Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11639 in Books
• Published on: 2007-06-07
• Binding: Hardcover
• 208 pages

Evening Standard
`...a slight, charming story...'

Evening Standard - Rev'd David Sexton
'This novella is a captivating mood piece, delicate and wistful.'

Times - Rev'd Ruth Scurr
`After Dark reminds us of the risks, innovation and disquiet that
underpin his success'

Customer Reviews

Quick and Fun, but not as good as Kafka
Murakami's latest contribution to the area of fiction and translated by Harvard's Jay Rubin (who translates much of Murakami's work). This book takes place over one night in Japan and involves four main characters: Mari and Eri, two sisters the one of which is in a deep, powerful and perplexing sleep. This book interrogates what constitutes being confident and strong in yourself in a subtle manner, as well as taking a quirky poke at coincidence.

The book is a really quick read and takes place over a very short period of time. It is not as good as some of Murakami's other novels (it's a 3 star Murakami), but is still a cut-above your run of the mill novel (hence 4 stars overall). For me it was a decent addition to the list of Murakami novels, but not really as good a follow up to Kafka on the Shore as one would hope.

Therefore, don't let this be your first Murakami, read Kafka on the Shore, or Norwegian Wood, or Dance, Dance, Dance first.

Don't pass judgment until you've read it for yourself
There seems to have been a largely negative response to Murakami's most recent publication, "After Dark". I will agree that it is not in keeping with Murakami's usual style, but there again each of his works has its own distinct flavour. That is afterall what makes his literature so liberating - far from remaining in the same shape and style, each one evolves to become yet more elusive and fantastical. This is such an example of the genius that becomes Murakami, exploring a new medium previously untapped - that of the night, as the title implies. Think about it: most of his previous works almost always take place in the daytime. This can be seen as an experimental work, and as such won't be to everyone's taste, but can still give that satisfying buzz of philosophy, contemporary Japanese culture and realism, with a healthy jolt of the sublime. Bravo Murakami.

Murakami's worst book to date
I'm a big Murakami fan, having read and enjoyed all of his other novels. After Dark is such a big disappointment - the characters are paper thin, the story doesn't really go anywhere or have any great meaning, and the reader is ultimately left entirely unsatisfied by the insipid and dull text.

Thankfully, the book - really it's more a long short story - is so short that you'll get through it in a couple of hours. There were a few interesting scenes and things to think about, but not enough to really savour and want to go back and reread again.

If you're a big Murakami fan, naturally enough, you will still want to read this book - just don't expect anything close to his usual standard. If you're new to Murakami, I'd recommend reading any of his other books rather than After Dark.