Adult

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig – Book Review

Fantasy, Contemporary, Mental Health

Rating

Goodreads:

4.13

Novel Fables:

5/5

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Book Review

The Midnight Library

Matt Haig

5/5

Fantasy, Contemporary, Mental Health

(The above links for Amazon and Kobo are affiliate links & I earn a small commission if you purchase a book through them)

The Midnight Library

Matt Haig

5/5

Buy a copy:

The above link(s) for Amazon and/or Kobo are affiliate links & I earn a small commission if you purchase a book through them at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support.

"

“It is easy to mourn the lives we aren't living. Easy to wish we'd developed other other talents, said yes to different offers. Easy to wish we'd worked harder, loved better, handled our finances more astutely, been more popular, stayed in the band, gone to Australia, said yes to the coffee or done more bloody yoga. It takes no effort to miss the friends we didn't make and the work we didn't do the people we didn't do and the people we didn't marry and the children we didn't have. It is not difficult to see yourself through the lens of other people, and to wish you were all the different kaleidoscopic versions of you they wanted you to be. It is easy to regret, and keep regretting, ad infinitum, until our time runs out. But it is not lives we regret not living that are the real problem. It is the regret itself. It's the regret that makes us shrivel and wither and feel like our own and other people's worst enemy. We can't tell if any of those other versions would of been better or worse. Those lives are happening, it is true, but you are happening as well, and that is the happening we have to focus on.”

Synopsis

Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices . . . Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets? A dazzling novel about all the choices that go into a life well lived, from the internationally bestselling author of Reasons to Stay Alive and How To Stop Time. Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better? In The Midnight Library, Matt Haig’s enchanting new novel, Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place.

Review

I got this from the library since I was hesitant to purchase it. Mostly because it’s super popular on Bookstagram, and most popular books have been a miss for me. That said, I went into this one with low expectations, but I’m happy to say I’m not disappointed.

I’ll describe The Midnight Library as two books that I love mashed into one: Dark Matter meets A Man Called Ove.

This is like a fictional, entertaining self-help book. I loved the little bits of philosophical ideologies packed into this story; I adore introspective books that evoke thought and feelings, and this more than delivered. Given the state of the world right now (being locked away at home, trying to ride out a pandemic), I didn’t realize how much I needed this book in my life. It brightened my days and pulled me out of a funk.

Aside from the philosophical aspects, the plot was interesting. Fun at times; sad at others. I laughed. I cried. I experienced a roller coaster of emotion. I felt all the feels.

I will be picking up more of Matt Haig if this book is any indication of what to expect from his other works!

Best,

Ashley

From novelfables.com

Buy now:

(The above link(s) are affiliate links & I earn a small commission if you purchase a book through them on Amazon or Kobo's websites.)​

“It is easy to mourn the lives we aren't living. Easy to wish we'd developed other other talents, said yes to different offers. Easy to wish we'd worked harder, loved better, handled our finances more astutely, been more popular, stayed in the band, gone to Australia, said yes to the coffee or done more bloody yoga. It takes no effort to miss the friends we didn't make and the work we didn't do the people we didn't do and the people we didn't marry and the children we didn't have. It is not difficult to see yourself through the lens of other people, and to wish you were all the different kaleidoscopic versions of you they wanted you to be. It is easy to regret, and keep regretting, ad infinitum, until our time runs out. But it is not lives we regret not living that are the real problem. It is the regret itself. It's the regret that makes us shrivel and wither and feel like our own and other people's worst enemy. We can't tell if any of those other versions would of been better or worse. Those lives are happening, it is true, but you are happening as well, and that is the happening we have to focus on.”

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