“And that sadness is intrinsically part of the fabric of happiness. You can’t have one without the other. Of course, they come in different degrees and quantities. But there is no life where you can be in a state of sheer happiness for ever. And imagining there is just breeds more unhappiness in the life you’re in.”

The Midnight Library is a story of self-acceptance. We follow Nora as she visits other lives she could have lived, if she had made different choices (however small).

This book was entertaining, and a quick read. But I found it lacked some depth - both in its characters & its overall theme. I found Nora to be fairly pedestrian. The ending was feel-good but predictable.

I still enjoyed this book, but it wasn’t the groundbreaking novel I was expecting based on some of the GR reviews I had read.

“I'm lonely. And I'm lonely in some horribly deep way and for a flash of an instant, I can see just how lonely, and how deep this feeling runs. And it scares the shit out of me to be this lonely because it seems catastrophic.”

Wow, I loved this book. Intense, and beautifully written. I was completely caught up in Augusten’s character arc (can we call it that in a memoir?). His internal dialogue throughout this story is profound - and at some points hidden behind humor. I both laughed and cried - Would absolutely recommend.