long term relationship with someone you've never met and can't explain why you may have gone to bed knowing the person you were sleeping next to but now that person is a complete stranger. That sounds like a recipe for adding more trauma.
Similarly, if you had the life experience to be confident about something, whether that's public speaking or signing in front of a crowd or something else, you can't have someone without that formative experience(s) step in and know what it's like to really live that life because of course root Nora isn't comfortable with those things.
I was also reminded of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan's point that our pain makes us who we are. So actually getting rid of all your regrets would also make you a different person.
There were some psychological things that I found myself resenting. Nora's depression is described as situational, but since at least in the beginning all the lives she visited were ones where she was depressed and sometimes tried to commit suicide, I don't know if she was misdiagnosed but it didn't seem very situational.
And she gives up some of her regrets pretty easily. My immediate thought about Volts having a heart condition was okay, so why isn't her next question what if I had taken Volts to the vet sooner or more often? He may have had one of his bests lives with her, but was there more she could have done? And maybe the answer was no, it wasn't a condition that could have been treated and if she'd known ahead of time the condition existed she would have spent her time within him being more worried that he would die and not just enjoying the time they had. I realize actually having the reader go through various permutations of a theme to get Nora to that point probably wouldn't be interesting for a the reader but it seems like there might be a way to quickly summarize various attempts.
I also didn't really buy her decision she wanted to live after all after the encounter with the polar bear. I understand not wanting to feel pain at death but that's not the same as wanting to live. It's also true that many people who attempt suicide attempt it multiple times before they succeed. So maybe it was part of that cycle. But she didn't actually feel curiosity about all her other lives until several lives later.
Anyway. I know you can change the life you're living and (maybe) make it better is a much more inspirational message than yep, turns out you were just living the wrong life, here, step into this other one or yes, you really did make a decision or decisions in your life that made things worse for yourself and can't be fixed, sucks to be you.
And it's also true that no life is perfect without its ups and downs.
The chapters are short, sometimes no more than a paragraph or even a single sentence, which I found distracting although I understand it also makes it read faster with a sense of urgency.
This isn't a bad book, it just wasn't the one for me and that's okay.
I spent most of the book being strongly reminded of one of the better SNL skits in recent years where host Adam Sandler plays a tour guide (I believe in Italy) and makes the point that when you go on vacation you're still you. If you were lonely and depressed at home, you'll still bring your loneliness and depression when you're in vacation. You won't magically turn into a better, happier version of yourself just because you're temporarily somewhere else and it's not fair to give him a poor rating because your vacation didn't fix whatever was going wrong in your life.
Same deal. The way this worked wasn't really like Nora was watching other versions of her life, instead she was actually living it but she was still the same person as in her root life. So she didn't know facts or people the new version of her life that she should have if she'd actually been living that life, which I would think would make it frustrating and scary and leads to all kinds of imposter syndrome and not really be a good indication of what it was like to live that life. Maybe there's a life where I'm an extreme extrovert instead of being an introvert and maybe that me is very happy being an extreme extrovert. But if you just put introverted me into that life I would be miserable. To say nothing of what it would be like to be in a long term relationship with someone you've never met and can't explain why you may have gone to bed knowing the person you were sleeping next to but now that person is a complete stranger. That sounds like a recipe for adding more trauma.
Similarly, if you had the life experience to be confident about something, whether that's public speaking or signing in front of a crowd or something else, you can't have someone without that formative experience(s) step in and know what it's like to really live that life because of course root Nora isn't comfortable with those things.
I was also reminded of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan's point that our pain makes us who we are. So actually getting rid of all your regrets would also make you a different person.
And she gives up some of her regrets pretty easily. My immediate thought about Volts having a heart condition was okay, so why isn't her next question what if I had taken Volts to the vet sooner or more often? He may have had one of his bests lives with her, but was there more she could have done? And maybe the answer was no, it wasn't a condition that could have been treated and if she'd known ahead of time the condition existed she would have spent her time within him being more worried that he would die and not just enjoying the time they had. I realize actually having the reader go through various permutations of a theme to get Nora to that point probably wouldn't be interesting for a the reader but it seems like there might be a way to quickly summarize various attempts.
I also didn't really buy her decision she wanted to live after all after the encounter with the polar bear. I understand not wanting to feel pain at death but that's not the same as wanting to live. It's also true that many people who attempt suicide attempt it multiple times before they succeed. So maybe it was part of that cycle. But she didn't actually feel curiosity about all her other lives until several lives later.
Anyway. I know you can change the life you're living and (maybe) make it better is a much more inspirational message than yep, turns out you were just living the wrong life, here, step into this other one or yes, you really did make a decision or decisions in your life that made things worse for yourself and can't be fixed, sucks to be you.
And it's also true that no life is perfect without its ups and downs.
The chapters are short, sometimes no more than a paragraph or even a single sentence, which I found distracting although I understand it also makes it read faster with a sense of urgency.
This isn't a bad book, it just wasn't the one for me and that's okay.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Grief and Suicide attempt
Minor: Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Vomit, Medical content, and Self harm