Okay, so I picked this up knowing absolutely nothing about it except that Murakami's work is highly regarded. Maybe that is why it felt boring to me (perhaps my imagination is just a bit over-the-top). It's a short read, yet I felt bored for most of it the characters are just sitting and talking. This, however, made way for lots of philosophical ideas to arise in the ordinariness and rawness of a life in the city. The book discusses difficult subject matter in a simplified matter and investigates existential questions that we all have. I enjoyed the way I had to digest every word, but I would've liked a bit more action. I would've loved if the surrealism was more intwined in the story besides the one character. I think it was a good introduction to his work and I look forward to another read.

Basically, after finishing the book and actually reading the summary, I feel like the book sounds extremely interesting rather than the quite interesting it is.

 

I really enjoyed this and once I'm done ruminating on it, I'll have more to say. For now, this was a beautiful study of a troubled teen who needed to be reminded to be brave and that even though she is distant from her family, she can still always come home. 

I really enjoyed the fact that all of the loose ends weren't wrapped up because why would it all resolve in one night? You simply take everything as it settles and move on into the morning. 

It's a very fast-moving narrative with a daisy-chain type of plot. Though not his best, it is undeniably Murakami's! 

 

I am struggling to rate this book. The atmosphere is fantastic. The night life, the loneliness of some characters was depicted  perfectly. However, I kind of felt the need to get some answers that never came.

Why did that man did what he did to the Chinese girl? What actually happened to Mari’s sister? Who was the man without face?

The story felt a little bit disconnected at times but I don’t think I will forget this reading experience any time soon, and there’s also a lot of value in the ability to make a story stick with the reader. 

Intimate, soft, and touching, Haruki Murakami’s After Dark is an exploration of vulnerability. What tender, shameful things happen in the dark of the night when everything else is quiet? Who do we become? When we think no one else is watching, Murakami is.

This novel traces the night of a young girl, her older sister, a trombone player, a prostitute, her abuser, and a hotel manager. This book examines them all without judgement and what we receive is a beautiful story of a young girl afraid of opening up to the world, only for it to open itself up to her.

It is a novel beautifully and uniquely written. It is not elaborate. It isn’t long. After Dark is a breathing creature that is rare and requires studying or a strong relatability or its delicate sensibilities will be lost on the reader, but look where Murakami’s camera points and look closely. All will be revealed. 

Have always hated open-ended endings, and this book is unfortunately one of them. Very interesting read nevertheless. An interesting approach to the idea of the universe; that it is not only made out of one, but many realities.

enlighten me, but why is there a part where Mari kissed her sister on the lips?? 

It feels appropriate to finish this after sunset. This was my first Murakami and while I’m not sure exactly how to analyze it right now, I’m definitely going to be sitting with it for a long time. Atmospherically, it really captured the strange liminal spaces that can only be accessed in the middle of the night. I loved how experimental the writing was— it read more like a screenplay than a novel, complete with a fly-on-the-wall narrator which broke the fourth wall, making the audience complicit in its voyeurism. 

Reading this, I had no idea how I’d end up rating it. I think I have to give it five stars. The more I think about it, the more I love it.