Book Review: The Comfort Book

“No is a good word. It keeps you sane. In an age of overload, no is really yes. It is yes to having the space you need to live.”- Matt Haig.

I’ll begin this by saying the inevitable; this book is a snuggle under a warm blanket! And it could not have come at a better time, for it makes the perfect lockdown read.

The Comfort Book is a collection of notes and stories scribbled over the years by Haig to remind his future self that it is never going to rain at the same place forever and there will always be a light at the end of the tunnel. All we need is a plan and a little determination.

Growing up, Matt believed he wouldn’t survive beyond twenty-five years in life, and here he is, at the age of forty-five, writing a book on hope and giving his readers a warm, cosy hug! I couldn’t agree more with Matt when he says, ‘continually looking for the meaning of life is like looking for the meaning of toast. It is sometimes better just to eat the toast’.

I am sure I speak for many of us when I say I have never felt the urge to highlight the entire book as I felt for this one. Some anecdotes will warm the cockles of your heart, and you’d want to visit those words again and again. Hope is the fuel for our mental engine and Matt explains beautifully how hope is available for all, provided we don’t deny the reality of the present. Life is uncertain and it contains light as well as dark.

This is my third Matt Haig book. My favourites include Reasons To Stay Alive, The Midnight Library, and The Comfort Book makes a beautiful addition there. Also, watch out for the yummiest way to apply peanut butter on a toast and Haig’s favourite hummus recipe provided in the book.

Overall, the book has truly lived up to the title and gives a great sense of comfort to anyone looking for little miracles to happen. So relevant for these strange, uncertain, and stressful times!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

Have you read any other novels by Matt Haig? Which one is your favourite? 📚

The Comfort Book was published on 1st July 2021 by Allen & Unwin. You can purchase the book here.

Title: The Comfort Book

Author: Matt Haig

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Pages: 272

MRP: 34.99$