Reviews with content warning for Violence - After Dark

I am struggling to rate this book. The atmosphere is fantastic. The night life, the loneliness of some characters was depicted perfectly. However, I kind of felt the need to get some answers that never came.

Spoiler

Why did that man did what he did to the Chinese girl? What actually happened to Mari’s sister? Who was the man without face?

The story felt a little bit disconnected at times but I don’t think I will forget this reading experience any time soon, and there’s also a lot of value in the ability to make a story stick with the reader.

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marianadgmendes's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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carolinethilde's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Intimate, soft, and touching, Haruki Murakami’s After Dark is an exploration of vulnerability. What tender, shameful things happen in the dark of the night when everything else is quiet? Who do we become? When we think no one else is watching, Murakami is.

This novel traces the night of a young girl, her older sister, a trombone player, a prostitute, her abuser, and a hotel manager. This book examines them all without judgement and what we receive is a beautiful story of a young girl afraid of opening up to the world, only for it to open itself up to her.

It is a novel beautifully and uniquely written. It is not elaborate. It isn’t long. After Dark is a breathing creature that is rare and requires studying or a strong relatability or its delicate sensibilities will be lost on the reader, but look where Murakami’s camera points and look closely. All will be revealed.

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af444af's review

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adventurous inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

Have always hated open-ended endings, and this book is unfortunately one of them. Very interesting read nevertheless. An interesting approach to the idea of the universe; that it is not only made out of one, but many realities.

Spoiler
enlighten me, but why is there a part where Mari kissed her sister on the lips??

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eisenbuns's review

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dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It feels appropriate to finish this after sunset. This was my first Murakami and while I’m not sure exactly how to analyze it right now, I’m definitely going to be sitting with it for a long time. Atmospherically, it really captured the strange liminal spaces that can only be accessed in the middle of the night. I loved how experimental the writing was— it read more like a screenplay than a novel, complete with a fly-on-the-wall narrator which broke the fourth wall, making the audience complicit in its voyeurism.

Reading this, I had no idea how I’d end up rating it. I think I have to give it five stars. The more I think about it, the more I love it.

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lacifaeria's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

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stormking7's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I really like reading this again and again to dive deeper into the world; hoping to grasp answers to all questions I have yet to get an explanation for.

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ae_young's review

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challenging dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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