Master storyteller Haruki Murakami’s After Dark starts off quietly in a nondescript Denny’s in Tokyo at 11:56pm. But little by little, in the hours of darkness and without any drama, Murakami leads the reader further and further away from an innocent world. Moving through locations at a birds-eye view, the reader follows college-aged Mari Asai as she whiles the night away. While she intended to stay alone reading a tome, Murakami has other plans for her. The events are narrated with such lucidity and precision that, even in moments of drama, the very air of the story feels still. The elements of surprise are creepy at times, but Murakami makes the reader a willing voyeur who can’t help but want more.
