Murakami’s storytelling is beyond questioning, so while The Strange Library itself will be a delectable read either way, I highly recommend, since the accompanying visuals change from edition to edition, getting the Harvill Sacker hardback with the library file on the purple cover. Not only is the image selection spot on, but because the text too is incorporated into the visuals rather than left side-by-side with the artworks, the entire book turns into a full cinematic experience. From colourful pages to textures to the layout of the engrossing imagery, this is a masterpiece and work of art in and of itself!

Back to the story . . . it is indeed strange. It’s the most original take on the theme of “the joys of reading”, sprinkled with a dash of regret, and finally tied up with the ribbon of human loneliness. At times almost a horror story, The Strange Library sees our narrator, a boy, get lost in books, captivated by the myriad worlds the act of reading unlocks before him, as his imagination runs wild, and he has to face the reality of grief, pitch black as the night of a new moon.

Impossible to pin down as just one thing, this just might be Murakami’s best short story!