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Book Review: The Midnight Library

This fictional story with major self-help vibes, follows Nora as she finds herself in the space between life and death.

01-November-2022

Book Review: The Midnight Library

From the first page, I was intrigued as you're immediately thrust into the mind of Nora, who has decided to kill herself. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig is a fictional story with major self-help vibes that follows Nora as she finds herself in the space between life and death. There, she's able to sample alternative versions of herself - alternative realities shaped by decisions, small and big, that's she made or hasn't made in her life - as if choosing from a menu.

One of the most poignant parts of this easy to read story for me occurred early on, when a grief-stricken Nora decides to experience what her life would have been like if she'd made her cat an indoor only cat. It leads to the same results and to the realisation that in this instance, nothing she could have done would have stopped her beloved pet from dying and so the guilt she felt was futile.

While the book was enjoyable, with short chapters and the knowledge that if you don't like the current story line - or version of reality that Nora's experiencing - it'll soon be over, makes the book particularly readable. It explores the topics of suicide, guilt and nature vs nurture vs context (Nora sees the world through how others sees her) but keeps the conversation light and surface-level.