When the main character of your current book dies by the time you reach page 22, you start to question your reading choices…

Umm SPOILER?!

Ye have little faith. No, not a spoiler. The Midnight Library is all about the end of life and the beginning of many different ones. Before you read any further, please be aware that there will be some triggering content mentioned throughout this review and, obviously, in the book if you decide to read it. If you’re uncomfortable with a storyline heavily set in severe depression and suicide, then I suggest not reading any further. Go on, click the “back” button. I won’t be offended.

So, what about this library that opens at midnight?

Not a real library. No open or close times. Long story short, it’s basically purgatory. BUT does anyone know what we actually do in purgatory? In Matt Haig’s story, it’s about facing all of your regrets.

All of them?

ALL OF THEM. The book follows Norma, who’s had a pretty rough go of it lately. In a single day she experiences the following (and again, it all happens in the first 22 pages, so these are barely spoilers): The ex she left at the alter pops back into her life, she gets fired, she sees an old friend who still doesn’t forgive her for ruining his music dreams, a current friend ghosts her, she’s reminded by an old classmate of how she quit swimming and missed her chance to go to the Olympics years ago, she gets fired from her second job, oh and her fucking cat dies.

Holy hell.

YUP. So let’s get this out of the way. This is not an easy read. The entire book is like a Chuck Norris–type kick to the feels. Norma enters the “Midnight Library” and is given the chance to experience all of the lives she missed out on based on the decisions she’s made throughout her life. How does one even keep track of ALL those decisions (big and small) that altered the direction of her life? Well, they’re all in a giant book. Can you imagine? Every single regret in a Brandon Sanderson–sized fantasy novel? No, thank you. So Norma has to choose a different path until she settles on one she’d rather continue on with—or truly die as she intended.

“So you see? Sometimes regrets aren’t based an fact at all. Sometimes regrets are just…a load of bullshit.”

How many lives does she “try”?

Tons. Which also makes this a stressful read. When Norma is thrown into a different life, no one else knows what the hell is going on except for her, so she normally finds herself in some pretty tricky/awkward situations. (The Midnight Library doesn’t seem to give a fuck about this and the awkwardness it’s creating for her, but just like the real world, she just needs to figure it out.) For example, in one life she’s a famous rockstar and “wakes up” a few moments before she has to take the stage to perform an encore song. The problem is, she doesn’t know the song she’s already written. So she’s about to perform in front of thousands not knowing a single lyric. These types of scenarios occur often and my anxiety just went through the roof, because of course I replaced Norma with myself and forgot it was a fictional story and it wasn’t real but omg I would just melt to the ground and never get back up…

Are you okay?

Totally. Moving on. I don’t claim to be an expert on the effects of depression or how it should be properly represented in books, but I do think Haig did a great job. He doesn’t stray away from the hurt or the pain, and there’s no sugar coating. I think to shy away from the intensity of her darkest moments and inner thoughts would have done her character an injustice, as well as, the real-life readers who might suffer from similar thoughts and feelings. But the sadness is balanced well with Norma’s sense of humor and the more joyful discoveries she makes throughout her bizarre journey. Haig’s novel dives into the effects of loss, insecurities, and self-doubt, and that the light at the end of the tunnel is always there—even if you can’t see it with the naked eye.

Would you recommend this?

1000%. Everyone can relate to Norma’s story in some way. Some in more serious ways than others. The ending is a little predictable, but that in no way takes away from its impactfulness. Asking ourselves those “what if” questions is normal. Think about it…you do it way more than you think. Norma finds herself in positions of major success and massive downfalls, but it just goes to show that she was capable of it all. And so are we.

Too lazy to check Goodreads? I got you:

Title: The Midnight Library
Author: Matt Haig
Series: None
Pages: 288 (hardback)
Publish Date: September 29, 2020

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