The Midnight Library

by Matt Haig

Paperback, 288 pages

English language

Published Feb. 4, 2021 by Canongate Books Ltd..

ISBN:: 978-1-78689-273-7

Nora’s life has been going from bad to worse. Then at the stroke of midnight on her last day on earth she finds herself transported to a library. There she is given the chance to undo her regrets and try out each of the other lives she might have lived. Which raises the ultimate question: with infinite choices, what is the best way to live?

1 edition

Beta Block : Bookwyrm reviewed The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Which life is worth living?

4 stars

What if you could know which path your life would have taken if you had made other choices?

Every little decision you make can lead to a slightly different outcome or could alter your life completely.

There are infinite possible lives – but which one ist the „right“ one? And how would you know?

These are the questions Nora has to ask herself when she finds herself between life and death after a suicide attempt.

The huge Midnight Library contains all of her possible lives - each one as a book.

At first, when I started reading it, I wasn't sure if I would like the story. But the more I progressed, the more it became a page-turner.

Philosophical and spiritual, makes you think.

And though I am not a native speaker, I found the book easy to read in english.

What if you could know which path your life would have taken if you had made other choices?

Every little decision you make can lead to a slightly different outcome or could alter your life completely.

There are infinite possible lives – but which one ist the „right“ one? And how would you know?

These are the questions Nora has to ask herself when she finds herself between life and death after a suicide attempt.

The huge Midnight Library contains all of her possible lives - each one as a book.

At first, when I started reading it, I wasn't sure if I would like the story. But the more I progressed, the more it became a page-turner.

Philosophical and spiritual, makes you think.

And though I am not a native speaker, I found the book easy to read in english.

Dee reviewed The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Review of 'The Midnight Library' on 'Goodreads'

1 star

God awful read.

The plot is over-explained and dumbed down through the dialogue to the point where it’s painful to read. The entire story could have been summarised in a self-help/suicide prevention pamphlet, which would have spared me from the incessant attempts at gaining an emotional response.

0/5
I don’t believe in censoring books but this shouldn’t have been published.

holcolbrook reviewed The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Missed Potential

2 stars

The concept was awesome, but the writing kind of made me want to pull my hair out sometimes

oox reviewed The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Review of 'The Midnight Library' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This is one of those rare books that make me wonder if I should go back and demote all other books I've read by a star just so that this one can stand out properly

Lowrain reviewed The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Loved this as Invisible Cities

No rating

I love these kind of books that explore how one thing can be multiple things - like cities in Invisible Cities or time in Einstein's Dream. In this case, it's one life and all the alternative universes that might spin off it. Altogether, an enjoyable read though maybe not as poignant as Invisible Cities or Einstein's Dreams.

dria reviewed The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Review of 'The Midnight Library' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

A thoughtful story with a slightly over-telegraphed end. Quick read. Loved it.

brunosan reviewed The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Review of 'The Midnight Library' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Entertaining. Some good moments of reflection, not an original idea and a predictable arch of narrative, but quite well done. It seems ideated to be a Netflix original movie, not a book.

Andrew (andrewspink@mastadon.green) reviewed The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Review of 'The Midnight Library' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

This book was very easy reading, I got through it in just two evenings. The choice that the protagonist made at the end was not a surprise, the plot had clearly been building up to that for a while, but that was also not a big problem.

The basic premise is an interesting one. The author assumes that we are not bound by our circumstances, but that we have complete freedom to choose all the paths we take through life. He gives his central character an extraordinary set of talents to make the point. She has the talent (and opportunity) to become a world-class rock star, sportswoman and academic. That wasn't very convincing. Most of us don't have that level of talent or opportunity. I think this 'American dream' idea is probably part of the reason that the book is so popular, which is a pity as it is a bit of a myth. Not everyone in life has the same choices, not matter how talented they are. He is on stronger ground in showing that the small choices we make of kindness towards friends and neighbours can have a significant long-term effect on the lives around us.

There was one unexpected surprise in the middle. The experiments with zebrafish that were described were carried out by someone I know, using equipment from the company I work for. Nice!

Anyway, it was a fun read, and also thought-provoking.

k1dokuu reviewed The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Review of 'The Midnight Library' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Such a quick read! I certainly like the premise, but I expected there to be a kind of twist to this whole ordeal. In the end it was too on the nose and...predictable, for my liking.

npchampion reviewed The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Review of 'The Midnight Library' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

A very unique and engaging read. I couldn't stop turning pages. Highly recommend it.

AnneOminous reviewed The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Review of 'The Midnight Library' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I don't know exactly what I was hoping for when I read the premise, but the book I got was not it. Ultimately, not terrible, but the introspection reads way too much like sentimental advice at times.

unicorndeburgh reviewed The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Review of 'The Midnight Library' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This starts out depressing, but is very much worth persevering. Young woman travels down many paths of parallel lives that might-have-been, searching for a life worth living.

fiainros reviewed The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Review of 'The Midnight Library' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

This is a relatively fast read. There's a lot you can skim.

It's getting a 3-star review because I like the concept. However, in its execution this book wasn't for me. I'm not sure who it's for, to be honest. I could go into why, but I'm not sure that really helps anybody because the why's feel personal and not generic.

I will say every positive review I've read of this book implies I should already know who Matt Haig is, and I have aboslutely no clue who he is, even after googling. That's probably the most generic issue I have - that the book seems to be sold on his name recognitition to a good degree and I don't recognize his name.

So, again, it's an okay book. I wouldn't recommend it because I don't know who it's for, probably people who already like Matt Haig and would read …

geirertzgaard reviewed The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Review of 'The Midnight Library' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Banalt og dyp livsfilosofi på en og samme tid, svært leseverdig om valg og anger, om valget mellom å angre på de valgene du har gjort eller å legge vekk angeren og heller se på muligheten i hvert nye valg. Man trenger ikke 288 sider til å påpeke det, men det gjør ingen ting.

Avarla reviewed The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Review of 'The Midnight Library' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

The ending was exactly what I expected. Although I kept wishing for something more brave all through the book, it was fitting in the end.
I would have liked to meet more of the other people who jump in and out of lives and hear their takes on existence.
All in all it wasn't so much uplifting as it made me long for other versions of my life, in which I made different decisions, so I guess it didn't quite fulfil its purpose on me.