Viking | Book Chatter

The Midnight Library
By Matt Haig
Viking, 9780525559474, September 2020, 304pp.

The Short of It:

What would you do if you were given a chance to live a different life?

The Rest of It:

Nora Seed has made some bad decisions throughout her life. Some affected other people, like her brother and her kind next door neighbor. She doesn’t feel as if she matters or belongs anywhere, or with anyone. One night, she just can’t take anymore and decides to end it.

But Nora is given another chance. She awakes to find herself in a library of sorts. This library is run by a person from Nora’s past, Mrs. Elm. Mrs. Elm walks Nora through this strange labyrinth of books called The Midnight Library. It’s a library that houses one particular book that could change Nora’s life, The Book of Regrets. In it, is each regret that Nora has felt or experienced over the course of her life. In addition to this book, are other books and these books represent the lives she’s lived by taking a different path. While she hovers between this world and the real world, she is given the option of borrowing one of those lives to see if it’s a good fit for her. Some work out more than others, some further illustrate the effects of her poor decisions over the years. These decisions do not prove easy for Nora and once you decide on a particular life, there’s no going back.

I can recall at least three other books I’ve read that had a similar storyline and yes, the story is a little repetitive and might remind you of the movie Groundhog Day. If you are looking for a totally unique reading experience, you won’t get that with The Midnight Library, however, it did come together quite nicely and I agree with most everyone that it’s a feel-good type of read but it takes a little while to get there. I also had a little trouble connecting to Nora. She’s detached from reality but not in the endearing way that Eleanor was in Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. If that helps any.

What I liked a lot was the opportunity to live your life a different way and to realize how your choices impact other people. I liked that Nora’s experiences helped to shape and define “happiness” and I liked the visual that Haig created with The Midnight Library itself.

It’s a pleasant, feel-good book. Gives you a little food for thought, too.

Source: Purchased
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Bunny
By Mona Awad
Viking, 9780525559733, June 2019, 320pp.

The Short of It:

Considered a dark comedy but I failed to see the humor.

The Rest of It:

I won’t pretend to know exactly what went on in this story because it could probably be interpreted many different ways. In fact, I’m sure the majority of it went right over my head. Not because I couldn’t lean in and decipher what exactly was taking place, but because I wasn’t motivated to do so. At all.

Samantha Heather Mackey is working on her MFA at a prestigious New England university. She’s part of a writing cohort that includes a group of girls who think alike, dress alike, and apparently, write alike. Think Heathers meets Mean Girls. There’s a lot of pink and shallowness but then there’s this writing program and the fact that they do seem to possess writing talent, which seems out of place. They refer to each other as “Bunny”. Thanks, Bunny. That was great, Bunny. You know what’s best, Bunny.

Samantha hates them, but also wants to be like them. There’s the problem.

As they begin to work together as a cohort, certain things come to light rather quickly. They have special parties that involve rabbits. These parties also involve imaginary creations of their doing. It’s like they “write” them into existence but with witchery and a lot of alcohol and drugs.

Are these things actually happening or is this a product of Samantha’s imagination? What you need to know is that there is a lot of darkness here. I saw some reviews that categorized it as a horror novel but others say dark comedy. There is nothing funny here and if you have a soft spot for furry, little rabbits this story won’t sit well with you. It’s disturbing and weird.

I like to think that what goes on in this novel IS a product of Samantha’s mad skills as a writer but I’m not so sure. It has a very Naked Lunch feel to it and the visuals are just so disturbing and nightmarish.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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