The Midnight LibraryMatt Haig || Publication Date - 13.08.2020
Imagine
feeling like each decision you have ever made in your life could be
undone and you could experience what your life could have been.
Contemporary | Fiction | Literary
Affiliate Link - https://bookshop.org/a/110173/9780525559498
After struggling to
grasp any real reason to continue being alive, Nora fatefully decides to
end her life. However, this decision opens her up to a world where any
decision she has ever made could be undone. Nora would have the
opportunity to see what life could have been like if she had never made
decisions she regretted in life.
Does this mean Nora will be fulfilled in attempting to fix what she regrets in life? Or will everything remain as dismal as it was before she took this unexpected journey?
The Review (May Contain Spoilers)
This novel was a ride!
From
the beginning I was skeptical. It was taking a long time to get
anywhere and even though the premise made sense, I felt as if it took a
few too many times to actually get to the meaty part of the novel. I did
audibly complain that this book was repetitive, and considering it
brings in the multiverse theory, it felt like groundhog day. I believe
it was the last 100 pages of this novel where things actually started to
move forward with the narrative it was trying to tell, and I do believe
some of the writing could have been cut down to save on being
repetitive.
We get it, she can choose any of the millions of books in her Library and live that life.
That
being said, I loved the writing and the main character Nora. Her messy
life and circumstances made this novel relatable and highlighted real
questions I'm certain everyone has asked themselves when things haven't
gone right.
It was very easy to sit there with her and wonder "What would have happened if I had done this differently".
This book also gave rise to one of my favourite quotes:
"So long as there are still books on the shelves, you are never trapped. Every book is a potential escape."
I've never annotated a book before, and The Midnight Library
was the first I had read which made me want to do it. There were so
many quotes and passages which were fantastic to read and reflect on.
Overall Thoughts
If
you like contemporary fiction, or maybe even like reflecting on life, I
would highly recommend this book to you. It has amazing writing, the
premise is solid and it really has a feel good ending which despite the
content, made me feel as if things are okay even if they're not.
The
novel does touch on mental health issues such as anxiety, depression
and suicide. If this is something you cannot read about or would not be
able to comfortably take in, then this book would not be for you. The
main character does in some passages get very emotional and offloads to
the reader her feelings which could be triggering for some.