Review of 'The Midnight Library' by Matt Haig

Premise: 

Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices . . . Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets? A novel about all the choices that go into a life well lived.

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?

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.

Review:

 It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.

The Midnight Library is a book that gained lots of popularity recently, so you’ve probably at least heard of it, if not know the general summary by now. Most of the reviews of this book I’ve seen are either that it was mid or that it was amazing. It took me a while to get into it but here’s my thoughts!

Writing Quality/Style: The writing style is somewhat surreal, but my first impression of it was that the diction often seemed a bit repetitive and formal, as though the writing was done by a little kid attempting to sound professional. I suppose I got used to it, though, because I slowly stopped noticing after several chapters. 

The writing style gets very philosophical, especially since the main character herself majored in Philosophy and is passionate about it. I loved the frequent quotes about life from philosophers and how it connected to whatever was going on in the story at that moment. Unfortunately, the author often made a habit of telling, not showing, through the writing.

Worldbuilding: Since Nora is constantly switching and exploring alternate lives throughout the book, there isn’t a constant setting besides the Midnight Library which she always comes back to. The Midnight Library was described in an ethereal way. Here’s an example:

“The place was well lit, and the floor was light stone – somewhere
between light yellow and camel-brown, like the color of an old page – but
the windows she had seen on the outside weren’t there on the inside. In fact,
even though she had only taken a few steps forward she could no longer see
the walls at all. Instead, there were bookshelves. Aisles and aisles of shelves,
reaching up to the ceiling and branching off from the broad open corridor…
The books were everywhere, on shelves so thin they might as well have
been invisible.”

The idea of an interim world existing, and it being a library, was fascinating. It was also a nice touch to make the interim world different for each person. It was a library for Nora, but for other people, it could be a video store or a restaurant or a theater, and so on. 

Plot: At the very beginning of the story, things are going bad for Nora immediately: she gets fired, her cat dies, an old band member blames her for their band falling apart, the old man she buys medicine for tells her that she’s not needed anymore, her only piano student quits, she finds out her brother’s in town but hasn’t contacted her, etc. She’s obviously undergoing depression. 

So, she’s faced with all these final straws and decides to commit suicide. Soon after, she finds herself in the Midnight Library, a place where she can experience what her life could’ve been like if she had made a different choice. 

This concept of parallel universes and being able to experience different versions of your life if you had simply made a different decision was riveting. However, it was a bit off putting that all of the alternate lives that Nora experienced seemed too perfect. 

When she undid her regret of not continuing swimming, she became an Olympic swimmer. When she undid her regret of leaving her band, she became a world famous pop star. When she undid her regret of not pursuing a career in glaciology, she became one of the select few who actually got to study glaciers in Svalbard. 

Of course, exploring the full potential of alternate lives was the point, but it was still a bit far-fetched to believe that she could’ve been so successful in every aspect of her life, if she had just decided to do it. 

Character Development/Complexity: Nora Seed definitely undergoes character development throughout the novel. As said before, she starts off with dealing with depression and is bearing the weight of so many regrets. Throughout the story, as she slowly realizes that there’s no point in regretting what could have been, she sheds off her regrets, one by one, until she’s able to overcome her mental health problems and look at life with a new perspective.  

Plot Twists: This book didn’t have many plot twists. In fact, there wasn’t much that was surprising. Every alternate life that Nora explored was expected because the reader knows right from the beginning of the story what her biggest regrets were. 

While it was interesting to find out how her life would unfold if she had made different choices, the lives itself that she chose weren’t a surprise at all. 

Additionally, the author tried to create a sense of concern or urgency by adding danger in the library. However, this didn’t work; I didn’t care much about the potential dangers Nora was in, largely because she herself did not care.

Intrigue: The first thirty pages or so were hard for me to get through because of lack of interest, but once Nora actually arrives at the library and chooses a life she wants to explore for the first time, the pacing picks up and so did my interest. 

When I first started reading the book, I didn’t really want to continue, and if I had stopped there, I probably would’ve given the book 3 or 2.5 out of five. Of course, I’m glad I continued, but for those who don’t like slow-paced stories, you’ll have to wait for a while. 

Overall, this was a good book. It was also a quick read, once I got into it. While it was a bit predictable, it was also very touching. I especially recommend this book for those who like the concept of parallel universes and philosophy, but I think this is a book that everyone should read at least once. This character-driven book is for ages 15+. I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

~ Candria

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