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The Strange Library
by
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
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
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Paperback, 96 pages
Published
December 2nd 2014
by Knopf
(first published 2001)
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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
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

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 ...more
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 ...more

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
“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
“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

‘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
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

“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
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

"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
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

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
"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

"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
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

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
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

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

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
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

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
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

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.

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

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
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

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
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

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
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

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
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

"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
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

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
*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

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 ...more
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 ...more

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 ...more

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

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

*** 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
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

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
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

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
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

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
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
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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 | |
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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 |
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
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
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