The Midnight Library Book Review

Book review by Dinh.

Review:

I was thrilled to read The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, which was the winner of Goodreads Choice Award for fiction

I had previously read How To Stop Time (which I enjoyed immensely), and The Radleys, by Haig so I knew his style of writing.

The Midnight Library has been a very popular read and is still being recommended by readers.

So, does it live up to its expectation? Is it worth checking out? The short answer is yes!

Here’s why you should check it out.

Story Line

The first thing that piqued my interest was the story line. The premise of the book is that there’s a library at the edge of the universe which has an infinite number of books which are different realities of your life.

Nora Seed, our protagonist goes to the Midnight Library and has choices to make. Which life does she want to live? What life will make her happy and fulfilled?

I also liked that the genre is a combination of contemporary fiction and fantasy.

Author’s Style

Haig’s style of writing is very easy to read.

The chapters are short and there’s a lot of dialogue so you’ll be turning the pages quickly.

Moreover, the book is under 300 pages (kindle version) so it’s a quick read.

Although the book contains some difficult themes, I did find it light reading. Nora goes into an alternate version of her life and based on what life she chose she learned something about herself.

Whilst some of the alternative realities of Nora’s life seem predictable, I did think that it made sense to have it included. You have to flesh out the ideas behind the premise.

Lastly, Haig does a great job in bringing to our attention the issues of mental health, depression, anxiety and suicide. I liked how he showed Nora’s life being a child, what her dreams were, and how she ended up at the Midnight Library. Good or bad, what choices we make set us on life’s path that can have few or many regrets.

Find Matt Haig: Website | Facebook | Twitter |

Characters

Haig does a good job of developing Nora’s character.

As a child, the world was her oyster. She could swim well, she was interested in glaciers and was in a band. Somehow, along the journey of her life, things happened and Nora made choices that led to regrets.

Ending

I enjoyed the ending. It’s what I would have expected. Though it’s predictable it was the only ending I thought made sense. Nora understood what it means to live and we learn the moral of the story.

My Final Thoughts:

I really enjoyed reading The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. It’s an interesting story that makes you think about life in general and what makes a fulfilling life.

Get your copy here. Or, listen to the audio book for free with an Audible trial.

Belong to a book club? Check out The Midnight Library Book Club Discussion Questions.