The Strange Library Thoughts - Wilson

I found The Strange Library quite interesting. As we were talking about in class, Murakami oftenly repeats themes and ideas and this short story represents this concept. We see Murakami’s usual passive male protagonist that encounters these fantastical events that usually ends in an open-ended way. This protagonist is followed by a mysterious girl that either has some supernatural ability and/or is really beautiful. The most obvious repeated theme is the return of the kind Sheep Man. To iterate what I said in class, I found these repeated themes to be engaging because these themes mix with the previous written stories that provide a deeper meaning to the current story. The passive protagonist usually ends up in some issue because of their passive personality that will eventually resolve or at least improve. Although I have not read other Murakami’s works, I feel that this protagonist is particularly passive. Murakami’s other protagonist, like Toru, is more indifferent leading him to take a passive action. The Strange Library’s protagonist gets scared by this old man. Another repeated theme is The Sheep Man, where at both times plays this supporting role that leads the protagonist to the end. Then, this story ends in an open-ended way with a particular theme, which, in this case, is loneliness. Murakami usually leaves these kinds of endings for readers to think about framed in this concept of loneliness.