Play Book Tag discussion

After Dark by Haruki Murakami - 3.5* - My Review

Takahashi, a musician and law student, encounters Mari, a young woman also in university, at a Denny’s in Tokyo. He tells her he has met her before, along with her beautiful sister, Eri. Eri is sleeping in a bedroom while a “faceless man” looks on. We watch her sleep and dream. Other characters who are active in the night-time move in and out of the narrative. One is a manager of a hotel, and another is a man who may have abused a prostitute in one of the hotel rooms. This novel takes place over the course of one evening from late night to dawn. There are only a handful of characters. It is related as if watching a film. The characters’ lives overlap in ephemeral ways. As with other Murakami’s works, it is beautifully written and contains elements of magical realism. There is abundant symbolism and a slight storyline. It is atmospheric and enigmatic, almost mesmerizing. I enjoyed it but I have enjoyed other of Murakami’s works more than this one.

3.5

Hmmmm ... sounds pretty weird.
I think I will have to be in the right mood for this one.
Luckily it's a shorter one.

It caught my eye at a library book sale because I NEVER see or hear anything about this book.

Meli wrote: "Hmmmm ... sounds pretty weird.
I think I will have to be in the right mood for this one.
Luckily it's a shorter one.

It caught my eye at a library book sale because I NEVER see or hear anything..."

"Weird" is a good word for it, maybe surrealistic, too. It is one of his shorter works - mine was 208 pages. I am sure there are many layers to this one that I didn't catch, but pretty sure it is symbolic of the awakening of youth to the next stage in life. I'm sure I've missed a lot. I might re-read it if I am in the mood for getting into a trancelike state. It's probably best to read it late at night, lol. The writing is just wonderful, especially the dialogue.

I love the idea of "awakening youth to the next stage of life."
As a woman in her 40s, I am really connecting with stories like that.

I'll keep you posted in a few years when I finally read it 😂

Ha! I know what you mean!