A short, sleek novel of encounters set in Tokyo during the witching hours between midnight and dawn, and every bit as gripping as Haruki Murakami's masterworks "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" and "Kafka on the Shore." At its center are two sisters-Eri, a fashion model slumbering her way into oblivion, and Mari, a young student soon led from solitary reading at an anonymous Denny's toward people whose lives are radically alien to her own: a jazz trombonist who claims they've met before, a burly female "love hotel" manager and ...
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A short, sleek novel of encounters set in Tokyo during the witching hours between midnight and dawn, and every bit as gripping as Haruki Murakami's masterworks "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" and "Kafka on the Shore." At its center are two sisters-Eri, a fashion model slumbering her way into oblivion, and Mari, a young student soon led from solitary reading at an anonymous Denny's toward people whose lives are radically alien to her own: a jazz trombonist who claims they've met before, a burly female "love hotel" manager and her maid staff, and a Chinese prostitute savagely brutalized by a businessman. AFTER DARK moves from mesmerizing drama to metaphysical speculation, interweaving time and space as well as memory and perspective into a seamless exploration of human agency. Murakami's trademark humor, psychological insight, and grasp of spirit and morality are here distilled with an extraordinary, harmonious mastery.
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Seller's Description:
Good. 5 AUDIO CDs withdrawn from the library published by Books on Tape in the clamshell case. Library sticker and marking to the case and the CDs. Some shelf wear to the box. The AUDIO CDs are in individual slots, protected and clear sounding. Enjoy this AUDIO CD performance!
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Good. 5 AUDIO CDs published by Books on Tape in the sturdy, clamshell case withdrawn from the library. Some library markings and stickers to the box and the CDs. Each audio CD is in an individual slot, protected and clear sounding. Enjoy this UNABRIDGED audio performance!
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Good. Five AUDIO CDs, polished for your satisfaction, withdrawn from the library in the clamshell case. Library sticker and marking to the case and the CDs. Some shelf wear and edge wear to the box. The AUDIO CDs are in individual slots, protected and clear sounding. Enjoy this AUDIO CD performance!
After Dark by Haruki Murakami reminded me of carefully-shuffled cards. Two decks representing two separate (yet ultimately and intimately related) stories are slowly merged, chapter by chapter, until they make one cohesive whole that is far more beautiful and evocative than either story would be if taken alone. Murakami is a master of this technique, and he is in fine form here.
Story one: It is midnight in downtown Tokyo. An introverted, bookish, somewhat cynical young woman drinks coffee and reads in an all-night diner, escaping into her book, retreating from the world, hiding from phantoms. She encounters several quirky and unexpected other late-night souls and has conversations and adventures, forming serendipitous attachments and revealing more about herself as the story progresses.
Story two: A beautiful young woman sleeps...and sleeps...and sleeps, still as stone in her bed. A quiet (David) Lynchian drama unfolds which may be literal or metaphor, dream, hallucination, or reality, or a bit of each. Any details I could give might spoil the story for potential readers, so I'll simply say it is subtly surreal, atmospheric, and rich in symbolism.
I mentioned David Lynch, and although he is a bit more in-your-face than Murakami, I feel the points of comparison are strong. There is a magical realist air all through the book, where the mundane takes stranger and less expected turns as the story progresses. This is not a work of horror fiction, yet there are several instances of imagery that would be right at home in one of the finer, more understated Japanese horror films. This book felt very cinematic to me, and I can very much see it being adapted for the screen by one of Japan's avant-garde and visionary auteurs. (I'd suggest Katsuhito Ishii, or perhaps Takashi Miike in one of his thoughtful, introspective phases.)
Murakami has created a lovely, unusual book full of surprises, wry humor, gorgeous prose, artful dialogue, poetic metaphor, and cinema-worthy scene-building. Read this if you love the author or Japanese literature in general, multi-layered meaning that will keep you thinking and re-evaluating long after you've finished reading, deftness of language, colorful and theater-quality casts of characters, or plots that coil labyrinth-like back and around and onto and into themselves. Read this if you are looking for the perfect book to escape into over coffee, in an all-night diner, after dark.
KareninsSmile
May 1, 2009
Strange
I have read 9 of Murakami's novels and to be honest, I've loved every single one, although, perhaps not instantly.
This is one that took me a little while to really get into. It is set during one night in Tokyo. Mari, the main character, is a quiet and intelligent girl who is, for reasons not yet revealed to us, sitting in an all night eatery, reading a book. Kaoru is a young guy in a band, who knows of Mari through her sister.
The book follows the actions of Mari. Her only interactions in the book are with Kaoru and with the owner and staff of a love hotel, and a Chinese prostitute. Mari connects all of the people together, but we rarely see other characters interacting.
The book also follows Mari's sister Eri, who is sound asleep. When the chapter is focusing on Eri, the narration changes and explains to the reader that "We are point of view only"
The whole novel is narrated in a way that gives the reader a vague feeling of voyeurism which is both uncomfortable and strangely enthralling.
As the previous review has stated, there is no resolution to the story, only the information which we have recieved.
Although it took me a while to get into, I actually loved it. The characters are enigmatic and interesting and the novel seems to take us through a Tokyo night like a very quiet and disjointed guided tour.
I would recomend it to people who have read other Murakami novels and know the kind of thing to expect!
Gyllie
Apr 26, 2009
Darker and darker
As with Murakami's other books, I am not sure what to take away from this novel of Tokyo nightlife. Two characters out of the cast of the novel interact and the rest simply exist in the same night. It is obscure and unsettling to read -- don't expect resolution.
