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artemistics 's review for:
The Midnight Library
by Matt Haig
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i have a thing about the very popular, 1946 classic hollywood film it's a wonderful life, about a man played by handsome james stewart, whose life sucks so bad he tries to commit suicide—only for a guardian angel to intervene and show him from an outsider perspective several events in his own life that end up making him realize the positive impact his existence has had on others. in short: no man is a failure who has friends. (sorry for spoiling an 80 year old film, by the way.) i watched it for the very first time when i was a teenager, severely depressed and vaguely suicidal; it made me absolutely fucking miserable in a way that was probably counterproductive to the movie's messaging about how you shouldn't kill yourself, actually. in a way, the midnight library by matt haig is not unlike the frank capra classic. this novel follows a depressed woman, nora, after she attempts suicide and is stuck in some sort of limbo that takes the shape of an endless library, available for nora to browse through her regrets and try living the lives of several different noras spread across the multiverse: olympic swimmer, rockstar, bar owner, mother, wife, explorer, until she realizes she actually does want to live. you get the gist pretty much at the 5% mark.
obviously, the midnight library is an anti-suicide book. this is not a spoiler—it is practically advertised as such. by all accounts, i should fall somewhere within the net of its target audience: depressed, likely to emphasize with nora, undecided about my future and interests and in need of some catharsis. i guess i could call the book successful in being anti-suicide, if only because it made me less suicidal by virtue of making me feel insufferable for being depressed in the first place. there is a certain woe-is-me framing around nora's depression that feels victimizing and pitiful, or like it wants to be, that when nora puts into words her suicidal feelings, words that i myself have thoght about before at some of the lowest points of my life, all i can think is: jesus, this is what i fucking sound like? no thank you!
i'm not sure the midnight library is offensive; i can't say it's harmful, like i have some moral reason to think this is bad. mostly, its biggest crime is how boring and shallow it is, completely failing at captivating my attention. nothing feels thought through more than in passing, to a point that it sometimes irked me (especially the rockstar life—i've read band AU fanfiction that feels less stupid than the rockstar life). i'm sure this can be helpful and enjoyable and even comforting to some people, but i would much rather push readers in the direction of countless other books that deal with this topic in ways that are moving and also check the bare minimum of being entertaining.
i don't rewatch it's a wonderful life during christmastime. it is fairly easy, however, to find the final scene on my twitter timeline making the rounds in late december, and i always watch the video in full to see george bailey run like mad to reunite with his family as the entire towns floods their home and they welcome the new year with "auld lang syne" and george's angel lets him know that, again: no man is a failure who has friends. i cannot even describe that scene without unshed tears burning my eyes, which, really, is pretty much the main reason why i don't rewatch it's a wonderful life, and it's a compliment to the movie, i think.
i don't see myself myself thinking about the midnight library kind of ever again after hitting post on this review, which is not a compliment.
obviously, the midnight library is an anti-suicide book. this is not a spoiler—it is practically advertised as such. by all accounts, i should fall somewhere within the net of its target audience: depressed, likely to emphasize with nora, undecided about my future and interests and in need of some catharsis. i guess i could call the book successful in being anti-suicide, if only because it made me less suicidal by virtue of making me feel insufferable for being depressed in the first place. there is a certain woe-is-me framing around nora's depression that feels victimizing and pitiful, or like it wants to be, that when nora puts into words her suicidal feelings, words that i myself have thoght about before at some of the lowest points of my life, all i can think is: jesus, this is what i fucking sound like? no thank you!
i'm not sure the midnight library is offensive; i can't say it's harmful, like i have some moral reason to think this is bad. mostly, its biggest crime is how boring and shallow it is, completely failing at captivating my attention. nothing feels thought through more than in passing, to a point that it sometimes irked me (especially the rockstar life—i've read band AU fanfiction that feels less stupid than the rockstar life). i'm sure this can be helpful and enjoyable and even comforting to some people, but i would much rather push readers in the direction of countless other books that deal with this topic in ways that are moving and also check the bare minimum of being entertaining.
i don't rewatch it's a wonderful life during christmastime. it is fairly easy, however, to find the final scene on my twitter timeline making the rounds in late december, and i always watch the video in full to see george bailey run like mad to reunite with his family as the entire towns floods their home and they welcome the new year with "auld lang syne" and george's angel lets him know that, again: no man is a failure who has friends. i cannot even describe that scene without unshed tears burning my eyes, which, really, is pretty much the main reason why i don't rewatch it's a wonderful life, and it's a compliment to the movie, i think.
i don't see myself myself thinking about the midnight library kind of ever again after hitting post on this review, which is not a compliment.