変な家
(Henna Ie)
by 雨穴 (Uketsu)
Author: 雨穴 (Uketsu)
Japanese Level: JLPT N2
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 238
Bookwalker Japan: 変な家
Japanese Summary
知人が購入を検討している都内の中古一軒家。 開放的で明るい内装の、ごくありふれた物件に思えたが、間取り図に 「謎の空間」が存在していた。知り合いの設計士にその間取り図を見せると、 この家は、 そこかしこに 「奇妙な違和感」が存在すると言う。
不可解な間取りの真相とは!?
突如消えた元住人は一体何者!?
English Summary (translation by Japanese Talk Online)
A friend is looking at buying an old house in Tokyo. He finds one that’s he thinks is a very normal looking house with an open and bright interior, but there’s a “mysterious space” on the house plan. He shows this to a house designer friend who says this house is full of “strange and creepy” things. What’s the truth behind this impossible house layout?!
And why did the previous owners suddenly vanish?!
Why You Should Read 変な家 (Henna Ie)
変な家 (Henna Ie), literally “Strange House” has taken Japan by storm. It came out in an online magazine in 2020 and book form in 2021. By 2022 it had sold over 10 million copies. It’s 2025 and I still see tables and book ends of the tankobon, bunkobon, sequals and spin-offs, the manga edition, and now posters for a movie adaptation that just dropped.
After reading the first book myself I can see why.
First, the book is short. Only about 200 pages, which only takes 2.5 hours if you read along with the audiobook at 1.5x speed (which I did).
Secondly, it’s fun to read. You have a mystery surrounding a couple of 間取り (まどり – house plans) which are included in the book so you can see exactly what the characters are talking about. So you can try to find what’s strange about the house and piece together the mystery yourself.
Also, almost all of the book is dialogue. You follow the main characters’ conversations as they try to piece together what’s happening. If you listen to the audiobook as you read, the narration is also pretty good!
Finally, the story is surprisingly gripping. The mystery behind the strange house has a couple of unexpected twists and turns that kept me hooked to the page.
My only complaint about this book is the jumps in logic the main characters take are a little ridiculous and unrealistic. I found myself eyerolling more than once and character’s assumptions about events, but ended up forgiving them because the book was so short.
The sequel, on the other hand, is four times the length of the first! I don’t think I could stand to read the same thing for that long.
Why Japanese Learners Should Read 変な家 (Henna Ie)
This is a good book has lots of dialogue between adults about houses, which I enjoyed because I have been looking at houses and the vocabulary is very useful for house hunting. However, there was one part of the novel where things slipped into weird mystical history with some tricky vocabulary.
I don’t want to say too much because spoilers, but would say this is a good level for learning JLPT N2 and above vocabulary.
The vocabulary overall is not difficult, but some of the leaps in logic and way events are explained can be tricky to follow.
You need to read this book in physical form so you can flip back and forth at the diagrams included to help you see what characters are talking about.
Summary
変な家 is a weird story, but it’s fast and entertaining, even if the leaps in logic and events are incredibly unrealistic at times. It’s fun to piece together the mystery of the houses based on their floor plans along with the main characters.
I’m not sure if I’d be willing to read 変な家2 which is four times longer than the first book. I like that this was short and sweet and didn’t overstay its welcome.
Other Mystery Novels You Might Like
A Mysterious Look at Society “Pride and Virtue” – 傲慢と善良 (Gouman to Zenryou)
Who Killed the Hero? 誰が勇者を殺したか (Dare ga Yusha wo Koroshita ka)
This is Not a Business Expense! – これは経費で落ちません！(Kore wa Keihi de Ochimasen!)