After Dark (Vintage International) [Paperback]

Haruki Murakami (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 29, 2008 | Series: Vintage International

A sleek, gripping novel of encounters set in Tokyo during the spooky hours between midnight and dawn, by an internationally renowned literary phenomenon.

Murakami's trademark humor, psychological insight, and grasp of spirit and morality are here distilled with an extraordinary, harmonious mastery. Combining the pyrotechnical genius that made Kafka on the Shore and The Wind-up Bird Chronicle international bestsellers, with a surprising infusion of heart, Murakami has produced one of his most enchanting fictions yet.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Murakami's 12th work of fiction is darkly entertaining and more novella than novel. Taking place over seven hours of a Tokyo night, it intercuts three loosely related stories, linked by Murakami's signature magical-realist absurd coincidences. When amateur trombonist and soon-to-be law student Tetsuya Takahashi walks into a late-night Denny's, he espies Mari Asai, 19, sitting by herself, and proceeds to talk himself back into her acquaintance. Tetsuya was once interested in plain Mari's gorgeous older sister, Eri, whom he courted, sort of, two summers previously. Murakami then cuts to Eri, asleep in what turns out to be some sort of menacing netherworld. Tetsuya leaves for overnight band practice, but soon a large, 30ish woman, Kaoru, comes into Denny's asking for Mari: Mari speaks Chinese, and Kaoru needs to speak to the Chinese prostitute who has just been badly beaten up in the nearby "love hotel" Kaoru manages. Murakami's omniscient looks at the lives of the sleeping Eri and the prostitute's assailant, a salaryman named Shirakawa, are sheer padding, but the probing, wonderfully improvisational dialogues Mari has with Tetsuya, Kaoru and a hotel worker named Korogi sustain the book until the ambiguous, mostly upbeat dénouement. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Bookmarks Magazine

Other than an unexpected cheerfulness, After Dark is classic Haruki Murakami, featuring themes of loneliness and alienation, carefully crafted characters, Western references (such as an all-night Denny's where Hall & Oates plays in the background), and distinctive magical-realist twists of fate. Critics also praised the impassive, omniscient narration, like a constantly shifting video camera, which renders each scene in magnificent detail. The chief complaint was the brevity of the novel, and the Los Angeles Times felt that Eri's dreamlike scenes missed the mark as well. "For the unfamiliar, it's the perfect appetizer. For the established fan, it's a quick work that is over far too soon" (Denver Post).

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition (April 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307278735
• ISBN-13: 978-0307278739
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (126 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,995 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 56 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't meet the standard set by his earlier works October 8, 2006

By Charles E. Stevens VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

As much as it pains me to say this, After Dark is by far my least favorite Murakami novel. Murakami had already begun to experiment with his style in Kafka on the Shore, but After Dark is clearly a large leap in a new direction. Unfortunately, I can't say this first effort is successful. The story is cryptic as expected but for a Murakami novel the pace and writing is oddly flat. Unlike works like Wind-Up Bird and Hard-boiled Wonderland, I just was not able to care enough to fully immerse myself in this book. In some ways this story just felt like a bit of a private experiment of sorts, where Murakami spent more time focusing on technical issues (perspective in particular) rather than developing the story. In the end, as an old Murakami hand, I can't give this story more than 3 stars based on the high quality of his other works.

Where Murakami will go next is a bit of a mystery. The final five stories in Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman were written after After Dark and bear more of a similarity to his earlier style than they do to this novel. Will he return to a brand of the mystic realism that has made him popular both in Japan and abroad, or will he continue the difficult process of reinventing himself? I hope Murakami has not run out of steam, but if After Dark is a sign of things to come then I'm afraid the period from the mid-80s through the mid-90s will be remembered as Murakami's halcyon days. His next work will be the key--as a fan of his work, I hope that my pessimism is unfounded and his next novel is a return to the greatness he is capable of. Personally, I look forward to reading other reviews of this book (as well as feedback on my own) to see what other readers think ... I have a feeling opinions will be divided.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Murakami's Surprise May 29, 2007

By Randall L. Wilson

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

The latest from Haruki Murakami, "After Dark" is more meditation than novel. And yet that floating sensation I got when I read the best of Murakami, "Windup Bird Chronicle", "Kafka on the Shore," didn't happen for me with "After Dark."

One character never awakes and her sister never sleeps. The plot, such as there is one, revolves around a brutal midnight attack on a girl by a john at a love motel.

One of the characters says, "It used to be after the sun set, people would just crawl in their caves and protect themselves. Our internal clocks are still set for us to sleep after the sun goes down." "After Dark" is about how we resist this biological imperative and how that resistance messes with our heads.

I'm a huge Murakami fan and I admire what he does here. Yes, it has some of the usual touches; alienated youth, the pop culture references and weird points of view. But there is very little of his trademark magical realism or narrative development in "After Dark." So while I liked "After Dark" and respect Murakami's willingness to venture into new territory, I can't recommend a newcomer to his work to start here.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars My First Murakami Experience December 2, 2007

By Chance of Sun

Format:Hardcover

Let me start of my saying, I liked it. This is my intro into the world of Murakami.
Something to remember, Murakami lives in Tokyo and wrote this in Tokyo. I lived in Tokyo for several years as well and I strongly believe that having done so made this book more enjoyable and easier to relate to. Even being in one of the most populated cities in the world there is a certain loneliness that engulfs one while living there. The two main characters are totally people I would expect to run into there. I believe that Murakami wanted to give us a glimpse of the complexity of the souls of all these people. He does a good job of remaining a third and neutral party. I feel as though I was the assistant to an invisible camera man who was taking me on a journey into the night life of a few select Tokyoites. I like the way it felt as if we just zoomed in like a spy satellite from space and we just happened to zoom in on the characters mentioned..by chance. All that said, I believe the book could have been better. It could have been a bit longer. None the less it has left me pondering several things. Maybe this is just as Murakami planned it to be. Here in the west we always tend to seek closure in stories and movies. This is however not always the case in the real world. I would recommend it if anything else to enjoy the narrative ability of this writer. Will I read more Murakami? Yes, in fact I plan to read "The Wind Up Bird Chronicle" next.