The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

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

I have been putting off writing this review because I honestly don't think I can do justice to the spirit of the book. Nevertheless, I shall try.

This is my first book by Matt Haig. There is something about him, else who will come up with such a fantastical, other-worldly idea to convey something basic, simple but not easy.

We live our lives making choices and these lead us down one path and not another. We have regrets about the choices we made and think that if only we had chosen differently, life would have been oh-so-much-better. Something like 'If only I had done better at college, if only I had chosen a different career, if only ...if only...if only.' And what if we get a chance to see how each choice would pan out, and see the consequences, and then, can choose the perfect set of choices for a perfect life, would that not be wonderful?

'Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices...Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?'

Perhaps this book came at a time in my life when I needed it, but the core learning is something we all would do good to be aware of and live by. Hopefully I have piqued your interest enough to make you want to read it.

View all my reviews

Anxious People by Fredrick Backman

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am in love! This book is like a gust of fresh air after a long time indoors, or a cool dip in water in peak summer. Really!

This is my first book by Fredrik Backman and I really didn't know what to expect. A few pages in, I was like "Wow! This is a delight!!" Only then did I look up and discover Fredrik Backman is a Swedish author and this is a translation. I am left thinking, if the translation is so good, the original must be so much more touching, and also that the translator Neil Smith has succeeded in reaching readers in another language. Hats off! The only other Swedish author I have read was Stieg Larsson whose Millenium Trilogy I have really enjoyed.

The book is about love and loss, normal everyday moments, mental health, gender and sexuality, infidelity and divorce, death, desperation, alcoholism, ambition, and the need to do the right thing, in short - normal human experiences. It's like a goldilocks zone for each character. Just enough depth to feel for each of them and relate to them and without feeling too heavy because each is a human experience. Funny at so many places that I found myself laughing loudly and then at a blind corner comes a human tragedy, sucked the wind out of my lungs. What beautiful balance!!!

Fredrik Backman is my latest favourite author and this book is easily the best I have read in a long time. So much so, his debut book is waiting on my to-read shelf to be consumed very soon.







View all my reviews