Haunted by this story for weeks, I must admit that this book managed to make me feel more alive and aware of my surroundings. It started out as something normal, a story encapsulated very well in borders of the reality - but as the story progressed, it started to run into the fantasy realm.

"Strangers" (original title "Ijintachi to no Natsu"), by Taichi Yamada is one of those books that make you wonder what's real and what's not. Or even more, what would you choose - the sweet, beautiful lie or the cold, monotonous truth? Death and life are portrayed like two dancers and it's often easy to confuse the two; in the same manner past and present seem to be interacting very naturally, overlapping and compensating each other.

Sometimes it's very easy to lose yourself with the ghosts of a long lost past; especially when you can bring them back to life and fill the missing gaps. But like most things in life, everything comes with a price - or as some would say, you cannot be involved without being committed.

The style reminded me of Haruki Murakami's books - especially because of the theme and the expressed feelings. There's a lot of solitude in this book - even the moments when you think that there's someone there, there's actually no one around. Normally I would consider this a sad book, but "sad" is such a boring word - a lot of things can be sad, but the feeling that this book left inside me is definitively a lot more special and unique.