Soon after he drew crowds, some of whom had queued for 18 hours, to a London book signing for his latest novel, Haruki Murakami’s publisher has announced a new short book in English that will be out in time for Christmas.



The Strange Library, which was published in Japanese in 2008, will feature specially designed text and illustrations when it is released in English for the first time on 2 December 2014, translated from the Japanese by Ted Goossen.

The tale recounts a schoolboy’s visit to the library which takes a number of very unexpected turns. On his way home from school, the young narrator 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.



He is then led by an old man to a special “reading room” in a maze under the library, where he finds himself imprisoned with only a “sheep man”, who makes excellent doughnuts, and a girl who can talk with her hands. His mother will be worrying why he hasn’t returned in time for dinner and the old man seems to have an appetite for eating small boys’ brains.



Liz Foley, publishing director at Harvill Secker, said: “We are very excited to be publishing a special illustrated edition of The Strange Library as an unusual gift book for Christmas. Murakami’s imagination is unique and this is a wonderfully creepy tale that is sure to delight his fans”.

Michael Reeve (@mykreeve) Someone is handing out #strangelibrary cards to the Murakami queue. No-one knows what they're for. pic.twitter.com/3XRhbAfEfN

The publication of The Strange Library follows Murakami’s first visit to the UK in 10 years for the launch of Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage in August. Bookshops across the country held midnight openings and special events to mark the occasion and the book’s front cover was projected on London landmarks including the Tate Modern in a countdown to publication day.



Murakami appeared at two sell-out events at the Edinburgh international book festival, and in London on Saturday hundreds queued overnight to attend a public signing at Waterstones Piccadilly.



The announcement resolves a small mystery for readers who attended the London event. At the signing, pastiche library cards were distributed featuring the words #strangelibrary, and what now transpires as the book’s publication date. That solved, they can now begin to interpret the doughnut and sheep symbolism.

