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ceruleanheather 's review for:
The Midnight Library
by Matt Haig
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wasn't sure what to make of this book at first. The beginning was depressing. The middle bits were equal parts fascinating and predictable, but I was captivated nonetheless. The idea that there is a space between life and death where you can look at a book of regrets and then literally try on lives in which you do not have those regrets? Fascinating. The library doesn't seem magical as much as it seems philosophical, which pairs with the protagonist being a student of philosophy herself. I was expecting something a little bit more magical / speculative. However I still enjoyed the book overall. I really liked the writing style. I listened to this on audiobook and the narrator was very enjoyable as well.
"Never underestimate the big importance of small things."
In each life Nora's small choices led to drastically different experiences. She was depressed in her root life, so naturally she first chose to find lives where what she thought made her depressed was different. Then she ended up trying other lives that weren't as different from her root life. In each one she noticed how they make her feel better or worse, and specifically how her outlook began to change. This part almost read like a philosophical self-help book about how our lives are about more than just our choices. Each small thing ended up being important not just for Nora, but for the people in each of her lives as well.
I was genuinely transfixed for a good 80%, but then the life that Nora ends up in for a long bit of time is of course one where she is a mother. Nothing against mothers (I am one myself), but I didn't love the idea that having a child was the one way to feel love and make Nora feel that was the perfect life for her. It was a little bit more complex than that, but her realization about how that was the only life in which she felt love just made me feel odd. Like the author was making a commentary that women can't feel real love until they have a child. I would have probably rated this 3 stars if the story had ended at this point, but thankfully the story did not end there.
Nora finally realizes that even when she has a good life, some of her decisions in the alternate lives affected those around her in negative ways. When she wasn't around to be kind to someone or help someone who had no one else, those people were different. She made a positive difference in the lives of those around her in her root life, but never realized that her small acts of kindness made such a big difference. Even when she made the realization though, she still wanted to choose the life that was best for *her*. A philosophical idea for sure: we are all selfish in the end.
*Spoilers for the end below*
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Even the "perfect life" wasn't enough though, because Nora realized that she didn't make that life. Some other Nora had. Thus Nora finally makes the realization that she wants to live, that she has potential. She wants to be back in her root life, and write her own story. This all begins with her one truth that she finally came to terms with "I am alive."
"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see."
This book definitely makes you think. You can look at your life and only see the bad things, but someone on the outside looks and sees how great your life seems. It is all about perspective. We make our own stories.
"Never underestimate the big importance of small things."
In each life Nora's small choices led to drastically different experiences. She was depressed in her root life, so naturally she first chose to find lives where what she thought made her depressed was different. Then she ended up trying other lives that weren't as different from her root life. In each one she noticed how they make her feel better or worse, and specifically how her outlook began to change. This part almost read like a philosophical self-help book about how our lives are about more than just our choices. Each small thing ended up being important not just for Nora, but for the people in each of her lives as well.
I was genuinely transfixed for a good 80%, but then the life that Nora ends up in for a long bit of time is of course one where she is a mother. Nothing against mothers (I am one myself), but I didn't love the idea that having a child was the one way to feel love and make Nora feel that was the perfect life for her. It was a little bit more complex than that, but her realization about how that was the only life in which she felt love just made me feel odd. Like the author was making a commentary that women can't feel real love until they have a child. I would have probably rated this 3 stars if the story had ended at this point, but thankfully the story did not end there.
Nora finally realizes that even when she has a good life, some of her decisions in the alternate lives affected those around her in negative ways. When she wasn't around to be kind to someone or help someone who had no one else, those people were different. She made a positive difference in the lives of those around her in her root life, but never realized that her small acts of kindness made such a big difference. Even when she made the realization though, she still wanted to choose the life that was best for *her*. A philosophical idea for sure: we are all selfish in the end.
*Spoilers for the end below*
*
*
*
*
*
*
"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see."
This book definitely makes you think. You can look at your life and only see the bad things, but someone on the outside looks and sees how great your life seems. It is all about perspective. We make our own stories.