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    The Strange Library
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    The Strange Library
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    The Strange Library
    Audiobook1 hour

    The Strange Library

    Written by Haruki Murakami

    Narrated by Kirby Heyborne

    3.5/5

    ()

    Unavailable in your country

    Unavailable in your country

    About this audiobook

    A unique and wonderfully creepy tale that is sure to delight Murakami fans.

    'All I did was go to the library to borrow some books'.

    On his way home from school, the young narrator of The Strange Library finds himself wondering how taxes were collected in the Ottoman Empire. He pops into the local library to see if it has a book on the subject. This is his first mistake.

    Led to a special 'reading room' in a maze under the library by a strange old man, he finds himself imprisoned with only a sheep man, who makes excellent donuts, and a girl, who can talk with her hands, for company. His mother will be worrying why he hasn't returned in time for dinner and the old man seems to have an appetite for eating small boy's brains. How will he escape?

    'The best novelist on the planet' Observer

    Murakami is like a magician who explains what he's doing as he performs the trick and still makes you believe he has supernatural powers . . . But while anyone can tell a story that resembles a dream, it's the rare artist, like this one, who can make us feel that we are dreaming it ourselves ? New York Times Book Review

    A dark and memorable fairytale about the lingering influence of childhood fears and the isolation of adulthood -- Catherine Kelly ? Cherwell Newspaper
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherW. F. Howes Ltd
    Release dateApr 23, 2015
    ISBN9781510001305
    Unavailable
    The Strange Library

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    Related categories

    Reviews for The Strange Library

    3.5/5

    1,383 ratings94 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      The Murakami magic that is suitable for every age, even a kid.

      The strange library is the story about a boy who on his casual visit to a public library gets trapped in it by a creepy oldman, there he meets a beautiful girl without voice, and a sheep man. Who at first startles him, and then later tries help him escape from the library.

      It was a short read, that was gripping while it lasted.
    • 4/5
      Got through the middle and was loving it, when I discovered it was a children novella.

      It's my second book by Haruki Murakami, and it's good.
    • 5/5
      Strange short story but i love it! It is my first read from Haruki and I am looking forward for the next book!
    • 4/5
      My first ever Murakami. What a strange book. Tbh, it made me nauseous at many points.
    • 4/5
      It really was a strange library, very interesting indeed would recommend to anyone wholike Murakami’s style
    • 4/5
      Loved this book. Strange and evocative, all told in a very straightforward way. Dreamlike, I was pulled along by the story and realized I had no idea what would happen next. Read something from another critic that mentioned (favorably) overtones of Kafka, Poe. 'Nuff said.
    • 4/5
      strange but enjoyable ! as murakami always will be ?
    • 3/5
      The strangest book ever but I liked it. I'm not even sure what I liked about it but the narration was engaging and the story itself was so bizarre that I was intrigued throughout.
    • 1/5
      Didn't understand the gist of the book. To much magical realism with little of note.
    • 4/5
      fantastic narration. it was a lovely short story perfect for busy afternoons
    • 4/5
      I like haruki murakami. Very interesting!
      I like this story.
    • 3/5
      This is Murakami's short novel, depicting his wild imagination.. always leave his readers wonder whats the meaning beyond his writings, especially this one really strange story about a library.. hmm..
    • 3/5
      I think it’s a given that Murakami writes from way out on left field. He blends contemporary life with mystic happenings. In the short story The Strange Library the mystic has taken over. The physical environment is real; the people who inhabit it behave as if their reality is our reality. The young boy who visits The Strange Library is bound by his rigid ‘proper behaviour’ upbringing. Behaviour in a Library is codified, quiet, and respectful of others.

      “I’m always on time, and I never hand things in late. That’s the way my mother taught me”

      As the young boy progresses through the library he is constrained by his sense of propriety. ‘…my mother taught me’.

      Is this a metaphor for Japanese society, follow the rigid rules and be lead where you do not wish to go?

    • 1/5
      It’s a no for me. I listened to the end hoping for at least a good conclusion, but it left me feeling a little empty. I don’t think it was intended to be a “feel good” read.
    • 5/5
      This is my first Murakami try and I loved it, he writes similarly to Paulo in my opinion. The Strange Library is indeed a strange library.
    • 4/5
      Very interesting, everything that was written hooked me. The author had a lovely way with words and it was unlike anything I ever read before. I kept wanting to understand the meaning but couldn't quite grasp it. It ended so abruptly as well, I wanted more from the ending and to understand the encounter better.
    • 5/5
      The only Murakami book that I didn’t stop halfway! ? This was nice! And creepy!
    • 4/5
      My first Murakami, and I’m eager to read more. A novella, maybe even a short story, with corresponding art. The story itself is very strange, almost like a dream, and makes me think of Where The Wild Things Are, except a little more twisted and grown up (yet not inappropriate for kids).<
    • 5/5
      Nice short twisted, so Murakamish...
      Rich language, easy to listen
    • 3/5
      A young boy gets tricked by a librarian and finds himself in a nightmarish situation in this fantasy/horror short story. And what a strange tale ensues! I'm impressed with my first dip into Murakami surrealism. I'm unsure who the target audience is for this though. I assumed it's for an adult audience, but it reads like a children's story (almost like a sinister fairytale). Still entertaining though.

      3.5 stars
    • 1/5
      Starts well but loses its course towards the end. The ending is so absurd.
    • 5/5
      What a sad book. A snack as someone referred to it. I enjoyed it.
    • 5/5
      pure Murakami adaptation of a classic fairy tale. Short and excellent .
    • 4/5
      Could this story be real?? The story seemed real to me.
    • 4/5
      What an intriguing suspense short story, it is strange weird with bits of twist and lots of imagination.

      It is a nice short story very good writing and personally I think there is lots of think about, what exactly does the old man, the sheepman, the girl and the dog represent?
      Really enjoyed this!
    • 5/5
      Ideal composition, intriguing story, good narration. Murakami at his best. Good for aspiring authors
    • 4/5
      Estranho é bem o termo apropriado. Muito interessante, embora assustador.
    • 3/5
      What a strange little book! I'm not really sure what to make of it. This is my first Murakami. It was written like a psychedelic dream, enjoyable enough to read but I'm not sure I "got" it.
    • 4/5
      Was the kid in a surreal world? Was it the demons of depression? Maybe it was loneliness? Maybe be it was out of grief for his mother?

      It was a strange little book, as most of Murakami is. The reason why I loved it.

      Also, good work by the narrator.
    • 2/5
      A rather pointless nightmare.