Rant: Why everyone in my book club kept pushing 'The Midnight Library' as a masterpiece

I finally caved and read it after six months of hearing how it changed their lives, and I found it so predictable and preachy it nearly put me to sleep. The whole parallel universe gimmick felt like a Hallmark movie with a library stamp. Am I the only one who thought the main character's journey was way too neat and tidy?

3 comments

3 Comments

felix1471mo ago

..and honestly that's what bugged me the most about it. Like the whole thing with her being able to just jump to a parallel universe and fix every regret instantly, it felt so fake. Did it bother you how the book basically said all your problems can be solved if you just think differently enough? Because that messaging felt real hollow to me, especially for people dealing with actual depression.

iris5741mo ago

@felix147 didn't a friend tell me her therapist had to put down that book because it made her feel worse about not being able to just "think her way out" of depression?

paul2511mo ago

Wait, did @iris574 actually say that about their therapist? Because I had a buddy who read that book during a rough patch and it messed him up pretty bad - he kept beating himself up for not being able to just "imagine" his way to a better life like the main character does. He told me it made his depression feel like a personal failure instead of what it actually is (you know, a medical condition). The whole premise just feels off to me too, like it ignores how hard real mental health struggles are by pretending willpower and daydreaming can fix everything.