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dame_samara 's review for:

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
3.0

I started off being in love with this book, it just felt like a natural read and I fell in place so easily. It is one of the few books I didn't find myself listening at 2 or 2.5X speed because I felt like it was being spoken at the slowest pace ever. I still listened at the slightly expediated rate of 1.5x the speed of the original but I found myself fully engrossed in this tale.

I don't know where exactly this book started to curdle for me, but I didn't find that same enjoyment in the later parts of the book. Much like Nora begins to become fatigued with the constant swap of lives.
I became fatigued by this book, but for a completely different reason. In reality it comes down to the depiction of Depression and of Suicidal Ideation as a whole. The fact that in every life she was looking for those meds, as if it showed proof that she was still failing at being happy. The focus on them made it seem like seeking treatment for mental health is innately a failure.

But also the whole resolution, left a sickenly sweet taste in my mouth overall. Because throughout this book we are shown that everything in life can be "good" or "perfect" and you can still want to die. But this book doesn't really address that, or even the work it takes to get to a point that isn't the case. Which made what should have been character growth feel hollow in the end. Which is hard as someone standing in similar shoes.

So I guess in the end, I'm what ruined this book for myself.