Skip to main content

Matt Haig: The Midnight Library

 I picked this book up on Audible because it was one that I'd heard a lot about. I've had a couple of students read it over the years, and it sounded really interesting.

Nora Seed wanted to die. Her life was utterly hopeless: her brother hated her, she had no friends, she lost her job, her cat died, she'd turned down every opportunity that had ever come her way. After attempting suicide, Nora finds herself in a giant library, accompanied by her grade school librarian Mrs. Elm. Mrs. Elm explains to Nora that the books in this library contain every possible life she could ever have possibly lived in, and invites her to undo all of her regrets. Once she found the one that she was most content in, Mrs. Elm explained, she would simply stay there forever. Can Nora overcome her desire to die and find the perfect life?

I loved the overall message of this book: that the life you have is a life worth living. This is what Nora finds after all of the lives she chooses to experience. This overarching theme is obvious, and clearly the point the author wanted to get across to his readers.

I loved the development of Nora's character throughout the book. I thought that Haig's discussion of depression and mental health was key to this. I didn't see Nora as whiney, like some other books, but I felt that he really tried to capture the utter hopelessness that hits a person when they start to have suicidal ideation. Nora feels completely alone and isolated, and sees this as her only way out. I loved how each life that she experiences starts to slowly shift her perspective, and how the last life that she chose focused in even more on that character development.

This story was expertly constructed. I felt that each progressive decision that Nora makes highlights her growth and development as a character. This is a very character driven story, and I enjoyed how real Nora felt. I liked the logical building of the plot, focusing on the regrets that Nora wanted to undo. I liked the realism of focusing on her biggest regrets first, and was fascinated that (while perhaps a bit obviously) they didn't fix all of her problems like she imagined they would.

My one real complaint with the book was that it was a tad predictable. I figured out fairly early on that she would return to her root life, and that idea only became more obvious to me the further in I read. By the end of her last life, I really had it figured out. She runs across her piano student who was being arrested, and realizes that she had a significant impact on his life. She also meets her old neighbor, who she'd never helped in this version of her life, and so, he'd ended up in a retirement home, and dreadfully unhappy. Once that happened, I knew that I'd guessed correctly, and she does end up returning to her root life. I wasn't sure how Haig would make that possible, but the outcome was not surprising to me.

Other than the predictability of how the story would end up, I did really enjoy this book. The Audible version is also really well done, and I loved the narrator.

I gave this book ⭐⭐⭐⭐

PG-13 rating for discussions of suicide, drug overdose, sexual themes, language



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2022 Reading in Review

 I thought it might be fun to look at my reading challenge from last year and look at what I enjoyed the most. I picked my top 5 favorite books from 2022 to highlight one more time. Choosing only five was actually more difficult than I imagined, since I had a lot of favorites. It was also hard to rank them if I'm completely honest, but here is my list! #5 - The Girl Who Drank the Moon  by Kelly Barnhill I loved this book. I loved the whimsical storytelling style and the plot. I loved the characters and how they were developed. I loved how the author carefully crafted the foreshadowing and how she carefully guided you through the mystery of Xan's memories. Overall, this book was so well written. Even though it was a middle grade book, I found myself unable to put it down. #4 - I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys If you've followed my blog, then you probably know that I don't usually care much for Ruta Septys's writing. It's not that I dislike the stories she tells,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Prince Harry: Spare

 My coworkers were all reading this, and I have to say that I'm fascinated by the royal family, so I gave into temptation and listened to this on Audible. Listening to the audio book was totally the way to go, since Prince Harry reads it himself. Spare  by Prince Harry is a heartbreaking memoir outlining Harry's treatment by the British tabloids. He outlines his experiences with the tabloids from the time his mother died until his departure from the royal family. This fascinating memoir gives an inside look into the workings of the royal family, and their relationships with the press. The memoir certainly makes it look as if all is not well in the house of Windsor, and attempts to set the record straight (from Harry's perspective) of what happened among the family members. Overall, I did enjoy this book. I loved the way Harry writes (and because I listened to it, the way he reads). I found his descriptions of events and places beautiful, and wish I could use it in AP! His p...
Post a Comment
Read more

T. J. Klune: The House in the Cerulean Sea

I was finally able to finish a book! Things with the baby got crazy and I wasn't able to finish this before he came, but I've finally settled in and have gotten back to reading. It will take me a little while to finish another book. Next on my list is Ruta Septys' new book I Will Betray You . The House in the Cerulean Sea  by T.J. Klune felt distinctly Harry Potter -esque. Linus Baker is a case worker for DICOMY - the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He visits orphanages and seeks to help the kids he observes with the utmost objectivity, never getting attached nor revisiting the cases to see what ultimately happens to the children. He leads a dull and dreary existence with his small house, his monogrammed pajamas, obnoxious neighbor, and unusual cat, Calliope. That all changes when he is summoned by Extremely Upper Management and sent on a secret assignment to the most unusual orphanage Linus has ever seen. There, he meets the most unusual children, and possibly the m...
Post a Comment
Read more