Author: Matt Haig
# of Pages: 288 (ebook)
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Fantasy
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Synopsis: Between life and death there is a library. When Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. Up until now, her life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change. The books in the Midnight Library enable Nora to live as if she had done things differently. With the help of an old friend, she can now undo every one of her regrets as she tries to work out her perfect life. But things aren't always what she imagined they'd be, and soon her choices place the library and herself in extreme danger. Before time runs out, she must answer the ultimate question: what is the best way to live?
Review: The Midnight Library's plot feels like something I've read/watched before.
I kept thinking that there must have been an early 2000s feel-good movie that had a similar plot, but then I realized there's a ton of media out there that involves reflecting on your life choices (one being The Five People You Meet in Heaven).
The point being: the premise of this book is hardly original, but I was hoping that Matt Haig would add some new to the concept. Unfortunately, I was disappointed; the ending and message for this type of "reflective" story is fairly predictable.
Nora, the protagonist, felt like a mouth piece for the author to spout some Thoreau quotes and ramble some inspiration philosophy. The reader is supposed to be learning and growing with Nora, but then suddenly Nora is lecturing someone on something she barely just realized/learned! Her character growth didn't feel organic.
That being said, some of the imagery was quite beautiful; it would probably be a better movie than a book. I was actually surprised it wasn't already a movie, but apparently it was just announced this month that it's being adapted into a movie. I suppose we are all on the same page after all.
This was a 2 star to maybeeee low 3 star for me. It didn't make me feel anything (except scared in the middle, but this is likely because of my overactive imagination making some scenes more dramatic than they actually are, especially considering horror is NOT one of the book's genres), and I didn't gain anything from read this book.
It's not a BAD book, but I spent most of my time not enjoying reading it. Wouldn't recommend this book in a hurry unless the premise already sounds like it's up your alley.
No comments:
Post a Comment