Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “The Strange Library” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

more photos (2)

The Strange Library

Haruki Murakami,

Ted Goossen (Translator),

Chip Kidd (Illustrator)

3.56 · Rating details · 43,115 ratings · 6,238 reviews

From internationally acclaimed author Haruki Murakami—a fantastical illustrated short novel about a boy imprisoned in a nightmarish library.

Opening the flaps on this unique little book, readers will find themselves immersed in the strange world of best-selling Haruki Murakami's wild imagination. The story of a lonely boy, a mysterious girl, and a tormented sheep man plo ...more

Get A Copy

Paperback, 96 pages

Published December 2nd 2014 by Knopf (first published 2001)

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about The Strange Library, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami

Best Haruki Murakami Books

24 books — 801 voters

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Books About Librarians

366 books — 548 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 3.56 ·

Rating details

· 43,115 ratings · 6,238 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of The Strange Library

Jan 26, 2015 Cecily rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: miscellaneous-fiction, jorge-luis-borges, china-japan-asia, humour, landscape-location-protagonist, kafka-and-kafkaesque, ghosts-and-mysteries, short-stories-and-novellas

A rich and delicious snack that defies categorisation.

It has elements of Kafka, Borges, Roald Dahl, Hillaire Belloc and Tim Burton, Neil Gaiman, with a dash of Orwell (but one digit out). It looks like a beautifully designed and illustrated children's book, though it's rather dark for small children, and YA feels wrong as well.

I think it's a book for adults who like slightly sinister tales and want to recapture a taste of the frisson of fear they relished when young.

Story

The story is a fairly s ...more

flag 239 likes · Like · see review

Sep 08, 2015 Ahmad Sharabiani rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, horror, japan, 20th-century, writing, short-stories

Fushigi na Toshokan = The Strange Library, Haruki Murakami

Originally published: November 1982. Short novel about a boy imprisoned in a nightmarish library. A lonely boy, a mysterious girl, and a tormented sheep man plot their escape from the nightmarish library of internationally acclaimed, bestselling Haruki Murakami's wild imagination.

A boy visits his local library on the way home from school. When he asks to borrow a book, he is directed to Room 107 in the basement where a stern old man confr Fushigi na Toshokan = The Strange Library, Haruki Murakami

Originally published: November 1982. Short novel about a boy imprisoned in a nightmarish library. A lonely boy, a mysterious girl, and a tormented sheep man plot their escape from the nightmarish library of internationally acclaimed, bestselling Haruki Murakami's wild imagination.

A boy visits his local library on the way home from school. When he asks to borrow a book, he is directed to Room 107 in the basement where a stern old man confronts him. Fearful, the boy says he is interested in tax collection in the Ottoman Empire and the man goes to fetch three large volumes.

The old man then leads him into a subterranean maze towards the reading room where he will be permitted to read the books. There the boy meets a sheep man who imprisons him in a cell. He is told that he has one month to memorise all three volumes, after which the old man intends to eat his brains once they have become ‘nice and creamy’ with knowledge.

With the help of sheep man and a mysterious voiceless girl, the boy makes a bid for freedom through the maze, but as they enter the library once more, they are confronted by the old man and a large black dog. The boy and sheep man manage to escape to the local park and as the boy rests sheep man disappears. Back home, he finds his mother waiting for him with a hot breakfast. He decides never to visit the library again.

تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز بیست و یکم ماه سپتامبر سال 2014میلادی

عنوان: کتابخانه عجیب؛ نویسنده هاروکی موراکامی؛ مترجم: بهرنگ رجبی؛ تهران، نشر چشمه، 1393؛ 90ص؛ مصور؛ شابک 9786002294609؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان ژاپنی - سده 20م

عنوان: کتابخانه عجیب؛ نویسنده هاروکی موراکامی؛ مترجم: مهدی غبرایی؛ تهران، نشر نیکا، 1394؛ 100ص؛ مصور رنگی؛ شابک 9786007567111؛

پسرک نوجوان و کتابخوانی، برای گرفتن چند کتاب، درباره ‌ی گرد‌آوری مالیات در امپراتوری عثمانی، وارد کتابخانه ای می‌شود؛ مسئول کتابخانه که مردی عجیب و غریب است، او را از مارپیچ‌های پنهان کتابخانه به طبقه پایین، اتاق یکصد و هفت می‌فرستد؛ و او را در آن اتاق زندانی می‌کند، و به او می‌گوید که باید کتاب‌های آنجا را نگهداری کند، تا اجازه دهد او ازآنجا برود؛ پسرک متوجه می‌شود که مرد می‌خواهد از این راه مغز او را، که هر بار از اطلاعاتی تازه پر شده، بخورد، چون از نظر او مغز پسرک خیلی خوشمزه است؛ اما پسرک تصمیم می‌گیرد با یاری شخصیت‌های دیگر از زندان فرار کند؛ دختر زندانبان شخصیت تازه ای است، که با ورود خود از میانه ی داستان، روند تازه‌ ای به قصه می‌دهد؛ «موراکامی» در کتابخانه عجیب، داستانی فانتزی و خیالی آفریده، که گوناگونی شخصیت‌ها، در آن بسیار هوشمندانه است؛ به ویژه اینکه روایت از زبان اول شخص، یعنی پسرک است که موجب همذات پنداری و نزدیکی خوانشگر به شخصیت پسرک می‌شود، به طوری که خوانشگر از لا به لای خط‌ها و تصاویر کتاب، خود را میان فضای مرموز و عجیب می‌بیند؛ عشق نیز عنصری طلایی است، که در بیشتر داستان‌های «موراکامی» وجود دارد، او در این داستان نیز، علاوه بر اینکه حس تعلیق را با ارائه ی جزئیاتی محدود، درباره ی صحنه، ارائه می‌دهد، عشقی ظریف را که بین پسرک و دختر زندانبان وجود دارد را به شکل دیگری ترسیم می‌کند؛ مخاطب این کتاب نوجوانان و جوانان هستند، اما در سفری که پسرک کتابخوان در این کتابخانه عجیب دارد نشانه‌های سمبلیک و نمادینی نیز وجود دارند که نشان می‌دهند این سفر به نوعی سفری معنوی و روحانی است، که برای خوانشگر بزرگسال نیز دلگشاست

نقل از متن: (کتابخانه حتا ساکت‌تر از معمولش بود؛ کفش‌های چرمیِ تازه‌ ام روی کفِ خاکستری ‌رنگ آنجا تق تق می‌کردند؛ صدای تیز و زمختشان شبیهِ صدای معمولِ قدم‌هایم نبود؛ هر بار کفشِ تازه‌ ای می‌خرم، مدتی طول می‌کشد تا به سر و صدایش عادت کنم؛ زنی که تا قبل از آن هیچ‌وقت ندیده بودمش، نشسته بود پشتِ میزِ مراجعان، و داشت کتابِ کُلُفتی می‌خواند؛ عرضِ کتاب جورِ غیرعادی زیاد بود؛ دختره جوری بود انگار دارد صفحه ‌ی سمت راستی را با چشمِ راست و صفحه‌ ی سمت چپی را با چشم‌ چپش می‌خواند؛ گفتم «ببخشید»!؛ کتاب را محکم کوبید روی میزش و زُل زد به من؛ گفتم «اومده ام این‌ها رو پس بدم»؛ و کتاب‌هایی را که دستم بود، روی پیشخان گذاشتم؛ اسمِ یکی‌شان بود «چگونه یک زیردریایی بسازیم» و اسمِ آن یکی «خاطراتِ یک چوپان»؛ کتابداره داخل جلد را نگاه کرد، تا ببیند موعدِ برگرداندنِ کتاب‌ها کِی بوده؛ از وقتشان نگذشته بود؛ من همیشه کار را سرِوقتش می‌کنم و هیچ‌وقت چیزی را دیر تحویل نمی‌دهم؛ مادرم اینجوری بارم آورده؛ چوپان‌ها هم همین‌طورند؛ اگر سفت وسخت به برنامه‌ شان پابند نباشند، گوسفند کامل قاتى می‌کند و به سرش می‌زند؛ کتابداره خیلی نمایشی، روی برگه هه مُهرِ «برگردانده شد» زد، و برگشت سرِ کتاب خواندنش.؛ گفتم «دنبالِ چندتا کتاب هم هستم»؛ بدونِ این‌که سربالا بیاورد و نگاه کند، جواب داد «پایینِ پله‌ ها بپیچ راست؛ راهرو رو صاف برو تا برسی به اتاقِ 107»؛ ردیفِ درازی از پله‌ها را پایین رفتم، پیچیدم راست، راهروِ کم نوری را رفتم تا همان‌طور که قرار بود، به اتاقی رسیدم که شماره‌ ی 107، داشت؛ کتابخانه هه را خیلی رفته بودم اما این که زیرزمینی دارد برایم تازه بود.)؛ پایان نقل

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 08/07/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی ...more

flag 194 likes · Like · see review

Nov 16, 2016 Carol rated it really liked it

Shelves: ebook, cultural-japan, short-stories, read-2016, fiction

Hmmmmmmm..........My first Haruki Murakami story turned out to be a really dark and weird reading experience, but the more I think about it, perhaps I do get it.

I think a grown man (see shoe illustration) is reliving a sad childhood memory.

I think the setting in the bowels of THE STRANGE LIBRARY represents loneliness.

I think the nasty ogre with scary eyes means to show us fear.

I think the starling represents worry and loss.

I think the sheep brings memories of kindness that absorb pain, and

I thin

...more

flag 166 likes · Like · see review

Apr 09, 2018 Kenny rated it really liked it

Shelves: 日本の, young-adult, murakami, short-stories-novellas, magical-realism

“Mr. Sheep Man,” I asked, “why would that old man want to eat my brains?”
“Because brains packed with knowledge are yummy, that’s why. They’re nice and creamy. And sort of grainy at the same time.”

I have a confession to make ... The Strange Library is the first work of Haruki Murakami I've ever read. There, I’ve said it. One of my best friends, Srđan, kept pushing me to read something of Murakami's. To Srđan, Murakami is a mythic figure ~~ I'm certain he makes the sign of the cross every time the ...more

flag 145 likes · Like · see review

Jan 10, 2015 s.penkevich rated it liked it

Recommends it for: Fans of Murakami's magical side

Shelves: murakami, fun, art, whimsical

‘Why did something like this have to happen to me? All I did was go to the library to borrow some books.’

Haruki Murakami has a fascinating ability to break open the natural world and let loose all the magic that we hope and suspect is lurking right under the surface. The Strange Library is a cause for celebration in the Murakami ouveur, even just for the simple fact that its existence signals that the well-respected novelist has achieved a superstar status in the world of reading; even more wort ...more

flag 116 likes · Like · see review

Jun 17, 2018 Mutasim Billah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: pictures-graphic-novels-etc, japan, short-stories

“Ever since I was little my mother had told me, if you don’t know something, go to the library and look it up.”

The Strange Library is a children's illustrated novel written by Haruki Murakami. The story centers around a boy who finds himself imprisoned in a labyrinth-like library. The book centers around strange, dark themes and words for a children's book. Some regular Murakami-esque features are present here in their full glory.

The moral

It is hard to tell what the moral of this strange tale i ...more

flag 88 likes · Like · see review

Sep 02, 2014 Chihoe Ho rated it really liked it · review of another edition

"The Strange Library" is the collector's keepsake to add to the library of every Haruki Murakami fan, and a delightful gift to a reader who can appreciate a well-told imaginative short story in a creatively packaged edition.

When translation of "The Strange Library" was announced with a release of just mere months after his most recent novel, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, it was like Christmas came early for me. As with most Chip Kidd-designed Murakami covers, "The Strange ...more

flag 73 likes · Like · see review

Jan 05, 2015 B Schrodinger rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: japan, books-about-books

This time (unlike the last) the call came in the morning while I was eating a banana. Christmas breaks were over, my partner was back at work and I still had a month before I had to teach again.

"Happy New Year Brendon", came the distinctive voice.

"And to you Moriko", I replied.

"Oh Brendon, you remembered. I am Moriko. It means 'child of the forest'."

"Moriko I haven't even taken 'The Strange Library' out of it's plastic cover yet. Your research skills are still good, but your timing seems to be ...more

flag 66 likes · Like · see review

Feb 09, 2021 Jenna rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, out-of-asia

"Because brains packed with knowledge are yummy, that’s why. They’re nice and creamy. And sort of grainy at the same time."

When I placed a hold on this, I did so thinking it was a full length novel, not an 87 page novella. With just about any other author, I would have returned it unread when I saw how short it is.

But! The author is Haruki Murakmi so I knew it would be a good story despite its brevity. I knew it would be something I'd get lost in for the duration of its pages.

Ah, Haruki, Haruk ...more

flag 63 likes · Like · see review

Mar 24, 2018 jessica rated it liked it

what a strange little book. i think i enjoyed the illustrative presentation of the book more than the story itself, but it was a quick intro to murakami and i am looking forward to reading his other works.

3 stars

flag 56 likes · Like · see review

Apr 26, 2016 Susan Budd rated it it was amazing

Shelves: japanese-literature

I have always been fascinated by dreams. As a child, I found it curious that the very same people, places, and things that I encountered in the real world could be so strangely distorted in the dream world. It was the experience I have come to know as the familiar rendered unfamiliar. Stranger still was the opposite experience. The places I had never been that felt so familiar.

In the dream world, everything is slightly askew. The rules of reality don’t apply. Two people can be one and one can b ...more

flag 53 likes · Like · see review

Dec 05, 2014 K.D. Absolutely rated it did not like it

Shelves: fantasy, japanese, childrens

I just did not get what this book is all about. Is this a children's book? Is this to scare children to go to libraries to read? Is this something like Antoine de St. Exupery's The Little Prince? However, I cannot think of any hidden message of the book. While reading, I was waiting for any of the characters to utter endearing lines like those spoken by the Little Prince or the fox in St. Exupery's classic. None.

The only good thing about this book is its unique and attractive look. The cover has ...more

flag 55 likes · Like · see review

Dec 31, 2019 Reading_ Tam_ Ishly rated it really liked it

What a story! It hit me so hard in the end.
I can understand what the author is trying to convey through this short fantasy/magical realism book.
I can feel the fear, the uncertainty, the relationship with the strangeness of reality, the unexpected inevitable turn of events and some memories that would never leave.
It's so beautiful. I kept wanting for more but the book ended so fast 🙄 ...more

flag 59 likes · Like · see review

Oct 20, 2016 Manuel Antão rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2014

If you're into stuff like this, you can read the full review.

Thoughts on Translation: "The Strange Library" by Haruki Murakami

Published December 2nd 2014

My first Murakami experience.

I’ve always avoided Murakami. I’m not sure why. Maybe because I don’t read Japanese. Or maybe it’s because I’m very particular about the use of stream-of-consciousness and magic realism in a story. Saramago is to stream-of-consciousness what Borges is to magic realism. José Saramago is for me the Nirnava when it co ...more

flag 50 likes · Like · see review

Jun 15, 2016 Algernon (Darth Anyan) rated it liked it

Shelves: 2016

And ever since I was little my mother had told me, if you don’t know something, go to the library and look it up.

light

OK! That’s sound advice. I should know: I once had four different library cards in my pocket, before I even heard of these things called internet and cable television. But this is Japan (have you seen those super weird game shows they love so much?) and this is a Murakami short story, so a library visit can take you to unexpected and bizarre (dark) places.

A young boy interested in h ...more

flag 45 likes · Like · see review

Dec 16, 2014 Doug H rated it it was amazing

This illustrated "storybook" seems a gift to Murakami fans who may have been disappointed by the realism of Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki.

Weird and wonderful, it reads something like Hansel & Gretel Get Trapped in The Black Lodge from David Lynch's Twin Peaks. Don't expect a novel or even a novella here though. It's definitely a short story and it can be read in an hour. But what a fun hour! Very "condensed soup Murakami", it's chock full of his trademark surrealism (an underground world, a Jungian ...more

flag 39 likes · Like · see review

Dec 23, 2014 Sarah Churchill rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own

Such an unusual story and presentation. I'd say this is one for fans of Neil Gaiman's work, because it's just enough dark oddness to make you uncomfortable, but with a bit of magic in there too.

Dropping in to the library on a whim to find something out on his way home from school, our main character is led to the depths of the dungeon where he's held captive, along with some very usual people.

The presentation adds a whole lot to the experience here, with illustrations and reproductions of old b ...more

flag 34 likes · Like · see review

Oct 07, 2014 Sue rated it liked it

Shelves: library-book, fantasy, japan, read-2014

A very odd little book.
What to make of it? I'm not really sure. Is it really about a library? Somehow I doubt it as Murakami is never "about" any single thing.

A young boy goes to the library after school looking for specific books (on Turkish tax codes of all things). The librarian offers to find them but then the strangeness begins. There are so many conditions to reading the books that life itself is imperiled.

Is this a fable of childhood fears? A fable of fears of institutions with strange ...more

flag 33 likes · Like · see review

Oct 07, 2014 Ian "Marvin" Graye rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviews, mura-karmic-wonder-land, reviews-4-stars, read-2015

The Garden of Forking Corridors

I had just finished "The Garden of Forking Paths". I was about to start some Kafka, but I wandered into a $10 bookshop to see if there was anything that I could read in between. I looked at the front table. Nothing. Inside I wondered about a book about Heidegger. I went back to it twice, but decided I had enough Heidegger for the moment. I resolved to be virtuous and save my money for another occasion. I had one last look at the front table on the way out, and ...more

flag 32 likes · Like · see review

Sep 22, 2014 Forrest rated it really liked it

"Indulgent" is the word that critics will use to describe The Strange Library, no doubt. Some readers have expressed their thought that Murakami is now famous enough that he can do whatever the heck he pleases (a'la Peter Jackson's ~~mauling~~ interpretation of The Hobbit), spurning the marketplace and readers who might enjoy his more carefully-crafted fictions.

I say "do as you please, Murakami". But I've been accused of being self-indulgent in my own writing, at times, too.

If you don't like what Mu ...more

flag 31 likes · Like · see review

Sep 23, 2020 Aesaan rated it really liked it

Shelves: novella, magical-realism, fiction, fantasy

Its a bizzare tale of a young boy, a mysterious girl and a sheep man plotting their escape from a nightmarish library.

*Note to self: You don't need to please everyone and seek approval*

Murakami and his wild imagination, he leaves some questions unansered, and it makes you really think. The Strange Library is a mysterious book and one that can only be read and felt and you can have your own theories.

Looking forward to reading more of Murakami's works. He reminds me of Neil Gaiman, anyone else ...more

flag 28 likes · Like · see review

Nov 26, 2016 Sam Quixote rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A weird question gets stuck in our young protagonist’s head: how did the Ottoman Empire collect taxes? This must be set in pre-Google times because he goes to a library to find the answer! But this is no ordinary library and the boy’s surreal odyssey is about to begin…

The Strange Library is an excellent story, one of Murakami’s best and certainly his most entertaining I’ve read in years. With its child protagonist, fantastical elements, anthropomorphic animal character and maze, the story remin A weird question gets stuck in our young protagonist’s head: how did the Ottoman Empire collect taxes? This must be set in pre-Google times because he goes to a library to find the answer! But this is no ordinary library and the boy’s surreal odyssey is about to begin…

The Strange Library is an excellent story, one of Murakami’s best and certainly his most entertaining I’ve read in years. With its child protagonist, fantastical elements, anthropomorphic animal character and maze, the story reminded me a lot of Guillermo Del Toro’s dark fairy tale, Pan’s Labyrinth – definitely a good thing as it’s one of my favourite movies!

The story shares many of the author’s signature features like the bookish and sensitive main character, precise descriptions of meals, mysterious/sad women, magical realism, and The Sheep Man, from A Wild Sheep Chase and Dance, Dance, Dance, makes a reappearance. That’s really my only critique of this book: Murakami’s unoriginality in reusing the same tropes he often does.

But probably due to its length – it’s basically a short story – Murakami thankfully isn’t given space to dwell on the usual slice-of-life scenes he likes to fill his books with, which makes it a much faster-moving and more compelling narrative. It’s padded out to novella-length by interspersing the text with an array of interesting illustrations clipped from old medical journals and magazines which adds another layer of peculiarity to the tale. My edition was also designed to look like an old library book with a borrowing-card pocket on the front and fake stamps on the interior – very cool!

Murakami masterfully brings the story home on the last page when it’s revealed what all the craziness preceding it was all about while also denying the reader a happy ending with its very bleak finale, the kind that fairy tales used to have before Disney made them all family-friendly!

The Strange Library is an entrancing Kafkaesque contemporary fairy tale that’s well-written, accessible and haunting. I happily gobbled it up in one sitting – not only will Murakami fans enjoy this but so will fans of Neil Gaiman and Guillermo del Toro as well. ...more

flag 28 likes · Like · see review

Aug 06, 2015 leynes rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Rereading some of the Murakami's that I read years ago is so interesting to me. It makes me reflect on the kind of reader that I was and the kind of reader that I have become now. I am so grateful (and proud!) that I committed the past few years to reading extensively, more broadly and way more critical. Reading is a great tool to expand one's horizon, to sharpen one's mind. Through reading, we learn.

If you don't know something, go to the library and look it up.

When I first read The Strange Rereading some of the Murakami's that I read years ago is so interesting to me. It makes me reflect on the kind of reader that I was and the kind of reader that I have become now. I am so grateful (and proud!) that I committed the past few years to reading extensively, more broadly and way more critical. Reading is a great tool to expand one's horizon, to sharpen one's mind. Through reading, we learn.

If you don't know something, go to the library and look it up.

When I first read The Strange Library I found it "sooo freaking good", I liked the illustrations and though that the plot was "weird, quick, fun and def worth my time"; now that my reading of the short story collection The Elephant Vanishes has made me question everything that Murakami put to paper, I was happy to find similar themes in The Strange Library. Again, Murakami treats us to a story that explores surrealism, the simultaneous existence of reality and imagination, and how that can help up cope with life, especially when it is most bleakest.

On the surface level, we follow a young boy on his way to the library. He wants to lend out books on the Ottoman Empire. (#relatable) But from the start we sense that something is off. The library that is usually a warm and welcoming place full of knowledge and books, is suddenly eerie and mysterious. The librarian is an unfriendly, quite condescending man that forces the protagonist to step into the labyrinth the library contains.

If all they did was lend out knowledge for free, what would the payoff be for them?

Without knowing what hit him, our protagonist is held captive in a cell with the task to consume as much knowledge as he can. After a couple of days, the man will come back to eat his brains. (Can you believe that Murakami's intended audience for this were children? LMAO.) Luckily, the little boy doesn't remain alone and befriends a weird sheep-man and the most beautiful girl (...as good as this was, it's still Murakami, ya'll).

There are many instances in this story where the reader is left utterly confused. It's hard to decipher what's going on. What does all the imagery, what do all these symbols mean? Who is the sheep man? Who is the girl? What's up with the starling? What's up with the ending?

"So just because I don't exist in the sheep man's world, it doesn't man I don't exist at all."
"I get it," I said. "Our worlds are all jumbled together—your world, my world, the sheep man's world. Sometimes they overlap and sometimes they don't. That's what you mean, right?"

There are many layers to the story and many different readings of it. For me, this is a story about grief and loneliness and how to cope with both. At the end of the story, we learn that the young boy's mother died last Tuesday and that he now feels alone. He is reminded of his cell in the library and how he felt there, in the pitch dark. He asks himself if he just imagined it or if it had been real? (I don't wanna quote Dumbledore here ... but I mean!) It is quite clear that the line between reality and imagination is blurred. The boy imagined that his starling sacrificed himself to get him out of the library but then in the "real world" his bird's cage is actually vacant.

If you don't hurry, you'll be lost for eternity.

It's easy to get lost in our own heads, to get lost in our grief. Grief, fear, loneliness ... all of these conditions can be all-absorbing. It's hard to fight our way out. In The Strange Library Murakmami ponders on that exact fact. The boy's defense mechanism (when it comes to the concern for his dying mother) leads him to project his own fears, anxieties and desires onto others. He constantly states that his mother is really concerned for him, when in reality he he might be the one who is concerned for his mother.

As usual with Murakami, at the end nothing is quite clear. Everything's a blur, and we're no longer sure what reality really is. Aren't our thoughts and dreams and our imagination part of reality, too? The Strange Library is not an unequivocal success, but rather an interesting experiment. ...more

flag 28 likes · Like · see review

Dec 14, 2014 Blair rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2014-release, short-stories, translated, read-on-kindle

This felt really pointless to me. As several other reviewers have commented, it seems like a children's book, and the assumption that it is in fact intended for kids is the only reason my rating isn't one star. A pleasantly sinister set-up about a boy being trapped in a labyrinth beneath a library soon descends into a daft, random story with no satisfying conclusion and no explanation. The illustrations are more artistic touches than images that actually illuminate the story - they look like the ...more

flag 26 likes · Like · see review

Jan 02, 2015 Kevin Xu rated it it was amazing

Loved this book. This is the reason that I read Murakami, for all the strange things like how a boy's typical simple trip into the local library turns out into a strange prison that he cannot escape. ...more

flag 24 likes · Like · see review

Feb 03, 2017 T.D. Whittle rated it liked it

Shelves: reviews, haruki-murakami

*** Warning: this review contains a slew of spoilers ***

The Strange Library is sure to be engagingly familiar for most Murakami fans, regarding the set, the props, and the unlikely hero. There is a solitary, inward-looking boy; an ordinary public building containing a profound mystery; a hidden labyrinth; a sinister and grotesque man looming over the boy's life in a threatening way; a sheep man (I have to admit to a soft spot for Murakami's recurring sheep-man character -- in this story, he even ...more

flag 23 likes · Like · see review

Jan 09, 2017 Ram Alsrougi rated it liked it

It has elements of Kafka, Borges, Roald Dahl, Hillaire Belloc and Tim Burton, Neil Gaiman, with a dash of Orwell (but one digit out). It looks like a beautifully designed and illustrated children's book, though it's rather dark for small children, and YA feels wrong as well.
I think it's a very odd little book for adults who like slightly sinister tales and want to recapture a taste of the frisson of fear they relished when young.
Haruki Murakami has a fascinating ability to break open the natural ...more

flag 22 likes · Like · see review

Feb 19, 2015 Teresa rated it really liked it

Recommended to Teresa by: Cecily

I wasn't going to read this, but after reading Cecily's review, I requested it from the library and I'm glad I did. The physical book itself is an interesting little art object, almost awkward to read at first before I figured out what to do with the outer flaps.

It doesn't matter to me if a particular age group does or doesn't seem to be a target. In our public library this book is shelved with the author's other works and that is just fine. Maybe I was a strange child (I still remember a friend ...more

flag 21 likes · Like · see review

Jul 16, 2015 Ellie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, asia, 2015indchallenge

I'm not sure what to say about this one. I loved the actual format of the book-not one to get on Kindle! And the illustrations were striking. It's a fairy tale of a story with good and evil and loss and a kind of magic.

But I'm glad I got this book from the library-it took an hour to read (at most) and is not my favorite Murakami.

But then my feelings about it keep changing. It's my least favorite Murakami (I think) but the format is so interesting and fun it's a large part of how the story is to ...more

flag 19 likes · Like · see review

Feb 03, 2015 Jen Campbell rated it really liked it · review of another edition

5/5 for the book as a physical object. It is beautiful and the art is perfect.
3/5 for the story itself (which is a shame)
So 4/5 overall. :)

flag 18 likes · Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Haruki Murakami f...: The Strange Library	2	18	13 hours, 56 min ago
CMLE Librarians E...: December Book: The Strange Library	6	18	Dec 21, 2016 05:50PM
2015 Reading Chal...: The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami	5	77	Sep 20, 2015 08:12AM
BooktubeSFF Awards: The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami (2015)	8	57	Sep 17, 2015 03:34AM
What did you think about the ending of this book?	6	247	Jun 02, 2015 04:04PM
2015 Reading Chal...: The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami	1	40	Apr 20, 2015 05:23AM

Readers also enjoyed

See similar books…

Genres

Fiction

1,198 users

Fantasy

716 users

Short Stories

484 users

Magical Realism

343 users

Cultural > Japan

319 users

Asian Literature > Japanese Literature

262 users

Horror

155 users

Writing > Books About Books

109 users

Adult Fiction

97 users

Audiobook

87 users

See top shelves…

About Haruki Murakami

Haruki Murakami

87,665 followers

Murakami Haruki (Japanese: 村上春樹) is a popular contemporary Japanese writer and translator. His work has been described as 'easily accessible, yet profoundly complex'. He can be located on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/harukimuraka...

Since childhood, Murakami has been heavily influenced by Western culture, particularly Western music and literature. He grew up reading a range of works by Am ...more