The Strange Library by Haruki
Murakami
A young man returns his library books
(on time) and when he asks the lady at the circulation desk for more books she
directs him to the librarian in room 107.
The old male librarian there bullies the boy into reading the tomes he
put the effort into locating, ancient books that are “for internal use
only.” The boy is then led down twisting
labyrinthine corridors to the reading room.
What lurks there? You’ll have to
read to find out. I do leave you with
this quote about libraries and librarians to ponder: if all they did was lend out knowledge for free, what would the payoff
be for them?
This very slim volume (you can read
it in less than an hour) is a treat for all lovers of libraries (and if you are
reading this blog I hope you are). Know
that it is dark, and quite bizarre; not just the story but the illustrations as
well. It is also a thinking book. You’ll be thinking about it long after you
finish wondering what exactly the author was trying to say about loneliness, knowledge
and life.
