In preparation for my pending trip to Japan, I wanted to read something by a Japanese author, and one of the most well-known is Haruki Murakami.
After Dark's pages are filled with his short, lyrical prose about intersecting vignettes surrounding a girl's desire to escape for the night and spend it in Tokyo.
The novel begins a few minutes before midnight with Mari Asai reading at a Denny's in Tokyo.
An acquaintance recognizes her and kicks off her night of unexpected events that include a love hotel where rooms are typically rented by the hour, Chinese gangs, troubled women, a company man who works late into the night to avoid seeing his family, and a sister trapped in sleep (and a TV).
Each character seems to be running away and hiding from something, which makes the late night and early morning a fitting backdrop.
The majority of the stories are filled with meaningful human interactions and insight into people's loneliness, fears and search for sometimes something as simple as safely.
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| Across the street from our hotel in Ginza. |
As these human emotions unfold, there is a parallel surrealist story surrounding Mari's sister, who Murakami always refers to by her full name: Eri Asai.
Adding to the surreal element is the narrator perspectives that are outside the bounds of the standard first, second or third perspectives.
A trademark Murakami talent, he is able to combine fantastical elements into a very real, human story without any disconnect while the reader moves from one element to the other.
When in Japan, there happened to be a Denny's across the street from our hotel in Ginza. Of course, having read
After Dark, I had to make a pilgrimage and stop by for a lovely American-style breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast and coffee.
