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After Dark
by Haruki Murakami
by Haruki Murakami
Haruki Murakami explores that special time of day between midnight and morning. He does so with a nice flow of descriptive prose and dialogue that makes you feel like you haven't slept for a day.
The book revolves around a girl who's hanging out in the city at night because she can't sleep, a man who beats a prostitute and steals her belongings, and the girl's sleeping sister in a nearby suburb. All these storylines intertwine in a sense, but also hold up on their own. The chapters are laid out on a timeline and the events coincide with each time.
The story is a bit lacking (almost non-existent really), but once you realize this book isn't about telling a story, you'll really enjoy it. Instead, look at it as a document the late night hours that most people only see in a dreamlike state.
It's very creepy in some parts. I read the majority of this around one in the morning on my porch and felt a eerie feeling during one particular chapter involving the main girl's sleeping sister. This is part of subplot that doesn't make much sense to me and I feel like I may need to re-read it again.
All in all, it's quite a read that I would encourage you to read late into the night and maybe the early morning hours. Haruki Murakami is one of the best writers of our time and yet he continues to be underread. Check this one out as a good introduction to his more surreal type novels that he's very famous for.
The book revolves around a girl who's hanging out in the city at night because she can't sleep, a man who beats a prostitute and steals her belongings, and the girl's sleeping sister in a nearby suburb. All these storylines intertwine in a sense, but also hold up on their own. The chapters are laid out on a timeline and the events coincide with each time.
The story is a bit lacking (almost non-existent really), but once you realize this book isn't about telling a story, you'll really enjoy it. Instead, look at it as a document the late night hours that most people only see in a dreamlike state.
It's very creepy in some parts. I read the majority of this around one in the morning on my porch and felt a eerie feeling during one particular chapter involving the main girl's sleeping sister. This is part of subplot that doesn't make much sense to me and I feel like I may need to re-read it again.
All in all, it's quite a read that I would encourage you to read late into the night and maybe the early morning hours. Haruki Murakami is one of the best writers of our time and yet he continues to be underread. Check this one out as a good introduction to his more surreal type novels that he's very famous for.
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Erin
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May 14, 2008 08:29am
Wow--a book that we've both read! I actually listened to the unabridged cdbook. To me, it was as you say, a document, a series of snapshots of late night hours that could have been set in many places. It's triumph was catching and distilling the essence of the modern night.
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