55 pages 1 hour read

Haruki Murakami

After Dark

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2004

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Important Quotes

Quotation Mark Icon

“The young man hums the first eight bars of ‘Five Spot After Dark.’

“‘I know that,’ says Mari.

“He looks baffled. ‘You do?’

Mari hums the next eight bars.”


(Chapter 1, Pages 25-26)

In the first of many instances of Synchronicity in After Dark, Mari happens to know Takahashi’s favorite (relatively obscure) jazz song. This exchange exemplifies Murakami’s passion for Western music, especially jazz, which permeates his works. This song is the origin of the novel’s title.

Quotation Mark Icon

“Our point of view, as an imaginary camera, picks up and lingers over things like this in the room. We are invisible, anonymous intruders. We look. We listen. We note odors. But we are not physically present in the place, and we leave behind no traces. We follow the same rules, so to speak, as orthodox time travelers.”


(Chapter 2, Page 33)

In Eri Asai’s room for the first time, the narrator lays the “ground rules” for these observation scenes, introducing the theme of Voyeurism and the Narrative Camera. The narrative takes on the perspective of an imaginary camera, voyeuristically examining everything, while remaining unseen and unable to intervene, no matter what happens. The narrator includes the reader in this act of voyeurism, referring constantly to what “we” observe and experience.

Quotation Mark Icon

“Mari bites her lip and tries to gather her thoughts. ‘And she only speaks Chinese?’

‘Yeah, she knows like two words of Japanese. I can’t call the cops, though. She’s probably an illegal alien, and I don’t have time to go testify every time something like this comes up.’”


(Chapter 3, Pages 46-47)

Mari’s introduction to Kaoru and the Alphaville is her first foray into the seedy underbelly of Tokyo at night, setting up the motif of light and dark. Kaoru lives in an almost alternate world where sex work and human trafficking are not uncommon. The aftermath of violence that Mari witnesses in the hotel room is inherent to this world.

Related Titles

By Haruki Murakami

Study Guide

logo

A Wild Sheep Chase

Haruki Murakami

A Wild Sheep Chase

Haruki Murakami

Plot Summary

logo

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

Haruki Murakami

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

Haruki Murakami

Study Guide

logo

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage

Haruki Murakami

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage

Haruki Murakami

Study Guide

logo

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

Haruki Murakami

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

Haruki Murakami

Study Guide

logo

Kafka on the Shore

Haruki Murakami

Kafka on the Shore

Haruki Murakami

Plot Summary

logo

Killing Commendatore

Haruki Murakami

Killing Commendatore

Haruki Murakami

Study Guide

logo

Norwegian Wood

Haruki Murakami

Norwegian Wood

Haruki Murakami

Plot Summary

logo

South of the Border, West of the Sun

Haruki Murakami

South of the Border, West of the Sun

Haruki Murakami

Plot Summary

logo

Sputnik Sweetheart

Haruki Murakami

Sputnik Sweetheart

Haruki Murakami

Study Guide

logo

The Elephant Vanishes

Haruki Murakami

The Elephant Vanishes: Stories

Haruki Murakami

Study Guide

logo

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

Haruki Murakami, Transl. Jay Rubin

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

Haruki Murakami, Transl. Jay Rubin

Plot Summary

logo

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

Haruki Murakami

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

Haruki Murakami