Yun's Reviews > The Midnight Library
The Midnight Library
by
No truer words have been said by Nora, the world's largest wet blanket. Woe is her, folks.
Nora ends up at the Midnight Library, a place between life and death, because she doesn't want to live anymore. The library is full of books, each representing a life she could've had had she made different choices. Now she has a chance to undo all her regrets (of which there are many) and try out all the lives she's missed out on, to see if there's another one she would've liked better.
Lest you think I'm a cold-hearted reader for not loving this, I mean, sure that does sound like me. I count coins in my bathtub, chase children off my lawn with my gnarly walking stick, and club seals for laughs at least once a day, if not more. So what's to like? No no, I'm just kidding. Really.
Normally I love sappy, cheesy, inspirational mush. I watch Hallmark movies. I believe in soulmates and happily ever after. I cry during every sweet scene in every movie. And yet this book left me so cold inside, I got absolutely zero feels unless you count frustration as a feel.
For one thing, this story doesn't come across as fiction so much as self-help disguised as fiction. The lessons to be learned in here are pretty obvious right from the beginning, yet they are presented like some sort of epiphany that can only be discerned if explained slowly and repeatedly. We are forced to endure these same lessons over and over every time Nora goes back to the library. Either Nora is the most dim witted of characters, or the author thinks us readers are.
Another problem is that it's really hard to connect with Nora. She'll take any situation, suck every ounce of joy out of it, and interpret what's left in the most negative way possible. She's full of regret for every decision she's ever made, and thinks the grass is always greener. However, other than being negative, she literally has no other personality traits. She's a blank slate, dull and uninteresting.
I also have issues with the core messages in this book. Nora finally learns her lesson, but it's only after having fixated on each regret, remade every decision, and lived all subsequent lives. Like come on, at some point, you just have to be okay with who you are and the decisions you've made without knowing every single possible outcome.
But my biggest issue is that I'm really uncomfortable with this book's implication that if you're depressed, you only need to change your mindset and you will feel better. That goes against everything we understand about mental illness, including that it's important to seek professional help, that it can be chemically based, and that it's not a matter of not trying hard enough.
We already have enough trouble as a society getting depression and mental illness taken seriously, without a "feelgood" book coming along and implying that you need nothing more than an attitude adjustment to cure it. That puts the blame squarely where it doesn't belong, on the hundreds of millions of people who are suffering from depression. But it isn't just the layman who harbors such misunderstandings. It also includes people who work in the mental health field, and even some therapists and psychiatrists. So you can understand my dismay at the continued popularity of this book, which further perpetrates this extremely toxic point of view.
Please don't get me wrong. The message in here about having a positive attitude is a good one, and I'm all for it. But that worthwhile message slowly but surely got overshadowed by the implication that depression is nothing more than a mindset, and that's where I fall off the bandwagon. At times, I'm left wondering if the author started with the intention of the former and, over the course of writing this story, it somehow got away from him and he ended up with the latter instead.
Obviously many readers loved this book, as evidenced by its overwhelmingly favorable reviews. But it's decidedly not for me. This is the second book I've read by Matt Haig, and I've pretty much hated both. So I think it's time I part ways with this author and just accept that we're not compatible.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
See also, my thoughts on:
How to Stop Time
~~~~~~~~~~~~
✧ Connect with me ✧ Instagram ✧
by
"That is just me. I add nothing. I am wallowing in self-pity."
No truer words have been said by Nora, the world's largest wet blanket. Woe is her, folks.
Nora ends up at the Midnight Library, a place between life and death, because she doesn't want to live anymore. The library is full of books, each representing a life she could've had had she made different choices. Now she has a chance to undo all her regrets (of which there are many) and try out all the lives she's missed out on, to see if there's another one she would've liked better.
Lest you think I'm a cold-hearted reader for not loving this, I mean, sure that does sound like me. I count coins in my bathtub, chase children off my lawn with my gnarly walking stick, and club seals for laughs at least once a day, if not more. So what's to like? No no, I'm just kidding. Really.
Normally I love sappy, cheesy, inspirational mush. I watch Hallmark movies. I believe in soulmates and happily ever after. I cry during every sweet scene in every movie. And yet this book left me so cold inside, I got absolutely zero feels unless you count frustration as a feel.
For one thing, this story doesn't come across as fiction so much as self-help disguised as fiction. The lessons to be learned in here are pretty obvious right from the beginning, yet they are presented like some sort of epiphany that can only be discerned if explained slowly and repeatedly. We are forced to endure these same lessons over and over every time Nora goes back to the library. Either Nora is the most dim witted of characters, or the author thinks us readers are.
Another problem is that it's really hard to connect with Nora. She'll take any situation, suck every ounce of joy out of it, and interpret what's left in the most negative way possible. She's full of regret for every decision she's ever made, and thinks the grass is always greener. However, other than being negative, she literally has no other personality traits. She's a blank slate, dull and uninteresting.
I also have issues with the core messages in this book. Nora finally learns her lesson, but it's only after having fixated on each regret, remade every decision, and lived all subsequent lives. Like come on, at some point, you just have to be okay with who you are and the decisions you've made without knowing every single possible outcome.
But my biggest issue is that I'm really uncomfortable with this book's implication that if you're depressed, you only need to change your mindset and you will feel better. That goes against everything we understand about mental illness, including that it's important to seek professional help, that it can be chemically based, and that it's not a matter of not trying hard enough.
We already have enough trouble as a society getting depression and mental illness taken seriously, without a "feelgood" book coming along and implying that you need nothing more than an attitude adjustment to cure it. That puts the blame squarely where it doesn't belong, on the hundreds of millions of people who are suffering from depression. But it isn't just the layman who harbors such misunderstandings. It also includes people who work in the mental health field, and even some therapists and psychiatrists. So you can understand my dismay at the continued popularity of this book, which further perpetrates this extremely toxic point of view.
Please don't get me wrong. The message in here about having a positive attitude is a good one, and I'm all for it. But that worthwhile message slowly but surely got overshadowed by the implication that depression is nothing more than a mindset, and that's where I fall off the bandwagon. At times, I'm left wondering if the author started with the intention of the former and, over the course of writing this story, it somehow got away from him and he ended up with the latter instead.
Obviously many readers loved this book, as evidenced by its overwhelmingly favorable reviews. But it's decidedly not for me. This is the second book I've read by Matt Haig, and I've pretty much hated both. So I think it's time I part ways with this author and just accept that we're not compatible.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
See also, my thoughts on:
How to Stop Time
~~~~~~~~~~~~
✧ Connect with me ✧ Instagram ✧
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Reading Progress
April 24, 2021
–
Started Reading
April 24, 2021
– Shelved
April 27, 2021
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 251-281 of 281 (281 new)
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message 251:
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Jillian Armstrong
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rated it 2 stars
Aug 29, 2024 07:04AM
Thank you! I hate this book.
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Excellent review. Thoughtful and you captured my trepidations about this book as well. Solving mental illness is just one quick fix away is not the right message!
Julie wrote: "Excellent review. Thoughtful and you captured my trepidations about this book as well. Solving mental illness is just one quick fix away is not the right message!"
Thanks, Julie! For sure!
Thanks, Julie! For sure!
Nora the world's largest wet blanket, lmao. truer words have never been spoken. I just chuckled while reading the intro. I love your take on this, though I enjoyed the book but I agree that I did not like nora that much.
I am definitely not rushing to take this off my TBR pile by reading it anytime soon. I am more likely to just remove it completely from the pile and take a hard pass. You are not the first to make me question if I even want to read it but you may have been the most eloquent. Thank you for helping me to spend more time on books I will actually enjoy. 😊
Ugh, absoLUTELY. Terribly disappointing. (Also because, if i remember correctly... She stays herself and therefore half of the plot in most of the situations she ends up in is her trying to not get caught out. And then she's like "oh wow, even in this life im not having a good time" and im like ??? No?? Obviously?? You were basically committing identity fraud, which is STRESSFUL IN THE BEST OF TIMES???)
SAME!! Everyone’s obsessed with this book but it feels so incredibly hollow for a book that’s supposed to be “deep”
Utkarsh wrote: "Nora the world's largest wet blanket, lmao. truer words have never been spoken. I just chuckled while reading the intro. I love your take on this, though I enjoyed the book but I agree that I did n..."
Haha! 😅 Thanks, Utkarsh! Appreciate your kind comment, even though we had different thoughts on this one. I'm glad you enjoyed. :)
Haha! 😅 Thanks, Utkarsh! Appreciate your kind comment, even though we had different thoughts on this one. I'm glad you enjoyed. :)
Jennifer wrote: "I am definitely not rushing to take this off my TBR pile by reading it anytime soon. I am more likely to just remove it completely from the pile and take a hard pass. You are not the first to make ..."
Thanks, Jennifer! No hurry to read this is the right call in my opinion lol, but I'm definitely in the minority! ;)
Thanks, Jennifer! No hurry to read this is the right call in my opinion lol, but I'm definitely in the minority! ;)
Xanna wrote: "Ugh, absoLUTELY. Terribly disappointing. (Also because, if i remember correctly... She stays herself and therefore half of the plot in most of the situations she ends up in is her trying to not get..."
Hahaha! So true. Poor Nora committing identity fraud, which is sure to stress anyone out.
Hahaha! So true. Poor Nora committing identity fraud, which is sure to stress anyone out.
Holden wrote: "SAME!! Everyone’s obsessed with this book but it feels so incredibly hollow for a book that’s supposed to be “deep”"
Agreed! It's it's not just me.
Agreed! It's it's not just me.
While I haven't read this book myself, I understand your concerns about the messaging and its potential impact. It's important to have open discussions about mental health and avoid promoting harmful stereotypes. Thanks for taking the time to write such a thorough review, Yun.
Couldn’t agree more. So nicely put into words. I also didn’t like the book and couldn’t understand why everyone loved it. This review is on point!
Hi Yun! Well, I'm part of the readers that loved this book, because I found it very different from everything I've read before. However, I did not realise your point of view on this part of how to battle depression throughout the book, but I agree with everything you are saying about mental illness! It just makes no sense to present the cure for depression in this way... I was thinking about re-reading the book someday and I believe now, with your point of view, I will see things differently and it will probably annoy me as well.
Dusk wrote: "While I haven't read this book myself, I understand your concerns about the messaging and its potential impact. It's important to have open discussions about mental health and avoid promoting harmf..."
Thanks, Dusk! Appreciate your thoughtful comment.
Thanks, Dusk! Appreciate your thoughtful comment.
Persephone's Pomegranate wrote: "Oh, what a bummer. I can see why you didn't like the book. Awesome review."
Thanks, PP!
Thanks, PP!
Vibhooti wrote: "Couldn’t agree more. So nicely put into words. I also didn’t like the book and couldn’t understand why everyone loved it. This review is on point!"
Thanks! Glad we agree!
Thanks! Glad we agree!
Paula wrote: "Hi Yun! Well, I'm part of the readers that loved this book, because I found it very different from everything I've read before. However, I did not realise your point of view on this part of how to ..."
Hi Paula! Appreciate your kind comment, especially as we had such different thoughts on this. I think the message in here about having a positive mindset is a good one... I wish the book stuck with that as its first and foremost.
Hi Paula! Appreciate your kind comment, especially as we had such different thoughts on this. I think the message in here about having a positive mindset is a good one... I wish the book stuck with that as its first and foremost.
Yikes..pretty remarkable review, though to be frank, it didn't resonate as deeply as The Humans or Comfort Book.. but writing is art and individual tastes vary..
I love your review. I never even finished the book and we were to discuss it in a book club - did not get very far and it was too awful to continue. Thanks for doing the tough work and reading it and reviewing it. peace, janz
Jonathan wrote: "Yikes..pretty remarkable review, though to be frank, it didn't resonate as deeply as The Humans or Comfort Book.. but writing is art and individual tastes vary.."
Thanks, Jonathan! I'm glad this one worked better for you!
Thanks, Jonathan! I'm glad this one worked better for you!
Peacejanz wrote: "I love your review. I never even finished the book and we were to discuss it in a book club - did not get very far and it was too awful to continue. Thanks for doing the tough work and reading it a..."
Thanks, Janz! Glad it wasn't just me that couldn't connect with this one.
Thanks, Janz! Glad it wasn't just me that couldn't connect with this one.
lol Yun!. I loved this book but I can understand your feelings. Everyone seems to react differently to this book.
Nancy wrote: "lol Yun!. I loved this book but I can understand your feelings. Everyone seems to react differently to this book."
Thanks, Nancy! Don't mind me, I'm definitely an outlier on this one. I'm glad you loved it! :)
Thanks, Nancy! Don't mind me, I'm definitely an outlier on this one. I'm glad you loved it! :)