The Midnight Library by Matt Haig | String Theory Meets British Magical Realism

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Published by Viking; 1st Edition, September 29, 2020

Genre: Modern Literature

Format: I audiobooked this one via purchased Audible

This story begins while Nora, depressed and hopeless, counts down the hours remaining in her life. Eventually, her consciousness winds up in a middle ground between life and death, a "midnight library." The library features a celestial host who helps Nora select one book at a time to explore--each book representing one path her life could have taken.  What if she hadn't quit swimming? What if she had stayed with that one guy? In the style of It's a Wonderful Life, Nora eventually finds value in her existence and is able to envision the potential in her life through the experience of exploring possibilities.

Strand Book Store has published a conversation between Matt Haig and Kristin Hannah. In the interview, Haig describes a time of deep depression he faced during his twenties. In Nora, the main character of The Midnight Library, he wanted to create a character who endured depression and landed, ultimately, in an optimistic place. Why use a female protagonist? Haig says Nora's gender gave him enough separation that he could have compassion for the character.

In Reasons to Stay Alive, Haig writes about a time when he was 24 and his life changed forever while dealing with an intense anxiety. In The Comfort Book, Haig shares lists and ideas that he has jotted down over years--ideas that give him comfort. Gathered with these, The Midnight Library is an interesting companion: a piece of speculative fiction that considers Haig's question from his conversation with Hannah: how might someone on the brink of suicide land in an optimistic place?

Critics of Haig note that The Midnight Library was tropey and predictable, that his nonfiction books are more diary than self-help. Others credit his books with saving their lives. He's so forthcoming about the specifics of his mental health that readers feel a companionship that relieves their deep sense of solitude. 

Even though The Midnight Library feels familiar, I enjoyed the familiarity. The element of fantasy that the library added brought enough magic to the book that it felt fresh. 

LOVELY BIT

"It is not the lives we regret not living that are the real problem. It is the regret itself. It’s the regret that makes us shrivel and wither and feel like our own and other people’s worst enemy. We can’t tell if any of those other versions would have been better or worse. Those lives are happening, it is true, but you are happening as well, and that is the happening we have to focus on.”

RATING 

A lighter look at a heavy subject