The Midnight Library Tackles Regret and Choices in a Quirky Way
I found the title of The Midnight Library to be particularly intriguing. In my head, I’m thinking of libraries with grand architecture and hallways full of hidden secrets and rare books.
The library described in the book turned out to be different from what I had imagined, although it was intriguing all the same. As the main character, Nora Seed, traverses through her different life possibilities, the library becomes the main place where she returns to reflect upon the paths she could have chosen. I particularly enjoyed the way the library was affected by the choices Nora made, culminating in a climactic ending when Nora Seed sealed her final decision. The witty Mrs Elm, the shapeshifting nature of the library, and the journey that each of its books provides make for a quirky Midnight Library and an excellent location for Nora and the readers to think about the themes of regret, choices and mental illness.
Yet, the library can only intrigue one so much. Other than the symbolically interesting locale, the story is largely driven by the choices made by the protagonist, Nora Seed. You get the flow of the story quickly – Nora reflects on a key milestone or regret, she makes a decision, and she experiences the consequences of that choice. This means that by the time you reach the middle of the story, the plot starts getting repetitive, and the development of the character stalls. I got the sense that if three-quarters of the novel were cut, we would have reached the endpoint all the same, and with less stagnation.
This would not have been a problem had there been more to the main character. What I found instead was a general lack of complexity in Nora Seed, which I attribute to the overly simplistic style used to write her dialogue, reflections and reactions. The theme chosen really is a fantastic one. It makes for a great philosophical read about the regrets we have in life. Yet Nora is not particularly tragic or heroic, so I found that I couldn’t connect with her, which is a shame because there are no true secondary characters in the novel. The closest secondary character, Mrs Elm, is witty, but feels more like a transient character without much power to accelerate the events in the novel. This means that the novel can only rely on Nora Seed, and if she stagnates, then so does the reader.
My views may probably be a little surprising for some, given that this book is an award-winner and has a rating of more than 4 out of 5 on various review websites. Haig himself is an accomplished writer, and his books have been very successful in approaching the darker themes of mental illness, regret and death, often in unique ways. That is not to say that The Midnight Library is a miss. You might not be uplifted by Nora Seed, but the book deals with some dark themes in a quirky and sensitive manner, and for that, I would suggest you keep it in your reading list, albeit closer to the bottom than the top.
Overall Rating: 3/5
Reviewed by: Haris Arman Thong
ReadNUS Team Member
The Midnight Library is available from NLB Overdrive and copies can also be bought from retailers such as Amazon.