The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig
Books - journal entry #8
The Midnight Library
Author - Matt Haig
Page/Word Count - 304 pages, about 81.9 K words
Awards
New York Times Bestseller
Original Publisher(s) - Canongate Books
Original Publication Date - August 2020
(bad) Synopsis
Existential dread??? In MY library??? It’s more likely than you think.
Notes/Opinion
Genuinely, why does this book have so many haters??? Maybe some of you guys already hate it and are not even reading my little review.
Like, it’s not even my favorite book of all time or anything, but some people treat it like it’s the most patronizing shit ever.
The thing is, I don’t even love The Midnight Library with all my heart or anything. It is flawed; unsubtle and perhaps a little corny. The ending could’ve been done better, for example. Heck, at some point the protagonist literally says the words “I’m wallowing in self-pity”. Can’t pretend I loved that.
But come on! It’s not that bad!
“Self-help disguised as a novel” see, I don’t think that’s completely fair.
Anyway, moving on to my actual opinion, I think The Midnight Library was alright; empathetic and oddly comforting. I like the way all these parallel universes are handled, how these places are human simplifications of something greater.
Whether scientific or religious or a bit of both, that’s up for debate.
It taps into the influence of our choices on others, because sometimes we believe ourselves to exist in a vacuum, and assume the things we do have no effect on others whatsoever. It’s a very philosophical book about coping with regret, and what makes a life worth living.
Honestly, it makes a lot of sense that Nora ends up choosing her “root life”, the original one she was trying to end in the beginning. Most of us don’t get the chance to see how our lives would’ve played out if we’d done something different, and that’s the point. We have to live with these regrets, we have to move on from them and actually commit to the one life we have been given. We must stand by our choices.
It sucks, obviously, and yet it’s the best lesson you could teach to the average person who’ll never get to experience their own version of The Midnight Library. I’ve been in a situation like Nora’s for what seems like years now. I’ve also hated my life, I’ve also been haunted by regrets and the need to head somewhere, stick with something.
Personally, I’ve been thinking a lot about my legacy and my career. You know, ideally you want something that not only pays enough to live, but allows you to make an impact in the world. Most people have several paths that they could choose.
In my case, I love writing, and at the moment it’s the thing I’m doing more or less consistently, but what if I never make it? What if I spend years trying to make a living out of it (because you can’t just give it a couple days) and it never happens? That’s a real possibility.
Someone said the author of this book doesn’t understand depression, while at the same time really wanting to cure it. See, I don’t think this book is about depression. It’s about life: the only one we get, and the one we have have to go about blindly, whether we like it or not.
It’s a kind request to live, fully and on purpose, without worrying too much about the measures used to define a life’s value. Maybe you think it’s corny and poorly executed, maybe when you read this it felt as good as some stranger asking you to smile, but personally I appreciated Matt Haig’s encouragement.
The Midnight Library was possibly an attempt from the author to, precisely, make his own existence a bit more meaningful, and cope with fears he himself has felt at some point. If that’s the case, I have to respect that. If it can help others, even better.
Have you read this one already, and if so did you like it? Have you ever been worried about wasting your life, or never being able to give it meaning?
Feel free to tell me in the comments!
Sources: Google, Wikipedia