Book Review: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig 

The Midnight Library was recommended to me by a friend and after I also saw it topping the bestsellers lists too, I decided to pick it up. I ended up reading it in about 48 hours. Below is my book review of The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.

The Midnight Library is about a woman called Nora, a thirty-something who regrets many things about her life and so decides that she doesn’t want to exist anymore. This takes her to a place called The Midnight Library where she meets a guide who shows her all the different versions of her life she could have taken.

Plot – 5/5

The plot for this book is everything. When described to pretty much anyone, the simple premise for this book makes people say “ooh that sounds cool!” And it is cool. Essentially we see a woman think her life is filled with mistakes and regrets and we see many alternative versions of her life that she’d be living had she made different decisions.

Matt Haig could have kept this book simple but he decides to add an element to this book that really makes you think about your own life. Throughout this story, Haig takes you on a philosophical journey that does everything in its power to relate to your own life. I can’t talk too much about the plot of this book as it would give it away, however, I don’t think anyone is going to put this book down and think that they’d wasted their time reading it.

Characters – 4.5/5

As with the plot section of this review, I have to be careful how I describe the characters in this book without giving away too many spoilers. I will say that – as is obvious from the premise and summary – many characters come into Nora’s different versions of her lives who all make different impressions on her as a character but also you as a reader. It’s fascinating to see how the same person can have different results on you just based on their decisions in life. Therefore, Haig has done well to give them distinctive enough personalities to have this impact on you.

The characters are well written and memorable. None of the names are particularly unique, so my ability to picture and remember everybody simply based on the impression they’d left on me shows Haig’s ability in writing them. There’s no one I particularly fell in love with except Nora herself. As Nora learns more about herself throughout the novel, you grow more attached to her. As I imagine most people would if they spent time with anyone realising their mistakes.

Summary – 5/5

Finishing this book in 48 hours is how I imagine most people will do it. I loved the varying storylines and I loved the premise but I absolutely fell in love with the way Matt Haig makes you think about yourself. Through Nora’s story, you begin to think about your own life’s story.

There are many quotable moments in this book that can be applied to getting the best out of life. There’s a couple of pages in the book that will really make you feel invigorated but I’ll leave those to your own pleasure. You’ll be making plenty of Instagram posts and getting lots of Twitter content of of this book, that’s for sure.

I’ll recommend this book to everybody for a long time. This is one of my favourite books of the year so far, without a doubt. Read it if you’ve been contemplating it. Read it even if this is the first time you’ve ever even heard of it. Will you be picking up The Midnight Library after reading my book review?