The Midnight Library by Matt Haig is the best novel of 2020, well it's the best novel I've read in 2020. It is a literary journey that makes you contemplate regrets and the lives you never lived. It is a gorgeous fiction novel bound to open your eyes on life and is an absolute must read.
This review for The Midnight Library is different from typical reviews on Aster's Book Hour because this novel deserves something different. As I wrote this review I had tears dripping off my chin because of how moved I was by The Midnight Library. This is a novel worth reading and one which shifted my viewpoint on life. The Midnight Library hit me where it hurt, like physically wounded me and then liberated me, it was such a powerful read.
Without going into spoilers, which I will below and don't worry, I will tell you when to skip that paragraph, The Midnight Library makes you have a new viewpoint on life. When Nora Seed ends up in the Midnight Library, she is given the opportunity to do things different, live out her regrets, find a new and better life.
Her journey to find that life is so overwhelmingly simplistic that as a reader you truly don't realize the enormity and power of the journey until the last few chapters. And then bam. It collapses upon you like a ton of bricks and if you are a crier, you will cry.
The Midnight Library is a novel that tackles pertinent issues of regret, parallel universes, and lives we could have lived. The characters are absolutely average and that is a conscientious choice because within this novel, you become Nora. Nora is everybody, everybody has been Nora before and is why her journey is your journey. You are in the Midnight Library absorbing the power, pain, and catharsis from it all.
The Midnight Library is the best novel of 2020 and it slid its way into my top 20 novels ever read. If you choose to read only one novel this year, let it be The Midnight Library. You will be taken on an adventure and who knows, it could change your viewpoint on life, it did for me.
Main Genre | Science Fiction
Year Published | 2020
Rating | 10 / 10
Worth Your Time? Yes. 100 times over yes.
| My Thoughts
WARNING: Skip My Thoughts for a spoiler free review.
To reiterate, this section is full of spoilers!
I am overwhelmed after finishing The Midnight Library and yeah, it really hit me hard. The realisation that the life you live always has potential and its your perspective that matters as your voice does matter. I mean, c'mon, everybody's heard that schtick over and over and who believes it? There are over 7 billion people on Earth, why would one voice matter. But it does and The Midnight Library accentuated that perspective and made me believe it again.
You may not be the most important person in the world but you are the most important person to yourself and that's all that matters. How you live your life can be based on prospect and comfort instead of regret. The Book of Regrets is real, we all regrets situations and moments wondering what could have been if we had taken that path instead.
That's why I adore The Midnight Library, because in a parallel universe you made that choice and based on Nora's journey, that choice may not have been as idolized as you thought. You have to live the life you make and Nora discovered that as the library crumpled. What a powerful and moving read.
| Your Thoughts
Did you decide that The Midnight Library is worth a read? If so, let me know what you thought of the novel below! And check out My Thoughts once finished for guess what, my thoughts on this literary adventure!
This novel absolutely changed how I viewed myself and even if it does not do the same for you, this is the best novel I have read in 2020 and I recommend you checking it out. It is an enigmatic read and one that makes you feel alive.
Was this worth an hour of your time? Because it was undoubtedly worth an hour of mine.
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