Murakami – After Dark

Murakami depicted ‘After Dark’ in a first-person plural narrative, something we found most effective; connecting the reader to Murakami himself as we took this journey with him. We read this novel during the early hours of the night from our safe, warm beds as our minds wonder off after a long day. We found that reading this piece during the dark hours gave a sense of realism and connection to the plot and almost transports us to Tokyo; the setting of the secret world within the darkness of busy cafes, offices and love hotels.

The main plot is focused around two sisters, Mari and Eri Asai. We follow Mari around the city throughout the night and trace her story as she meets a handsome musician – Takahashi, an old wrestler and the new manager of a love hotel – Kaoru, and an unfortunate Chinese prostitute – Gue. We also witness Eri tranced in a deep unwakeable sleep, watched by a mysterious masked man and transported through a static, unplugged television set.

The essence of this novel seems to be that the structure takes place during only one night; commencing at 11.56pm and ending abruptly at 6.52am.  We, the readers, are left unsatisfied as the answers to many questions we form during the reading are withheld from us. Although this is frustrating, the reality of most mysteries being left unsolved and puzzles taking longer to answer than just one night, create a realism to this magical piece.

Murakami cleverly uses the viewpoint of a portable camera to show the reader the images he wishes us to focus upon within the silent room of Eri’s bedroom. The meta-fiction used is extremely effective and almost creates a film feel to the actions depicted. This also immerses the reader into that very room with Eri.

We feel this novel should only be read at night, preferably in one sitting; maybe during a long flight or a bout of insomnia. We found ourselves reading enthusiastically from chapter to chapter at speed in an attempt to discover the motives and explanations for this strange world, only to be left needing more with a feeling of bemusement and un-satisfaction. Had we understood prior to reading his work, that Murakami specializes in eluding his readers, we may have accepted the abrupt ending. We therefore, pre-warn all readers to take in each situation and plot twist with an open mind and to be ready to build your own profiles for each character during the reading to only be continued after you have finished.