The Midnight Library
I’ve just finished The Midnight Library by Matt Haig for my Class of 94 book club. (Friends, do you think we need an official name?!) Haig, despite authoring bestsellers many times over (The Midnight Library is a Good Morning America pick), is the recipient of mountains of criticism that he’s too schlocky or self-help-ish. It’s true, he is the king of the “high-concept, quasi-philosophical novel,” according to a Guardian piece about his latest, The Comfort Book, a collection of thoughts that are meant to, you know, bring you comfort. He’ll gladly defend his work. From aforementioned Guardian article: “When you’re feeling a bit rough and ropey, and your mind is distracted, you can’t absorb the most highbrow text. You’re not there reading Freud and Jung and Lacan. A pop song can save your life. An episode of Friends can change your life. But when it’s in the world of books, it becomes this snobfest. I’m resistant to that. I also like confusing people, so I’ll do my big, corny, sentimental, puppy-dog line and then I’ll write a chapter about Aristotle.”
The Midnight Library with its “Sliding Doors” / “what if I chose a different life?” plotline is a balm to many people. Read a novel + feel more focused? Perfect! And clearly he has a knack for understanding the emotional landscape of a large swath of people.
So, is The Midnight Library one of the best things I’ve ever read? For me, no. But I enjoyed it, and it was an excellent way to kick off a new year. (Especially since I read this in tandem with Lori Gottlieb’s Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed. Ok, now I think I’m all sorted with my self-help for the year. [Gottlieb is an excellent storyteller, btw!])
So I’m just wondering if Haig’s critics feel the same about Paolo Coelho and The Alchemist? Thirty-plus years on, and people still can’t get enough of The Alchemist. Or what about Fredrik Backman’s Anxious People? And hello, what about the overabundance of “feel good” novels that are written by women?
People find books — and books find people! — for all sorts of reasons.
originally published on instagram