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angus_mckeogh's review against another edition
1.0
Not much going on in this one. Some conversations at Denny’s, some forays into Tokyo Love Hotels, and a sister that might be sleeping too much. Pretty much sums it up, crazy boring.
danielkallin04's review against another edition
4.0
After Dark is refreshingly short after the labyrinthine epic that was The Wind-up Bird Chronicle. However, with the amount of weight Murakami places into each and every word, After Dark feels just as brimming with meaning -even if the stories are simpler and more to the point.
After Dark's triumph comes from the way Murakami writes it as a film screenplay trapped in novel form. The eyes of the narrator, and us, are the camera. In a way all books can be read like that, but Murakami's persistent mentioning of the fact makes After Dark feel like a lonely, yet somewhat gritty, 90s indie film. And, more importantly, he makes the act of reading these character's private conversations and secrets, and watching them sleep, seem a lot more perverse than when I've read the same thing without being called out by the narrator on it.
One sister sleeps, the other talks. Neither know that they have our full attention over the course of five long hours of night. The final pages of the novel, only ruined in their beauty by our ceaseless watchful eyes: the book only truly begins once they cease.
After Dark's triumph comes from the way Murakami writes it as a film screenplay trapped in novel form. The eyes of the narrator, and us, are the camera. In a way all books can be read like that, but Murakami's persistent mentioning of the fact makes After Dark feel like a lonely, yet somewhat gritty, 90s indie film. And, more importantly, he makes the act of reading these character's private conversations and secrets, and watching them sleep, seem a lot more perverse than when I've read the same thing without being called out by the narrator on it.
One sister sleeps, the other talks. Neither know that they have our full attention over the course of five long hours of night. The final pages of the novel, only ruined in their beauty by our ceaseless watchful eyes: the book only truly begins once they cease.
gorisboris's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
mturner2's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
uutopicaa's review
3.0
Es de los que menos me han gustado de Murakami. Lo disfruté, es bueno y me encanta el modo en el que el narrador (o narradora) es como una cámara que sigue lo que ocurre con distintos personajes entrelazados. Pero me dejó sabor a poco, a nada.
Es un buen libro. No es de los mejores del autor.
Es un buen libro. No es de los mejores del autor.
ridex's review
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
juliapurpose's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
zakcebulski's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
3.75
I enjoyed this book. It is by far the most recent of Murakami's works that I have read. It is nice to see that his control over realistic mysticism is still in tact. This is definitely a book that I would describe as a vibe book more than a book with a clear and concise narrative.