Book review: After Dark by Haruki Murakami. ”The television is a new intruder
into the room. We, too, are intruders, of course, but unlike us, the new intruder is ...
Book review: After Dark by Haruki Murakami ”The television is a new intruder into the room. We, too, are intruders, of course, but unlike us, the new intruder is neither quiet nor transparent. Nor is it neutral. It is undoubtedly trying to intervene.” - After Dark, pg. 29
After Dark is a paperback novel written by the Japanese author Haruki Murakami. The author has written a considerable number of books, and his works have been translated to over 30 languages. He has attracted lots of readers with his unique writing style. After Dark has been described with words like hypnotic and bold, and it has received praises from more than one source.
The novel takes place in Tokyo, concentrating on the happenings of one night only. It tells the story of multiple characters, each story, in the end, intertwining with the others. The main character is a 19-year-old girl called Mari, who in the beginning of the book is getting ready to spend the upcoming night alone, reading a book in a diner. However, her night doesn’t go as planned, as she is constantly interrupted by various people, either wishing to talk to her or needing her help. The mysteries of the night begin to reveal themselves with each passing minute.
One of the many things that set the book apart from others is the structure of the chapters. They are irregular spurs of time, some chapters suddenly speeding through 30 minutes, while the others slowly describe the atmosphere of that one single moment. Murakami’s way of writing is also very capturing; while successfully maintaining the objective narrator, he also delves deeper into the characters, seeing things not meant to be seen. One moment he takes the reader to the sky as a bird to see the whole picture, and the other he transforms them into a camera, zooming in on the smallest of details. Murakami’s style leaves the reader completely out of breath.
What surprised me about After Dark was how entirely different it was from what I had expected. The book was a weird mix of mystery and affection, of knowing and assuming. It made shivers run down my spine just by being so utterly captivating. It’s probably one of the most amazing and artistic novels I’ve ever read. It’s the kind of book you just can’t put down before the end of the last page.
