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A review by ellenconverse
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
5.0
This book took some really difficult conversations (suicide, regrets, lost opportunities) and presented it in a way that was thought-provoking, digestible, and as light as these topics can be. Once I realized the path that Nora was headed on, I was worried about reading the upcoming sadness. While reading about hard topics and tough emotions isn't bad, it wasn't something that I was prepared for or in the mindset for when I picked up this book. Instead, the language Matt Haig chose portrayed Nora deciding not to live in the same way as any of her other past decisions and kept the book light. Haig chose language that handled this sensitive subject respectfully, and in a clean and straightforward way. While it felt odd to have it shown as such a normal conversation, I don't suppose that is a bad thing.
When I told a friend that I had rented this book she told me, “It’s going to mess up your life.” and it really did but in the best way. This book showed that yes, while each life decision we make means closing a door on an alternate decision - the decision isn’t forever gone and our paths are always editable. Holding onto regrets only makes our lives heavier, which makes the regrets feel like they carry more weight in who we turned out to be. When Nora started realizing that she didn’t actually regret things that she had been holding onto for years, she started to enjoy life again and decided that she wanted to continue living. So while this book sent me down a rabbit hole of all the ways my life could be different if I had handled things differently, it also helped me come to peace with where I am and the decisions that I've made. And made me excited about all the future decisions that I have ahead of me!
Sometimes when books have complicated subjects (like shifting in and out of different lives) explaining this all to the reader can feel forced, fake, or rushed through to continue the plot. I enjoyed the way that Haig did this through Nora’s conversations with Hugo. Having the reader begin to understand the complex logistics alongside the main character made it easier to follow and less cumbersome to read through.
Another important aspect to note is that Nora found disappointment in all the lives she tried, even the “dream lives” where she had previously believed would solve all her problems. All lives have problems and in each life she was faced with a different set of problems. Here Haig highlighted that everyone has struggles and that comparing our life to someone’s “perfect life” would still leave us with disappointments.
One of my favorite parts of the story is that when Nora needs to save herself, she does so by writing her own story. By literally picking up a blank book and deciding where and who she wants to be. It strikes right to the core that we have, albeit a limited amount, control over how our life turns out. We get to decide and need to be the ones steering our own story. It was a beautiful and inspiring way to bring Nora’s journey to an end.
This was such a fun book to read and think about. “The Midnight Library” would be a great book club discussion!
When I told a friend that I had rented this book she told me, “It’s going to mess up your life.” and it really did but in the best way. This book showed that yes, while each life decision we make means closing a door on an alternate decision - the decision isn’t forever gone and our paths are always editable. Holding onto regrets only makes our lives heavier, which makes the regrets feel like they carry more weight in who we turned out to be. When Nora started realizing that she didn’t actually regret things that she had been holding onto for years, she started to enjoy life again and decided that she wanted to continue living. So while this book sent me down a rabbit hole of all the ways my life could be different if I had handled things differently, it also helped me come to peace with where I am and the decisions that I've made. And made me excited about all the future decisions that I have ahead of me!
Sometimes when books have complicated subjects (like shifting in and out of different lives) explaining this all to the reader can feel forced, fake, or rushed through to continue the plot. I enjoyed the way that Haig did this through Nora’s conversations with Hugo. Having the reader begin to understand the complex logistics alongside the main character made it easier to follow and less cumbersome to read through.
Another important aspect to note is that Nora found disappointment in all the lives she tried, even the “dream lives” where she had previously believed would solve all her problems. All lives have problems and in each life she was faced with a different set of problems. Here Haig highlighted that everyone has struggles and that comparing our life to someone’s “perfect life” would still leave us with disappointments.
One of my favorite parts of the story is that when Nora needs to save herself, she does so by writing her own story. By literally picking up a blank book and deciding where and who she wants to be. It strikes right to the core that we have, albeit a limited amount, control over how our life turns out. We get to decide and need to be the ones steering our own story. It was a beautiful and inspiring way to bring Nora’s journey to an end.
This was such a fun book to read and think about. “The Midnight Library” would be a great book club discussion!