One of my favorite tropes of all time is books with bookish themes. I love when the main character is a big reader, the setting is some magical library, or the plot revolves around a haunted book. Therefore, any story I come across that has to do with bookish themes is immediately added to my TBR. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig was one of those books. As soon as I learned it was about a magical library that existed between life and death, I was intrigued.
I don’t know what it is about bookish books, but they bring me so much comfort. Maybe its simply because I like reading about characters that are similar to me. However, I think it might be due to the brilliant and accurate way authors are able to describe books. Authors are book lovers after all and that definitely translates into their work.
All of this is to say, there is nothing more joyful and comforting than reading books with bookish themes, I love it! I am actively looking for more bookish book recommendations!
Although the themes in The Midnight Library by Matt Haig were a little darker than I was anticipating, this book still made me think, which is hard in the days of short attention spans brought on by social media. This book had an impact on me and made me think long after I finished the last page.
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Title: The Midnight Library
Author: Matt Haig
Publisher: Viking
Publish Date: September 29, 2020
Genre: Fantasy, Magical Realism
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Book Review of The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
3/5 Stars
As I mentioned, The Midnight Library by Matt Haig revolves around a bookish theme. This story is about a magical library that sits between life and death. In this library, you can see all your regrets laid out in a book in front of you. You can also see other versions of yourself that would have been made possible had you made different decisions while you were alive. You can even live within these lives, and experience them firsthand.
Before I start with this book review, I would definitely recommend checking out the trigger warnings for The Midnight Library. You can click here to be taken directly to them at the bottom of this post. You can also find comprehensive lists by googling, “trigger warnings for The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.”
The concept alone made me want to read this book. Being able to see all the different versions of my life sounds both intriguing and terrifying. I don’t think I would want my regrets laid out in front of me in writing, but the idea of getting to live alternate lives does sound exciting.
Because of this interesting and unique plot, getting to experience all the various versions of life, I was almost forced to pause. Matt Haig was able to make me stop and think about my own life in relation to the story, which is one of the most exciting things as a reader. Although I read a lot of books for escapism, sometimes it is nice to have a book that makes you analyze yourself.
Another thing I appreciate about this story was that it discusses very dark concepts, like mental health and suicide, but in a way that is accessible. It made me think about my own life, my own regrets, and how I want to live the rest of my life. I thought about my mental health and the reasons behind it. It was very powerful in that sense, which is why I wouldn’t recommend reading this book if you are not in a place to analyze these things.
Despite all of these positive aspects of this book, I did end up giving it 3 stars. The reason for this is, I think everything that was said in The Midnight Library could have been said in a short story. I don’t think the author needed 300 pages to make the points that they wanted to make.
It became a little repetitive and boring after a while. Watching the main character, Nora, visit all her alternate lives was exciting for the first two times, but then it felt like I was reading the same thing over and over again. Honestly, I got a little bit bored.
However, once we got through this, and to the end of the story, my enjoyment picked back up. The ending of the story felt heart-warming and inspirational. It was a good ending despite everything the main character went through. Not necessarily a happy ending… yet. But it was good. What can I say, I like a nice ending.
Overall, this story felt powerful in its ability to make readers think. Although it felt a little repetitive, I appreciated what the author was trying to do, and enjoyed the process of getting there.
TLDR: 5 Reasons You Should Read The Midnight Library
- There is a magical library where characters can experience an infinite amount of alternate versions of their lives.
- It makes readers think about their own life and choices.
- There is one main character that you learn a lot about by going deep into their life and personality.
- The main character goes on some fun adventures throughout her journey.
- Heart-warming ending that put a smile on my face and makes the dark themes a little easier to digest.
Content Warnings for The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
- Attempted suicide
- Suicidal ideation
- Depression
- Alcoholism (side character)
- Mentions of self-harm and self-harm scars
- Panic attacks and anxiety
My overall thoughts about The Midnight Library were positive. I walked out of the book still thinking about it for days, which was probably the author’s intention. Despite a couple of hang-ups about the length and pacing, I would recommend this book to anyone in the right head space to read it.
Also, I will be adding this book to my future book recommendation list of books with bookish themes, so keep a lookout for that!
Wonderful review. I agree, it was much darker than I had anticipated, but it did make me think about my life and choices.
Thank you for checking my review out! It definitely left me thinking that for sure!