This is a book review of The Midnight Library by Matt Haig with minor spoilers.
I had a lot of hope for this book and… I see why some people absolutely love and other people absolutely hate it.
The Facts
Author: Matt Haig
Release Date: August 13, 2020
Genre: Science/philosophical fiction
Main Character: Nora Seed
Number of Pages: 288
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
What I Loved
The best thing about this book is the length of the chapters. It makes everything feel very straight to the point without veering from the storyline.
I was not expecting Nora to meet someone who was going through the same experience. That someone is a man named Hugo, who Nora had disappointing sex with, which sent her back to the library. The only hilarious moment in the book.
Recently, I’ve had so many of my high school students tell me to exercise my free will. Then, funnily enough, I read about it when Nora’s music store boss, Neil, says, “‘We all have choices, Nora. There’s such a thing as free will.'” Truthfully, I found a few great quotes throughout the book, and only one of them came from the main character (when she was a successful swimmer): “‘If you aim to be something you are not, you will always fail. Aim to be you. Aim to look and act and think like you. Aim to be the truest version of you. Embrace that you-ness. Endorse it. Love it. Work hard at it. And don’t give a second thought when people mock it or ridicule it. Most gossip is envy in disguise.'”
What I... Didn't
I remember not liking The Cinnamon Bun Bookstore book (can’t remember the exact title… or author) because it used apostrophes instead of quotation marks. This book has shown me that might be a UK thing; it still scratches the wrong part of my brain (I’ve been Americanized).
In one of the worlds she travels to, her husband was giving her the third degree about different people. It was both stressing me out and pissing me off.
This is one of the smallest details, but causing harm to dogs with cigarettes (page 197) warrants an immediate middle finger from me.
Also, Nora was insufferable. I know she’s depressed, but you can be depressed and not be insufferable.
Final Thoughts
The quantum physics discussion kind of shifted the tone of the book and immediately made me think of Ant-Man. Part of my brain stayed on Ant-Man for a good portion of the book after the initial quantum physics discussion.
This book taught me that earwax is a type of sweat, something I never knew. It also inadvertently told me I should read Henry David Thoreau. Lastly, it provided a good example of trying too hard to write a deep and meaningful book, especially with an ending that is such a let down.
Low key… this is a book I think I would like better as a movie, which is a rarity for me.
"'Places are places and memories are memories and life is fucking life.'"
