Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

999 reviews

saliwali's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Grief, Mental illness, Self harm, and Suicide

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Gaslighting, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Bullying, Drug use, Eating disorder, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Toxic friendship, Drug abuse, Addiction, Emotional abuse, and Medical content

I made it 30 minutes into this book last spring and stopped because, trigger warning,

it starts with suicide because someone is losing everything and I was afraid it would push me over the edge.

But the last category on my 2023 reading challenge is "a book you started but didn't finish," So I gave it a another shot this week. I wish so much that I had made it to minute 36 last spring, which is oddly the whole point of this unbelievably beautiful and hopeful book. Spoiler alert: she thrives.

ash_bees's review against another edition

reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

"Where there are books, there is always a temptation to open them."

Reminiscent of the movie "It's A Wonderful Life," except instead of only experiencing one alternative, the protagonist experiences many.  It does get a bit preachy, but so did "It's A Wonderful Life."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Cancer, Death of parent, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Infidelity, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Vomit, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

_mariah_'s review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Death

Moderate: Animal death and Death of parent

Minor: Addiction and Alcoholism

thimi_time's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This is such a poignant book! The themes explored are explored in such a way that is just…beautiful. And the underlying message is so inspiring. Though this isn’t exactly my style of book, I didn’t have the moment of “oh, I love this book”, it was an amazing read, and I will definitely be recommending it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Self harm, Death of parent, and Terminal illness

Minor: Car accident, Drug use, Drug abuse, Animal cruelty, and Infidelity

ohnodesty's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Suicide attempt, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Animal death

bree_of_the_woods's review against another edition

mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Suicide

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Drug use

mchevvuri's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Although book starts with some heavy stuff, the rest of the book is a cozy read and keeps you on the edge thinking if Nora would be successful in the life she chooses to live. It’s a good book which makes you reflect on your life and realize the beauty of it. I would recommend this for someone who wants a fast read and wants to finish over a weekend.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Alcoholism, and Suicide attempt

sparrowhearted's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Have not read a book this fast in a while. Did not take notes while reading so I'm not sure about details I liked or did not like, but I don't feel like it really hit that arbitrary four-star rating to me.
Would recommend it if I know the person I'm recommending it to would already be interested in that sort of story, but I'm not sure I'd claim it's a must-read in general.
 
- Protagonist Nora's experiences do shape her in relatively believable ways for most of the part since they work with what's already present in her, rather than provoke a complete 180. Her development sometimes feels a little heavy-handed, but never downright forced. This might be a personal problem but I'm still not sure, however, if by the end of the story I had a proper sense for who Nora is? 
A lot of her personality traits felt relatable but in a way she read a bit like a horoscope, hitting a lot of points that felt like she was developed in a way that was supposed to make her relatable to the widest audience possible. The fact that we never witness much of the alternate Noras' personalities only made that more glaring to me.

- The book is fairly fast-paced once you get into the eponymous Midnight Library and my short attention span appreciated that, but it also meant that a lot of things were shown on a surface level.

-The more I think about it, the more I think my biggest gripe is how the fast pace takes some of the impact of its story? In many cases I didn't feel like I stayed long enough with the events to feel much more than what the book was telling me to, and I'm not sure I liked that.

- The cast is, from what I can tell, largely white but there is some diversity in regards to social backgrounds and sexuality. That being said, none of these marginalized identities are examined much and as such, it feels like all of these factors are more passing matters rather than important aspects of the characters and story.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- Will not comment on original's writing style, since I read a translation and don't have anything to compare it to. The translation had a good flow, felt natural and wasn't complicated to read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism and Emotional abuse

madanxiety's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This is the best book I've read in a while, maybe all year. I found it a very touching read as someone who has struggled with my will to live. I am a new teacher, and one of my mentors was recently telling me that one of the main ways that authors convey theme is through perspective shifts. This book made me think that logic can be applied to life as well - that the theme or message of our lives is dependent on our perspective, and if we want a positive or meaningful life, we must only view our lives positively and meaningfully. Well, I'm not arguing that that's ALL we have to do - systemic inequality and other situational factors will always be at play. But to make the most of what we've got, perspective is key. And, I think as this book demonstrates, changing your perspective is not easy; but after much confusion and trial and error, it is possible.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Animal death, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Self harm, and Suicide

Moderate: Alcoholism and Addiction

saltphxchic's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug abuse, Cancer, and Death of parent