The Midnight Library: Is It Worth the Hype?

Hello and Welcome back to Underground Bookshelf. Today, we’re talking about The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. This is a really popular book that has been making its rounds in reading circles for a few years, now. It’s a work of low fantasy in the subgenre of magical realism. For those who don’t know, low fantasy isn’t a commentary on the work’s value. It refers to fantasy that is grounded in our present reality. A famous example of this might be Twilight because it’s based in our reality with the addition of fantastical elements. It would also fall under the supernatural or paranormal subgenres since the fantastical elements are supernatural and paranormal in nature. If you’d like me to do a video breaking down different genres, let me know, but for now, let’s move on with The Midnight Library. If you haven’t read this book, you should know that it deals with themes of depression and suicide. Please bear this in mind as you decide if and when to read this book.

The Midnight Library’s protagonist, Nora Seed, has been dealing with severe depression. She feels that she adds no value to the people around her and that the world would be better off without her. During an attempt to end her life, she finds herself in a liminal space between life and death called The Midnight Library. Here, she meets her childhood librarian, Mrs. Elm, who guides her though processing each of her regrets by living alternate lives. Each book in the midnight library represents different versions in her life in which she made different choices and lived different realities.

Along the way, she realizes that different doesn’t necessarily mean better. Becoming an Olympic swimmer doesn’t make her happy. Being a musician doesn’t give her a better relationship with her brother, giving motivational talks doesn’t take away her need for medication to help manage her mental health struggles. In the end, she realizes that, even in her boring, seemingly inconsequential life, she does things of consequence. In a life where she didn’t give music lessons, her pupil gets arrested for theft. In a life where she doesn’t run small errands for her elderly neighbor, he ends up being unable to live independently. Most importantly, she learns that life is worth living, even when it is hard, and she gets a second chance to live her original life.

Like any book, I think this one has its pros and cons. I think one of its biggest benefits is its honest discussion of regret. Regret is something that we all deal with to some extent or another and this book helps the reader think about regret critically and realistically. It also doesn’t shy away from talking about mental health struggles and frames it in a fairly accurate way. Nora’s depression doesn’t just disappear. It’s something that she deals with no matter what version of her life she is living.

However, I did find that the end is wrapped up a little too neatly. I get why. With a book like this one, it’s hard to create a perfect, happy, little ending. How do you make sure readers finish your book feeling satisfied and uplifted when the focus of the book is depression and regret? The author does this by making her recovery feel a little too golden. All of the things that pushed her over the edge at the beginning of the book get resolved a little too perfectly. I think his point in doing so is to show that there are two sides to every coin. Getting fired from her job, for example, means she is now free to become a music teacher full-time. I wouldn’t consider this critique to be a reason not to read the book. First of all, writing endings is hard. And, secondly, the author’s choice in ending has purpose. But I would also point out that, for a book built on the premise that people can jump into the bodies of their alternate selves, the least realistic part to me is that everything following a suicide attempt is bright a sunny. Living with depression is hard. As the book points out, there is so much to life that is worth living, but it is hard work.

If you’ve read The Midnight Library, let us know what you thought of the book in the comments. As always, please keep the comment section respectful. And until next time, happy reading!