Paperback, 288 pages
English language
Published Feb. 4, 2021 by Canongate Books Ltd..
Nora’s life has been going from bad to worse. Then at the stroke of midnight on her last day on earth she finds herself transported to a library. There she is given the chance to undo her regrets and try out each of the other lives she might have lived. Which raises the ultimate question: with infinite choices, what is the best way to live?
God awful read.
The plot is over-explained and dumbed down through the dialogue to the point where it’s painful to read. The entire story could have been summarised in a self-help/suicide prevention pamphlet, which would have spared me from the incessant attempts at gaining an emotional response.
0/5
I don’t believe in censoring books but this shouldn’t have been published.
The concept was awesome, but the writing kind of made me want to pull my hair out sometimes
This is one of those rare books that make me wonder if I should go back and demote all other books I've read by a star just so that this one can stand out properly
I love these kind of books that explore how one thing can be multiple things - like cities in Invisible Cities or time in Einstein's Dream. In this case, it's one life and all the alternative universes that might spin off it. Altogether, an enjoyable read though maybe not as poignant as Invisible Cities or Einstein's Dreams.
A thoughtful story with a slightly over-telegraphed end. Quick read. Loved it.
Entertaining. Some good moments of reflection, not an original idea and a predictable arch of narrative, but quite well done. It seems ideated to be a Netflix original movie, not a book.
Such a quick read! I certainly like the premise, but I expected there to be a kind of twist to this whole ordeal. In the end it was too on the nose and...predictable, for my liking.
A very unique and engaging read. I couldn't stop turning pages. Highly recommend it.
I don't know exactly what I was hoping for when I read the premise, but the book I got was not it. Ultimately, not terrible, but the introspection reads way too much like sentimental advice at times.
This starts out depressing, but is very much worth persevering. Young woman travels down many paths of parallel lives that might-have-been, searching for a life worth living.
This is a relatively fast read. There's a lot you can skim.
It's getting a 3-star review because I like the concept. However, in its execution this book wasn't for me. I'm not sure who it's for, to be honest. I could go into why, but I'm not sure that really helps anybody because the why's feel personal and not generic.
I will say every positive review I've read of this book implies I should already know who Matt Haig is, and I have aboslutely no clue who he is, even after googling. That's probably the most generic issue I have - that the book seems to be sold on his name recognitition to a good degree and I don't recognize his name.
So, again, it's an okay book. I wouldn't recommend it because I don't know who it's for, probably people who already like Matt Haig and would read …
This is a relatively fast read. There's a lot you can skim.
It's getting a 3-star review because I like the concept. However, in its execution this book wasn't for me. I'm not sure who it's for, to be honest. I could go into why, but I'm not sure that really helps anybody because the why's feel personal and not generic.
I will say every positive review I've read of this book implies I should already know who Matt Haig is, and I have aboslutely no clue who he is, even after googling. That's probably the most generic issue I have - that the book seems to be sold on his name recognitition to a good degree and I don't recognize his name.
So, again, it's an okay book. I wouldn't recommend it because I don't know who it's for, probably people who already like Matt Haig and would read it anyway.
Banalt og dyp livsfilosofi på en og samme tid, svært leseverdig om valg og anger, om valget mellom å angre på de valgene du har gjort eller å legge vekk angeren og heller se på muligheten i hvert nye valg. Man trenger ikke 288 sider til å påpeke det, men det gjør ingen ting.
The ending was exactly what I expected. Although I kept wishing for something more brave all through the book, it was fitting in the end.
I would have liked to meet more of the other people who jump in and out of lives and hear their takes on existence.
All in all it wasn't so much uplifting as it made me long for other versions of my life, in which I made different decisions, so I guess it didn't quite fulfil its purpose on me.
This was a hotly anticipated title for me. While the beginning was an instant hook and a perfect illustration of how depression can spiral, the ending by comparison ultimately feels trite and insincere. I don’t know. It just rubbed me the wrong way personally.
This was.. fine? Cute, I guess? I have a lot of complicated thoughts about this book, but it all evens out to a solid "It was fine."
From a technical standpoint, the writing was solid. The prose was appropriate and I found the setting to be incredibly charming. I loved how the author wove in callbacks to setting and people that made me smile when we got to see people and places across lives. The pacing felt a bit rushed, and character dialogue never felt natural (Nora lived untold lives, but she still stumbled through conversations? She's constantly dropping '...well I did that in another life...' as if that's a normal thing to say?) I think some of the characters were supposed to be written in a way that made them loveable but flawed, but often I just didn't like them. Mrs Elm in The Library felt condescending and unhelpful. …
This was.. fine? Cute, I guess? I have a lot of complicated thoughts about this book, but it all evens out to a solid "It was fine."
From a technical standpoint, the writing was solid. The prose was appropriate and I found the setting to be incredibly charming. I loved how the author wove in callbacks to setting and people that made me smile when we got to see people and places across lives. The pacing felt a bit rushed, and character dialogue never felt natural (Nora lived untold lives, but she still stumbled through conversations? She's constantly dropping '...well I did that in another life...' as if that's a normal thing to say?) I think some of the characters were supposed to be written in a way that made them loveable but flawed, but often I just didn't like them. Mrs Elm in The Library felt condescending and unhelpful. Dan didn't seem to have any redeeming qualities. Ash was the only character that I found to be likable, but that's because he wasn't written with any flaws. Even Nora's characterization was irritatingly dense and felt completely flat for 90% of the book with no real development happening until literally her last life (you can't just say her regrets are disappearing and count that as character development. That needs to be reflected in her actions as well).
Thematically, I get the message. And it think it's a well told story that explores Sylvia Plath's symbolism of the fig tree. I don't think it's a particularly unique idea, but I digress. However, (maybe not the author's intention) this book is often talked about almost as a companion to The Bell Jar. I just don't see it. I don't think the themes of The Bell Jar needed to be explained or drawn out any further. In short, I think The Bell Jar did what The Midnight Library wanted to do, but better. In a vacuum, this was a strong story. But I don't think there's any meaningful comparison to the Bell Jar to be had.
But with all of that being said, the story was predictably sweet. Found purpose stories are hard to be very critical of. But I do wish this lived up to the hype I've seen around it.
