Review: The Midnight Library

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars

This book reads almost like a reimagining of Sylvia Plath’s life, work, anguish, and the author's personal struggles interwoven together. As someone who holds Plath’s writing in high regard, I found the premise immediately compelling, even intriguing.

However, as the story unfolded, it gradually lost its spark. Almost everything seemed to orbit Plath too closely, albeit subtly, making it difficult to appreciate the book as a distinct creation. I couldn’t shake the feeling that many of the ideas weren’t entirely the author’s own.

I had high hopes that this would become THE favourite book for me—and for a time, it nearly was. But the second half drifted into repetition and lost some of its earlier momentum. That said, the prose remained strong throughout. What drew me in, and kept me reading, was the brilliance of the premise and the title. The idea behind the book was genuinely fascinating, and at times, it really did shine. My favorite character was the librarian, Mrs. Elm, who had real depth and presence.

Despite its flaws, The central message—that we cannot rewrite what was never ours to control—did resonate with me. This theme emerges clearly about halfway through, which may account for the redundancy that follows.

 I closed the book with a slight headache.

Overall it was a solid 'could-have-been-more-better' read. 

View all my reviews