The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami,

My only male author for the month! But it was short, and I was curious because I had just bought it, and what started off as a brief "I will just glace through it" ended with the book being read. It did not take long - there was not much to read. But then, that was perfect for me at this time of year.


This is going to be the first occasion where I just paste in the Goodreads synopsis, because it is perfect (and is quoted from the first page of the book). So here it goes: 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.

What an unusual book! I really loved the reading experience. All the pictures and the unusual layout made this a brilliant read. But I can't say that I loved all of the story. I loved the beginning and the middle, but there was something lacking near the end. Yes, I know I have admitted more than once to not enjoy up-in-the-air endings, but this one was so up in the air, earth was not visible.

But I really did enjoy it up until then. I am not used to reading books that have anything other than words on the pages, so this was a fairly novel read for me too.

I gave this 4 stars on Goodreads. I don't know who I would recommend this one too. It is unusual.