![]() New audiences could read this as just another provocative, surreal tale, but Murakami fans will obsessively catalog the many multi-layered references to previous titles, from the obvious Sheep Man ( Trilogy of the Rat), labyrinthine other worlds ( Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World), silently communicative women ( After Dark) to, of course, librarians ( Kafka on the Shore), plus much more. ![]() Verdict: Strange Library is just 96 pages, 32 of which are designer Chip Kidd-created-and-curated illustrations – intriguing, mysterious, untranslated (hints: that’s “Meiji Milk Chocolate” in chapter 13, an upside-down labeled planet zoom-out in chapter 17). How will the boy get home to his mother (and pet starling) in time for dinner? There he’s trapped by a bald old librarian, guarded by a Sheep Man, fed by a voiceless girl, and forced to memorize “three fat books” about the Ottoman tax system for insidious purposes. ![]() After returning his library books, a boy is sent to Room 107 in search of other titles. This is a very strange, very short little book. It is a beautiful object and is meant to be handled and appreciated for the artistry of presentation. ![]() Debuting mere months after his latest instant bestseller, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, this fable is a surprise addition to Murakami’s addictive oeuvre. The Strange Library is a kid’s book, despite Murakamis reliance on allegories, semiotics, parables, and more An adolescent boy drops into his neighborhood library to return some. Strange Library is a dark work, powerful in its own terms, yet ultimately quite stark and grim.The first thing to note is the exquisite design of the book. ![]()
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