Book Review: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (2020)

For a book that has spent time on the New York Times Bestsellers list, I have to echo the sentiment of one reviewer who wrote on Reddit, “The Midnight Library reads like what someone who has never suffered from depression imagines it to be, and lacks all the intelligence, profundity, and complex thought you can tell the author feels they are ‘blessing’ the readers with.” Scanning reviews of this book seem to indicate the read was life-changing for some readers which I guess could be possible if you’ve never thought about the meaning of your own life until this book came along. 

The story follows the unlikable, wooden-esque Nora, a 30-something English woman whose life is in the drain and decides to kill herself whereupon she finds herself in a library filled with books that tell the story of her other lives, given a multiverse of possibilities had she made different choices or at least choices she didn't regret. Opening those books gives her a chance to live those lives and if satisfying enough, she can choose to remain in a certain life. [Note that Nora slips into the lives without the benefit of remembering what has already happened in that life, which I found ridiculous.] This leads to a completely predictable climax and reminds me of a similar story I wrote ten years ago in which the protagonist – hovering between life and death like Nora does – makes an unexpected choice to resolve their issues. There is no such imagination in The Midnight Library.

Caught up in a state of purgatory, so to speak, the story follows Nora skipping into and out of multiple lives, none of which seem to teach her much of anything (besides the last life she ‘reads’). This leads to the book to feel like a great deal of filler and remarkably devoid of any deep emotion or profound analysis of Nora’s life given the situation and the fact that the character supposedly loves philosophy. (Mind you, I have an actual degree in philosophy so I’m suited to make this criticism.) The praise for this book staggers me, but then let’s remember how many millions of copies Fifty Shades of Grey sold.

Is the book well written? No, and it’s unchallenging to read. Is the book thoughtful? Not particularly. There are a few pithy quotes here and there as if the author had Googled some ruminations on life by a few philosophers. Frankly, those quotes would have been better left out in lieu of Nora thinking deeply about her life choices and how to resolve them. FFS, Nora doesn't even consider there is no life devoid of regrets. Utterly shallow. 

I also want to make one more criticism that stories like this never seem to take into account: the choices other people make in arriving where they are. Stories like The Midnight Library treat their protagonist as if they’re the only real character in the story and everyone else as a chimera or prop to hopefully give the protagonist’s life meaning. The author (and Nora) slip into and out of these lives with no thought for how the choices other people make might affect the main character or take into account how things might be different for other people in a different life. Certainly, we are all the stars of our own lives, but the level of neglect with which the supporting characters are written in this book is criminal. So, too, are the people who praise this book.

Final Score: 5/10