It’s nice to read an international bestseller now and then, to consume something "of the now" so I can feel like a part of the crowd or something (and also have an opinion if the occasion arises). The Midnight Library was one of two bestsellers I’ve read this past year (the other being Gone Girl).
The Midnight Library was also chosen for the last book club meeting at my workplace. Although I haven’t participated in the book club for some time (I tried once with Wherethe Crawdads Sing),seeing that they were doing The Midnight Library spurred me to read it on my own as I had a copy thanks to my last visit to Encore Books.
As expected, The Midnight Library was a breezy read, like a feel-good version of Ken Grimwood’s Replay. Instead of dying of a heart attack at 43 and reincarnating 25 years earlier in your younger body with all memories intact, with each "re-awakening" having the opportunity for a new do-over, Nora Seed overdoses on sleeping pills and ends up in The Midnight Library, a magical place containing an infinite number of books each representing a parallel life of hers had she made different choices, big or trivial. The library is managed by someone who was dear to you (in Nora’s case, her school librarian Mrs. Elm, and is also a place where time stops at midnight as she hovers between life and death. While in this state, Nora can slip into another version of her life in a parallel universe simply by choosing a book and reading the first line.
What reminded me of Replay was in one of Nora's lives as a glaciologist, she met a man named Hugo, who was also a “slider” or “life jumper”. He had the same ability as her, except that he’d done this a lot longer, having sampled dozens, if not hundreds, of lives. Instead of a library though, Hugo’s quantum Shroedinger-esque in-between state was represented by a Midnight Video Store. Pretty cute, huh?
While Replay was an awesome sci-fi/fantasy novel, The Midnight Library was appealing and cute, as author Matt Haig clearly had aspirations for his novel to be inspiring, life-affirming, etc. etc. I've read feel-good books that have really rubbed me the wrong way, like The House by the Cerulean Sea, which I truly regret reading. Had I known it was going to be such a saccharine piece of tripe, I wouldn't have read it. Actually that's not fair to tripe, which I would've probably derived more enjoyment out of consuming. The House... was something that would've belonged in my very own Book of Regrets. Or more like Book of Books I Regret Reading!
In any case, I don't regret having read The Midnight Library. It was better written than The House by the Cerulean Sea, and I even got emotionally caught up in parts of it. Also, Matt Haig is really British while TJ Klune is American trying to write British. I also, by default, like any book featuring a cat. Still, The Midnight Library had its flaws. There were parts that were a little too simple, or indulgent, or went on for too long. For example, the part where it listed all the lives that Nora lead. Whatevs - I just skimmed that section. Also, some of the lives Nora lead were too far-fetched. In one life she was the Olympian swimmer she could’ve been. Ok fine. But in another, she was a famous rock on the same level as Radiohead (and even dated a Hollywood star)! Some metaphors were also a little too pat. Like the protagonist's name, for instance. Nora Seed. She has to experience the multiple branches of her life before she can truly appreciate her “root life”. Get it?
I can also see how The Midnight Library would’ve been The House by the Cerulean Sea for some readers, as it really does over-simplify the complexities of why someone would want to end their life. One Goodreads reviewer summed it up nicely:
I liked this book until it suddenly decided to moonlight as a self-help manual, replete with messages that would look great and profound on an Instagram post next to a well-posed cup of coffee with those foam pictures on top. Or embroidered on a pillow — pick your poison.
And these messages have the subtlety of a sledgehammer.
Another Goodreads reviewer also had a good point about how The Midnight Library could even be problematic in regards to mental illness:
I also have issues with the core messages in this book. Nora finally learns her lesson, but it's only after having fixated on each regret, remade every decision, and lived all subsequent lives. Like come on, at some point, you just have to be okay with who you are and the decisions you've made without knowing every single possible outcome.
But my biggest issue is that I'm really uncomfortable with this book's implication that if you're depressed, you only need to change your mindset and you will feel better. That goes against everything we understand about mental illness, including that it's important to seek professional help, that it can be chemically based, and that it's not a matter of not trying hard enough.
We already have enough trouble as a society getting depression and mental illness taken seriously, without a "feelgood" book coming along and implying that you need nothing more than an attitude adjustment to cure it. That puts the blame squarely where it doesn't belong, on the hundreds of millions of people who are suffering from depression. But it isn't just the layman who harbors such misunderstandings. It also includes people who work in the mental health field, and even some therapists and psychiatrists. So you can understand my dismay at the continued popularity of this book, which further perpetrates this extremely toxic point of view
In any case, I wanted to get this review done so I can pass this book on, probably resell it even.
April 2026 update: Encore Books wouldn't take this back as they have copies already. I thought with Matt Haig's sequel The Midnight Train there might be renewed interest in having multiple copies - apparently not. So this copy was dropped off at my neighbourhood Free Library shelf.
