The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

The dazzling reader-favorite about the choices that go into a life well lived, from the acclaimed author of How To Stop Time and The Comfort Book.

Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better?

In The Midnight Library, Matt Haig's enchanting blockbuster novel, Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place.

Note: The following review for this book is old and does not meet current review standards. A fully rewritten review is planned.

I feel like there’s two common themes left by many negative reviews for this one, so before I say anything else:

1) This book is a work of fiction and despite it involving themes of depression and suicide, this is by no means a self-help guide for people feeling depressed. Neither should one assume the protag’s feelings or thoughts on the matter are representative for everyone who has ever felt depressed as depression is such a personal and varied thing for people.

2) It’s called The Midnight Library and the library serves as a plot element as well as a metaphor for one’s internal state of mind. Majority of the story does NOT take place in a library and the books are also a metaphor for “what if” scenarios in her life. This is a novel more akin to a drama-based, non-thriller take on the Butterfly Effect, NOT a novel about reading or literature (did they even read the synposis?).

Points aside, I found the concept interesting and the progression of the plot and internal thoughts of the protag be natural and well-paced. Yes some of the “what if” scenarios are predictable and yes, maybe you can predict how the story will end by around the half-way mark in. However there were some plot elements that I didn’t expect (spoiler free but relating to one of the mechanisms involving going to and from each different life scenario) and there are occasional low-key hilarious moments that nicely break up the more heavy themes and moments. I thoroughly enjoyed this and thought the ending was very well-executed despite being familiar (I’ve been on a Matt Haig reading marathon and I’m seeing a trend of strong endings in his novels).