The Strange Library by Murakami Haruki

A fun and heartwarming story about one of Haruki Murakami’s famous literary characters from the book A Wild Sheep Chase, read about the adventure of a boy in a labyrinth-like library in this literary work from one of the best Japanese contemporary writers. For those studying the Japanese language, these stories provide an excellent introduction to reading Japanese literature in the original language. Since Murakami's style is relatively simple (often referred to by Japanese critics as being very 'English-esque'), students of Japanese will find translating his work less taxing than more complex, 'literary' authors. What's more, the short length of each story gives beginning students a chance to work through a full narrative in a relatively short period of time - a much less daunting task than trying to work through an entire novel. Even if you think your language skills are not up to task, you should give this text a look. With a good dictionary and a little spare time, you may be surprised by how much you can decipher. Besides, these stories are so much fun, you won't even realize you're studying.