![]() ![]() She has nowhere to go, but her goal has never been any specific destination. Mari is out in the dead of the night, aiming to spend the night awake in the middle of the big city. ![]() They are staying up at night reading and practicing their instruments, and, when they converse with one another, they do so in their own fashion, sharing stories and keeping their distance with equal frequency. The characters of Tokyo's witching hours are not aware that we are watching them, and they make no attempt to show us the most important parts of their lives. Milk put back on the shelf by one character is purchased by a second, a cell phone left in a store is answered by another, and threats and referrals alter the players in the game and their relationships with one another. In Haruki Murakami's 2004 novel After Dark (English translation 2007), which follows its characters through the night and into the early morning hours, these actions range from the subtly earth shattering to the mundane. In a city teeming with millions, the streets are reduced to a cast of only a few, and their actions spiral out and shape one another. Oh, the connections and events were always there, but now, as the Denny's empties out and our main character goes from one among many to practically alone in the restaurant, those connections are magnified. ![]() ![]() It's nighttime in Tokyo, and everything affects everything else. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |