I’m quite behind on my reads for the year. In February I had planned to read The Midnight Library, All Systems Red and In the Midst of Winter (currently in the middle of the last one). It’s still very much winter up here in Ontario, Canada so I’m okay with indulging wintery reads for a bit longer.
The Midnight Library, I have to say, did surprise me. I’ve written here before that I tend to go into books knowing only a basic idea of what it’s going to be about. I don’t plan on changing that as it really helps me with surprise elements. That said, I expected the library to ‘contain many lives’. And that’s about it. That alone drew me in.
What It’s Actually About
This is a book about depression, about internal struggle and a search for reasons to keep living. It’s a book about purpose and yearning, to find that one thing we’re meant to be here for. There were several times while reading The Midnight Library that I had to put it down to sob. Because for me, life hasn’t been clear-cut and it’s been far from simple. Knowing what I should do, knowing who I should be with or what reason there could be for me to stick around – these are thoughts I regularly do struggle with.
The Midnight Library’s main protagonist, Nora Seed, is trying her best with the options she’s given. She doesn’t feel like she has many left. I found it honestly inspiring as she leapt from life to life, giving things a chance she knew she likely couldn’t do now, but at one point was brilliant at. Nora also struggles with her relationships, including family. While life hopping she discovers that there are multiple outcomes to her sibling relationship, but all the other ones, too.
Of course the premise of the book is in possibility. Chances we can give ourselves lurk in the corners of our heart, mind and reality. Haig uses quantum physics to give us this glimpse into Nora’s possible lives. It’s odd to think that nowadays scientists are accepting of concepts we thought were only science fiction for much of the latter 20th century. The multiverse is real? And yet, there’s so much you can do with that in art and fiction. Heck, there’s so much you can do with that psychologically, for yourself.
What if the you that you ache to be is already out there? Living their full lives. What if you could both let go of the pressure to be something more and also accept that you could, at the same time?
Writing Style and Literary Merit
While I did really like the book, it was hard to read at points, because there’s nothing artful about the writing. There isn’t anything happening in the words, nothing to invite you to play with language, just a bland telling of a good plot. Some of the characters are obvious caricatures and most are two dimensional at best. I found this quite surprising as I read, since the book is highly praised by every reader whose read it, it seems. It’s disappointing for me, because I did want to read more of Matt Haig’s work. This likely won’t happen, since there’s always someone out there who can write well and tell a good story.
If you read this, what did you think of it? Feel free to discuss with me in the comments!
If you haven’t read it yet and would like to, you can get a copy at Bookshop.org and support independent bookstores across the USA, or if you’re in Canada you can get it at Book Outlet.
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