Take a photo of a barcode or cover
_askthebookbug 's review for:
The Midnight Library
by Matt Haig
• r e v i e w •
.
"A person was like a city. You couldn't let a few less desirable parts put you off the whole. There may be bits you don't like, a few dodgy side streets and suburbs, but the good stuff makes it worth-while." - Matt Haig.
.
Matt creates a world between life and death, a mystical place which provides the dead a chance to live again. Nora, the protagonist floats in and out of depression, seemingly unhappy with everything around her. She considers herself a failure for quitting swimming when she could have had a shot at the Olympics, drops out of her brother's band which would have been the next Coldplay and becomes a runaway bride by leaving the groom heartbroken. In her thirties, she can't seem to recall a single achievement and on a particular day when things go wrong, she decides to end her life. But when she wakes up, she finds herself in a beautiful library which has stacks of books that seem never-ending. It is here that she meets her high-school librarian, Mrs Elm. But in this life, Mrs Elm may as well be God.
.
Nora is handed over a book of regrets and her entire life flashes in front of her eyes. All the mistakes, wrong decisions and damages done to herself and to the others around her brings back sad memories even in that magical place. When she's offered to choose a life that she could have instead of the one she led, she's hesitant to try. But through Mrs Elm's encouragement, she visits many lives that she could have had which leaves her stupified and amused. When time runs out and Nora has to choose one life from the millions that exist, what will she select? Matt makes it interesting by showing how a person can very well be leading different lives in alternate realities. That idea is so mesmerizing and as I read about Nora, I couldn't help but think of my own decisions in the past. Matt through Nora addresses depression and suicidal thoughts, about how one needs to be considerate and kind while dealing with others. The philosophy that the story is built on is absolutely beautiful. It makes one think and ultimately asks one to trust their choices. I only wish it wasn't so predictable.
.
4.2/5.
.
"A person was like a city. You couldn't let a few less desirable parts put you off the whole. There may be bits you don't like, a few dodgy side streets and suburbs, but the good stuff makes it worth-while." - Matt Haig.
.
Matt creates a world between life and death, a mystical place which provides the dead a chance to live again. Nora, the protagonist floats in and out of depression, seemingly unhappy with everything around her. She considers herself a failure for quitting swimming when she could have had a shot at the Olympics, drops out of her brother's band which would have been the next Coldplay and becomes a runaway bride by leaving the groom heartbroken. In her thirties, she can't seem to recall a single achievement and on a particular day when things go wrong, she decides to end her life. But when she wakes up, she finds herself in a beautiful library which has stacks of books that seem never-ending. It is here that she meets her high-school librarian, Mrs Elm. But in this life, Mrs Elm may as well be God.
.
Nora is handed over a book of regrets and her entire life flashes in front of her eyes. All the mistakes, wrong decisions and damages done to herself and to the others around her brings back sad memories even in that magical place. When she's offered to choose a life that she could have instead of the one she led, she's hesitant to try. But through Mrs Elm's encouragement, she visits many lives that she could have had which leaves her stupified and amused. When time runs out and Nora has to choose one life from the millions that exist, what will she select? Matt makes it interesting by showing how a person can very well be leading different lives in alternate realities. That idea is so mesmerizing and as I read about Nora, I couldn't help but think of my own decisions in the past. Matt through Nora addresses depression and suicidal thoughts, about how one needs to be considerate and kind while dealing with others. The philosophy that the story is built on is absolutely beautiful. It makes one think and ultimately asks one to trust their choices. I only wish it wasn't so predictable.
.
4.2/5.