"The Midnight Library" by Matt Haig

Apologies for the hiatus! This summer has been flying by. I got sick almost immediately after finishing The Midnight Library and am still coughing. Between recovering, working, and trying to make the most of a summer (probably for the first time in my life - I've always been an autumn fan but I'm getting sick of not enjoying the sunshine), I just haven't had a lot of writing time.

So, I thought I posted this weeks ago when I originally finished this book. Why it didn't publish, I'm not sure. Anyway, enjoy:

Title: The Midnight Library

Author: Matt Haig

Published: August 2020

Genre: Fiction with some fantastical elements

Pages: 289 (in the paperback edition I read)

Reading Time: Seven hours between two days

Goodreads Rating: 4.01/5 stars

My Rating: 3.5/5 stars (rounded up to 4 on GR)

A depressed woman named Nora attempts to take her own life and in so doing discovers the Midnight Library, a realm between life and death wherein each book contains the story of what would happen if you had made different choices in your "root life." By opening the books, Nora is transported into different versions of herself in real, parallel universes. 

It pains me to say, but this book was a bit of a disappointment. I was honestly bored. The premise really drew me in - I was a huge fan of Kate Atkinson's Life After Life which, if you haven't read it, I recommend you do. To summarize Life After Life, a girl keeps dying at different stages of growing up and each time she does, her timeline resets at her birth and something goes slightly differently to prevent her from dying as she has in previous lives. The protagonist in LAL does not know she is experiencing different versions of her life, though, beyond strange deja-vu impulses that tend toward her self-preservation.

I loved LAL and the premise of Midnight Library felt vaguely reminiscent of it - that guiding question of "what if you had more than one shot at living." I was a bit let down, however, by the extremely limited time Haig gave us in any one of Nora's parallel universes. Some of the alternate lives Nora experiences are very cool, and I wanted to see more of those adventures. She is an Olympic swimmer, a polar scientist, a married proprietor of a successful countryside pub, a mother in a tame, loving family. And those are only the timelines we get a good look at - Haig lists countless short-forms of other lives she tried living, but he never gets into the meat of those lives. 

When a book isn't plot driven (which is my preference), it can sometimes be redeemed for me by stellar characters. Unfortunately, I found the Midnight Library characters and their dynamics archetypal and mundane. You have a woman who is depressed (and frankly quite whiny), the series of male partners you see on Cosmopolitan's "these are the five types of people you'll date in your 20s" articles (assholes, jocks, golden retriever boys, rich boys, you know; the ones you're supposed to endure before meeting "the one"), an old woman who says "dear" a bit too much and shares cryptic wisdom, and complicated relationships with family members. It felt unrelateable. It was neither plot nor character driven. The only reason I read it so fast was because I have a new thriller on my nightstand that I was desperate to get started on, but I knew if I put Midnight Library down I would probably not pick it up again for a while.

Don't get me wrong - the issues I have taken with this book are not inherently bad. Sometimes books with a slow plot and so-so characters hit the spot. Partly, I wanted more action. I'm in a thriller kick right now so most of my reads these days are fast paced and get my blood up. Partly, I think I wanted more subtlety. It went pretty heavy on the life lessons and cringey inspirational monologues like the ones I give to my reflection in the mirror at 2am when I can't sleep and want to unravel the meaning of life. I am all for the idea of a character finding new purpose after gaining perspective, I loved It's a Wonderful Life. But this one had some cliched YA vibes. Again I say, I was just kinda bored. 

All of that being said, it was a single day read. It's short and uncomplicated enough that I don't regret reading it, and would suggest it to friends looking for a light read. I just won't be buying a second copy so I can have a "nice" one and a "loaner one." 

If you made it this far, I hope you enjoyed. I've finished four books between Midnight Library and now, and am working on reviews. Thanks for bearing with me :) 

Cheers,

A