I read “The Midnight Library” by Matt Haig and found myself astonished by the ending. It was not hard to understand what’s going on, the chapters are episodic so it does not seem too long or dragged out. There are certain places where they just burst long philosophical quotes to make a point, but it is not a dread to read the entire book. Overall, it is a motivational book disguised as fiction with a fun, easy-to-understand concept.
Nora is a relatable character despite of her specific life circumstances. She ran away from all of her other life choices in the world and got stuck with a mundane life with nobody truly on her side. She had many regrets, so after she got sent into the library, she decided to try out those alternative lives to see what she could have had.
Her regrets were very specific to her life, but the themes are common amongst humans.
She regretted running away from a guy she loved, she regretted not choosing a career path that her dad had set up ever since she was young, she regretted running away from a chance to become a successful band member along with her brother, she regretted not following her best friend, etc. Nora explored those alternative worlds with that mindset, thinking she would just be happier.
But in the end, she did not feel complete.
She jumped from one world to another, only to find that she’s been looking at her past memories with rose-tinted glasses, thinking that any other choices would be better than the one she chose for this life. In reality, good choices don’t always come with good results, and what you have now, you might not have it in those other worlds.
This book teaches that regrets are based on assumptions and assumptions are not facts. Additionally, this book teaches that you may live a wonderful life outside your original one, but you will still mourn for the happiness you once had in your original life that you have lost in the other life.
In other words, regret is unavoidable.
The ending and people’s criticisms.
The ending was criticized because it felt too predictable. Nora went into alternative universes and realized that nothing’s better than her real world, so she went back and started to enjoy life again. That’s too predictable, and people want plot twists to spice up the book.
And that’s okay, because criticisms are valid, and I also agree.
I agree that the ending is predictable, that’s why I found comfort in the book. That’s probably why many people, especially the ones struggling with depression and life problems, found comfort in the book.
Essentially, the ending is what struggling people want in real life: predictability and comfort.
Obviously, a book about suicide that’s written by someone who’s famous for making motivational content is going to promote the beauty of our current lives, so no other ending can possibly replace it (unless we want to go down to the sci-fi route or stray away from the “motivational book disguised as fiction” trope). It’s very predictable and might be boring for some people.
But for some others, it is comforting to be reassured that our current life is the best choice for ourselves, that our imaginations might not be better than our current life, and that things will get better — the world is not as mundane or as scary as we think.
Reading about a main character who thought that nobody had cared about her anymore and she had no passion to pursue, only to fail her suicide attempt and be reunited by her loved ones again is what many people want to see. Reading someone who was depressed but later fought to get her original life back after going through many alternative universes with better choices is a reassuring moment.
This book brings back motivation to keep going.
What can we learn from the ending of the book?
Many people can make essays about the moral of the story and I think the lessons are very obvious if you have read it, but I want to add a hidden meaning that I personally resonate with:
