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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

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

()

Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

From internationally acclaimed author Haruki Murakami - a fantastical 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, best-selling Haruki Murakami's wild imagination.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateDec 2, 2014
ISBN9780553546521
Unavailable
The Strange Library

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Reviews for The Strange Library

Rating: 3.5454582591876207 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

517 ratings62 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    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).<
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    This was my first ever audiobook, and boy, was it a doozy. I had no idea that the book heavily relies on images. I was also confused about whether or not it is a children's book (is it?). The jury is out on this one.

    I should also note that this was my first Murakami. I wish I had started with something else. Oh well.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A quick, easy and quite bizarre read as only Murakami can do. Perhaps a metaphor for isolation in the modern massive world, maybe a bizarre stage of grief in the loss of a loved one from a child's perspective, or maybe a just a trippy stream of consciousness that he put to paper that works as a multi-interpretive fable. The illustrations by Chip Kidd absolutely make this novella pop. Surreal and lovely.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I'm not sure what I thought of the story - it was complemented but at the same time overwhelmed by the book itself which was a treasure to hold and read - just the right size - not too tall and not too wide, just the right length, not too long and not too short - most conveniently bound with a handy over-flapped book jacket that doubles as the perfect book mark.

    just like goldilocks tried the chairs and then the porridge and finally the beds finding the perfect fit for her at each turn, I worked my way forward and back thru the story delighting in the girl's visits, the delightful fairy food and refreshments, relishing yet dreading each revelation from the sheepman, yet upon being awakened from the story I remember most of all the waiting mother, the missing starling and the black dog.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The Strange Library is a strange book! I'm sure there is something I'm not getting behind this tale as the Murakami books I've read so far have not been whimsical. Hmmm, a strange one indeed.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Beautiful prose with an incomprehensible end.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Beautifully illustrated book.Usual sort of dreamlike story from Murakami, which feels slight, although enhanced by the illustrations.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Weird and incomprehensible. I didn't really get what it was trying to say, but I did like the dark whimsy of it, as well as the surrealistic tinge that the other characters, especially the Starling girl, dispensed to the whole story. There was always a feeling of suspense overhanging as I read it, as well as a cast of sadness and isolation, and this murky darkness that accompanied the imagery of the scenes in my mind.I honestly wished that it has a couple more pages to it, probably around 20 pages more. It just felt too short to me.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This was... really strange. While I didn't care much for the story, Murakami is a very good author, and the presentation/cover/etc is wonderful.
    So a middle of the road rating.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    What a strange and wonderfully creative story. I have heard a lot about this author and the crazy marvelous things he does in his writing and I was not let down by The Strange Library. This short story only took me about 30 minutes to read through while having lunch and it was beautifully illustrated. Murakami's story is one of a library that holds secrets in its depths, and not just secrets of learning but of the more sinister.A boy goes to the library for some books and is held captive by a strange old man. During his imprisonment he meets a few other unlikely characters and then the twists and turns are more pronounced.I had a lot of questions after reading this book - mostly about how this poor boy can now never go into a library without feeling fear and entrapment. And that is NOT what you want to feel in a library (at least it isn't for me). The joys of knowledge are a wonderful thing and this story takes a macabre turn with them instead. I really enjoyed this book in all its weird, convoluted events and will be picking up more books by this author.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    From the back of the book: A lonely boy, a mysterious girl, and a tormented sheep man plot their escape from the nightmarish library.Let me just say right off, I didn't understand this book. Or to clarify, I didn't understand the ending or overall message. This is only the second Murakami I read, the other being the intimidating 1Q84, and I can't say I really understood that book either. He may not be for me, or I may have started out by reading the wrong books. Honestly, I bought this book because of the unique format and visuals. The story is brief, at most it takes up half of the 96 pages. The lonely boy becomes trapped in the library because of his inability to stick up for himself, and perhaps that's the lesson to be learned. Honestly, I finished the story scratching my head and wondering if maybe Murakami's work is too deep for me. I'm glad I purchased this on Amazon, because the cover price is $18.00 and there's no way I could justify that price for this book, even though it is cool to look at. I think it would be better off packaged in a short story collection, or sold at half the price. Had I paid full price, I would be very disappointed.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Typical with young girl, moon, labyrinth, lost, isolation. "Our worlds are all jumbled together-your world, my world, the sheep man's world." "At that time, my anxiety had turned into an anxiety quite lacking in anxiousness. And any anxiety that is not especially anxious is, in the end, an anxiety hardly worth mentioning." The story of a young boy's visit to the strange library. Mostly picked this up because of the interesting cover. Book was translated by Ted Goossen and art direction and design by Chip Kidd. This book is illustrated but by several people. Published 2014, a short story.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Short story on loss and separation. Reads like a children's book and is interspersed with illustrations but i'm not sure if children would get it. I'm not sure i got it
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was a fun little fairy tale of a romp, if your romps involve you getting locked up in the basement of a library and being forced to read a book about the Ottoman Empire tax collecting.Instead of a moral at the end we get a bit of a gut punch in the final note. But it's not like it's a long story that'll take you ages to get there.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Loved it, which is usually the sentiment for me and Murakami. If you're thinking of getting into his books, this is a great one to start with. It has all the regular Murakami stuff along with his unique writing style, but you can read it in one sitting!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Bizarre, but oddly satisfying read. It's only about a thirty minute read, but in that time there's enough development and plot to keep you going. A young boy enters a library searching for answers. Once he is directed to room 107 he finds that he may never get the chance to leave. An old twisted librarian keeps him hostage in a labyrinth and his only chance at escape is with a doughnut loving sheep man and a mysteriously beautiful girl. The awesome graphics help keep this crazy story going and it's clear that this short story had some beginning in a dream or nightmare. It's clever and intriguing, I only wish librarians were painted in a better light ;) In Haruki Murakami's book, they like to feast on juicy knowledge filled brains. As the sheep man says: " If all they [librarians] did was lend out knowledge for free, what would the payoff be for them?" Brain sucking librarians aside, I really enjoyed this fanciful little tale. Worth a read for the pictures and amazing cover alone.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Another "ruined" American edition of a Haruki Murakami book by a ridiculously absurd design by Chip Kidd.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I have just finished reading Haruki Muakami's Strange Library. It is a very interesting little tale that, like all the Murikami I have read, can be interpreted in different ways. Themes I found in it include the effect of one's upbringing; loneliness; reaction to authority; abuse of authority; fear; resilience of youth; focus on trivia; loss.Apart from the story the physical book is beautiful. I would suggest it is experimental. It is a small, hardback book containing a short story. The book layout and images make for an interesting reading experience. Format wise it is short story edging towards illustrated rather than graphic novel, albeit using several elements drawn from graphic novels.I would suggest it is a book for people familiar with Murikami's work or as a gift to others. I enjoyed it.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Reading this was an odd experience and I don't think I particularly enjoyed it, though I can say it was at least interesting and different. The writing was oddly stylized and structured in a very fake childish way and I can't tell if that was the effect the author was going for or if it was due to the translation. The book was filled with stock images that seemed to correlate to the story I didn't find them particularly effective and there was a authors note at the end that may or may not have been trying to explain the inspiration for the book but if it was, I can say the book did NOT invoke the feelings in me it seems the author was going for. As I said, an odd if interesting experience but one I don't think I would encourage others to go out of their way to experience.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    This long short story (or novella? - I am not sure where one ends and the other begins) was very disappointing. This edition was sumptuously produced, though now I am wondering whether the elaborate packaging was a ruse to try to hide the weakness of the story itself. It certainly fell far short of the very high expectations I now have of Murakami's works. I imagine he probably just dashed this off in a hurry one morning, probably rushing to meet a publisher's deadline, and never got around to polishing it. We all have bad days at the office, but most of us don't broadcast them to the world.If this had been the first Murakami work that i had read it is extremely unlikely that I would have gone on to try anything else by him, which would have been a great shame given the mastery of his novels such as '1Q84' or 'Kafka on the Shore'
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This was a fun, strange little story about a boy who gets lured into the basement of a library and is told by an old man that he must memorize a book before he can leave. While there, he meets a sheep man (a man dressed in the skin of a sheep) and a strange, beautiful girl. The boy plans to escape once he realizes why the old man wants him to memorize books...The short story itself it not all that memorable, but I loved the presentation of it. There are flaps on the cover that you have to move in order to open the book, and there are surrealistic pictures on every other page that depict the things the boy experiences and sees. An enjoyable super quick read.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    "Strange" is right. I'm not sure what lesson, if any, the reader is intended to walk away with. While normally the library is a locus of liberation and enlightenment, here it becomes an institution of evil metaphysical cannibalism. The boy has his adventure, and then it ends, that's it. While we expect the hero to be better off in some way, here he is actually worse off, and in the most regrettable way: he will never go into a library again. An beautiful, interestingly constructed book with great art, the tale itself is, well, strange.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The Strange Library has all of (or almost all of) the elements of a Murakami story that I love, distilled into one quick read. The illustrations and the recurrence of familiar Murakami themes and characters/character-types serve to elevate the story's dreamlike atmosphere. It was made both familiar and strange, as the best/worst dreams often feel. That said, those unfamiliar with his work will probably finish this with a sense of "what the f did I just read". It would be unfair to compare this to his novels. It's an experiment and a way for Murakami to play with new formats and new methods of expression. I for one really enjoyed it and hope he takes the experiment further next time.

    I haven't quite worked out exactly what he's saying, I only just finished it 20 minutes ago. But I suspect that as with any other parable, or any other Murakami story for that matter, its meaning will become clear (and change and evolve) the longer I sit with it. What I do know is that I had an immediate emotional response and that's usually the first phase in understanding Murakami for me. I think those writing The Strange Library off as a failed attempt at scaring children into behaving are missing the point - taking it too seriously and too literally. I think it was originally published for adolescents, but being familiar with Murakami's decidedly NOT kid-friendly work makes this of interest to adults too.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I think this only makes sense as an addition to an already complex Murakami universe. On its own it might seem both too shallow and too weird.Although it contains several prototypical Murakami characters/settings/themes they are not fully developed and missing the counterbalance with reality which for me is one the core strengths of his other works. This is partly due to the briefness of the story. I do not entirely understand why exactly this short story has been picked twice to be released as an illustrated book. In my opinion there are better candidates within his body of work.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Good book to read for beginning readers. You will get a lot of vocabulary. Looking for the sequel because - yes, I believe there is a sequel.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Well. I've heard so much about this author, tried to read one of his other works, and since this 'book' is so short, determined to give it a go.When I taught elementary school, every now and then I became captivated by the imaginative writing of a student, so much that I took the story to the staff room to share. This story reminds me of that. A bit naive, weird, choppy, simple imagery, but somehow wildly creative. It gave me a smile and a chuckle, and the pictures were good, but I'm not going to be a fan.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This book is aimed toward 10-13 year olds and can be read in about 30 minutes. The book design is unique, artsy...and that is fun. I kept thinking I would understand the "point" of the story, but as is typical of Murakami, a "point" seems unnecessary. It is more of an experience. As an adult, the book was just "okay," and gets 3 stars for design and graphics.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    What a gruesome story! It's the tale of a boy who was drawn deeper and deeper and deeper into a strange library where he met an old man, a sheep man, and a disappearing beautiful girl. The boy only wanted to return to his mother and his pet starling and avoid being bitten by a black dog which had bit him once before. The ending is frightful, but I loved the artwork which accompanied this story and opening this book in such an odd way. The donuts looked tasty! The artwork was by Chip Kidd. The book was printed in China.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Beautifully illustrated by Chip Kidd with big full colour plates resembling Japanese graphic from the 1920s and 30s, and cleverly packaged with the cover opening up like a box and its flaps serving for oversized bookmarks. This is what a paper version of the book should look like nowadays, in my opinion. Otherwise why should we buy paper books? This one is quite a work of art.What about the story? It's short, very short - it took me me about twenty minutes to read through it all. But, I enjoyed it. It's typically Murakami- a bizarre combination of everyday elements, but quite hypnotic in the end. No surprises. On reading.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I've never read Haruki Murakami and this is recommended as Murakami in miniature. The story is a creepy nightmare told in a fairy-tale like structure, it's like clouds forming and disappearing you can see things but they don't stay for long. I can see the appeal, a sort of day dream, but it's not high on my list - right now - to read more.