Just finished reading Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library(2020), which builds on a compelling idea: In a realm between life and death, a woman who committed suicide, explores alternate versions of her life, each reflecting choices she might have made differently. The premise taps into a universal feeling of regret and offers a comforting thought experiment about letting go of the “what ifs.”
The initial chapters leading up to the suicide do a great job conveying the disorienting isolation, shame and hoplessness the protagonist feels (should definitely come with a trigger warning.) For people who struggle with regrets, its message, that different choices would not necessarily lead to better outcomes, can feel cathartic. Overall the novel is accessible, digestible and uplifting.
That said the story itself is predictable and repetitive with clunky writing in places. The ending is obvious as soon as the plot opens up and in the pursuit of appealing to the lowest common denominator the story becomes painfully simple and mediocre. At its weakest, its message risks sounding like “just choose not to be depressed,” which may feel reductive or even harmful for people suffering from depression not dependent on external factors. Derivative of Charles Dickens’s novella A Christmas Carol (1843) and the movie Its A Wonderful Life(1946), the preachy tone of the novel works best as a fable with a “moral of the story is…” attached rather than as literary fiction.
Whether it feels profound or painfully obvious depends on how much you see yourself in the main character's struggle. Regardless of how much joy and catharsis you can experience reading this novel, it definitely opens up discussions.
5/10
by Zehreelakomdareturns