Murakami - After Dark (2 of 23)
After Dark
Pages: 200
Started: 29 Jan 2024
Finished: 31 Jan 2024
Ratings
Mind Meltyness: 1/5
Tier List Ranking: B
Re-read?: Yes
Keywords
416 minutes
Snapshot
Intertwined
Debrief
I needed a shorter book as a palate cleanser.
This 200-page adventure was just what I needed to maintain momentum after 1Q84 đ¤đ˝.
âAfter Darkâ isnât particularly strange or sureral, but it maintains that mysterious aura during the world-building phase.
The âtime settingâ is confined to 416 minutes, from 11:56pm to 6:52am. You know, after dark.
For the first half of the book, I struggled to understand where any of it was going. But once I realized Murakami was aiming to chronicle a snapshot-in-time, I was able to appreciate it.
He sheds light on a hidden side of the world. Notably different (yet strangely similar) to the world we live in everyday. There are darker aspects to life that we all know exist, but donât acknowledge very often. Corruption. Estrangement. Insecurity.
Most people would hate the lack of a solid âendingâ, but I didnât mind it.
Not every chapter in life concludes when we go to sleep. Not every chapter begins when we wake up.
Excerpts
Chapter 1 > Page 23
My sister wouldnât know the difference between a trombone and a toaster. She could tell the difference between a Gucci and a Prada at a glance, though
Chapter 1 > Page 23
Everybodyâs got their own battlefields
Chapter 9 > Page 91
Three a.m. This is the darkest part of the night - and the hardest part
Chapter 9 > Page 97
And this creature, this thing doesnât give a damn that Iâm me or that youâre you. In its presence, all human beings lose their names and their faces. we all turn into signs, into numbers.
Chapter 9 > Page 99
Studying the law is not as much fun as making music, but what the hell, thatâs life. Thatâs what it means to grow up.
Chapter 11 > Page 122
But what might seem like a reasonable distance to one person might feel too far to somebody else
Chapter 11 > Page 125
Finally, no matter what I say, it doesnât reach her. This layer, like some kind of transparent sponge kind of thing, stands there between Eri Asai and me, and the words that come out of my mouth have to pass through it, and when that happens, the sponge sucks almost all the nutrients right out of them. Sheâs not listening to anything I say-not really. The longer we talk, the more clearly I can see whatâs happening. So then the words that come out of her mouth stop making it all the way to me. It was a very strange feeling.
Chapter 12 > Page 140
In the vacuum, all he feels is the dull ache in his right hand. It throbs along with the beating of his heart, and echoes in his ears like the roar of the ocean. Strange, he thinks: the ocean is nowhere near here.
Chapter 13 > Page 141
Walk slowly; drink lots of water
Chapter 15 > Page 167
âSometimes I feel as if Iâm racing with my own shadow,â Korogi says. âBut thatâs one thing Iâll never be able to outrun. Nobody can shake off their own shadowâ
Chapter 15 > Page 168
âThat peopleâs memories are maybe the fuel they burn to stay alive. Whether those memories have any actual importance or not, it doesnât matter as far as the maintenance of life is concerned. Theyâre all just fuel
Chapter 15 > Page 169
Important memories, not-so-important memories, totally useless memories: theyâre no distinction- theyâre all just fuel
Chapter 17 > Page 186
Itâs not as if our lives are divided simply into light and dark. Thereâs a shadowy middle ground. Recognizing and understanding the shadows is what a healthy intelligence does. And to acquire a healthy intelligence takes a certain amount of time and effort.
Chapter 18 > Page 200
Here, too, a brand new day is beginning. It could be a day like all the others, or it could be a day remarkable enough in many ways to remain in the memory. In either case, for now, for most people, it is a blank sheet of paper.