The Midnight Library

I just finished The Midnight Library by Matt Haig and here is my review.

Nora Seed wants to die. Yet what happens isn't death. It's a place between worlds where time has stood still. The library has every single possible choice could have made in her life. The library is her chance to see how her life would have turned out with each slight choice she could ever make.

Nora always felt her life would have been better had she done a million different things differently. Stepping into each different Nora and seeing the lives she could have had, makes Nora has a chance now. A chance to decide to stay in any one of the different lives she finds. Are any of them better? Can your life truly be perfect from one small deviation? The midnight library only offers the choices to you, it can't make the decision for you.


I have been desperate to get my hands on this book and when the library had a copy I could read immediately, I snapped it up, even knowing I had no time to fit it in but I made time. I love magical realism. It's a beautiful genre with a lot of creative licensing to be full of a magic we can reach out and touch and I love how the author turned the space between life and death into a plethora of second chances. A try before you buy a second chance at life.


I found Nora rather stale. I don't know if that was the aim but her character seemed a little one dimensional. I also found myself feeling like something was missing. I can't put my finger on what but it's just a little gut feeling like there was just one small puzzle piece that was missed but I don't know where.


I thought the story in itself was magnificent. The writing was lovely and fluid and it was actually pretty well paced for a magical realism read. The descriptions of the library were smashing and the whole book had this dream-like quality which I absolutely adored. I also really appreciated the ending. I think the moral of the story here is no matter what choices you have made, you can make new ones going forward and choosing to make those choices are brave and beautiful.


Definitely worth the read and I would recommend it to anyone who loves this genre.


4 stars