Author: Haruki Murakami
Original title: アフターダーク, Afutā Dāku
Translator: Jay Rubin
Genres: Literary fiction
Country: Japan
Languaje: Japanese
Publisher: Kodansha
Publication date: 2004
Pages: 208
ISBN: 0-307-26583-8 (US)
1-84655-047-5 (UK)
Plot:
Right before midnight, in the city of Tokio, Mari Asai, a 19-year-old student, is spending the night reading in a Denny's. There she meets Takahashi Tetsuya, a trombone-playing student who she had met once in a double date with her sister, Eri. Meanwhile, Eri is in a deep sleep next to a television; the television suddenly comes to life with a disturbing image in it, despites it not being plugged. Mari crosses ways with a retired female wrestler, Kaoru, now working as a manager in a love hotel called "Alphaville". Kaoru needs Mari to talk to a Chinese prostitute who had just been beaten in the love hotel by an office worker, Shirakawa. Parts of the story take place in a world between reality and dream, and each chapter begins with an image of a clock depicting the passage of time throughout the night.
Characters:
- Mari Asai: Main character. She's a university student who looks younger than she is. She has short, dark hair and barely uses make-up. She is also quite introvert and has 'weird' tastes. She is completely opposite from her sister.
- Eri Asai: Mari's older sister. A beautiful, extroverted woman who works as a model and is admired by everyone. Despite this, she is not close to anyone. She spends almost the whole book in deep sleep.
- Tetsuya Takahashi: Trombone player in a jazz band. He shows interest in Mari throughout the book.
- Shirakawa: The man who beats the Chinese prostitute. He is an informatic in a Tokio office.