After Dark is Murakami's exploration of the magical late night world of Tokyo where reality and...something else intersect. The novel meanders through the midnight to dawn wanderings of several characters, primarily a 19-year-old named Mari, plain but deep younger sister of mysterious, beautiful and emotionally damaged Eri. While Mari meets several characters in a seedy entertainment district, her sister Eri is on a month-long sleep binge during which she seems to wander across boundries of consciousness. This kind of boundry-crossing is a major part of the psychic wandering of the main character in his later novel The Wind-up Bird Chronicle. After Dark is heavy on atmosphere and works as an open-ended meditation on the ways people both desire and fear connection, and on the fluid and mysterious nature of consciousness.
For a review of the novel from NY Times, click here: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/03/books/review/Kirn-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
For a review of the novel from NY Times, click here: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/03/books/review/Kirn-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
