Book Review: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

The Midnight Library was a 2020 book release by bestselling author Matt Haig. With the Midnight Library Matt Haig combines literary fiction with elements of fantasy and time travel.

I’d been wanting to read The Midnight Library for a while before I managed to get my hands on a copy. I love Matt Haig’s mental health work and my kids have a few of his books, including A Boy Called Christmas which is featured in my post on the best Christmas books for older children.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick and was also featured on BBC’s Between the Covers. It was hugely popular and was winner of the Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction.

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Genre: General Fiction

Author: Matt Haig

Buy: Amazon | Waterstones

Published: 2020

Plot

When Nora decides she wants to die and attempts to take her own life, she finds herself transported to The Midnight Library.

The library is a stop-gap between life and death, where the time is always stuck on midnight. The library is full of books, each one containing the infinite different paths Nora could have taken in life.

Upon opening the book she is transferred to the parallel world, created by a choice she had previously made. With the help of an old friend, she revisits regrets and takes different paths to discover what her life could have been.

However, some of her choices place the library and herself in danger. Before time runs out, she must answer the ultimate question: with infinite choices, what is the best way to live?

The Midnight Library Book Review

The Midnight Library was described by Jodi Picoult as “It’s a Wonderful Life for the modern age”. With it being my all-time favourite film I was so sure I was going to love The Midnight Library. As I said earlier I’d wanted to read this book for a while.

However, I can’t help feeling that I wanted to enjoy it more than I actually did.

I loved the premise and enjoyed seeing the different parallel lives Nora could have been living. It perfectly displayed the different directions our lives could take depending on our choices.

I also loved how the story highlighted the impact one life can have on many others, as with George Bailey in It’s A Wonderful Life.

However, I found the book to be lacking something. It’s hard to explain why I found it disappointing, perhaps my expectations were just too high.

I found some of the dialogue a little unbelievable and the book felt a little slow in places. I usually enjoy Matt Haig’s work so I felt a little disloyal to not love it as much as I hoped. Having said that, it did make me think and talk about the themes within the book.

Overall, I enjoyed some aspects of The Midnight Library and the intention behind it. The message was clear, one of hope and self-acceptance. I understand so many people have taken comfort from it which is far more important than any disappointment I may have felt.