Our book club hated 'The Midnight Library' and I think they missed the whole point

I picked it for our August meeting because I loved the multiverse idea. But 9 out of 11 people said it was too cheesy and the message was shallow. One guy said it was 'self-help wrapped in fiction.' I get that the writing isn't literary genius, but the whole point is about regret and choice. I walked away feeling like people judged it for being popular instead of actually engaging with the story. Did your club ever trash a book just because it was a bestseller?

2 comments

2 Comments

paul33023h ago

People get weird about popular books. My book club tore apart "The Silent Patient" for being predictable when the whole twist is supposed to be obvious if you pay attention. Nine out of eleven sounds like they made up their minds before opening it.

caseyc3020h ago

whole twist is supposed to be obvious" - that's the thing, @paul330. Most people miss that the book isnt really a mystery, its a character study. The predictability is the point. It's showing how people ignore red flags when someone is charming or attractive. The real twist is that we're all like the narrator, missing what's right in front of us because we want to believe the pretty story.