Recurring Dreams: Happens to Korogi and Takahashi.She responds to Takahashi's invitations to eat as not liking the way the food was made or simply not liking the food itself. Picky Eater: Mari isn't exactly a child, but she isn't an adult either.She's described by the narrator as quite attractive, but no one notices, because her sister is breathtakingly beautiful. Overshadowed by Awesome: Mari's appearance.Mythology Gag: At around 4:09 A.M., Takahashi brings up his motto: 'Walk slowly, drink lots of water.' It's something that the bartender J tells the Rat in Pinball, 1973.Mistaken for Gay: Happens to Takahashi a lot.Mari will soon leave for Beijing, China in an exchange-student program. Maybe Ever After: Takahashi promises to write to Mari, and she promises to reply.Granola Girl: Mari has hints of this she doesn't eat chicken salad and is picky about omelettes because of the way chickens are treated.Functional Addict: Eri is a compulsive pill-popper and Mari says that she's been like that since she was a teenager and shows absolutely no signs of slowing down.Mari says that that was the last time she felt truly inseparable from her sister. The lights went off and the two children were stuck in darkness, Eri holding her younger sister in a death-hug and trying to comfort her. Elevator Failure: When Mari was in Kindergarten, an earthquake caused the elevator she rode with Eri to stop.Double Take: Done by the narration when Eri disappears from her room.Dark and Troubled Past: Korogi has painful-looking scars on her back and tells Mari that there are people chasing her who will do much worse than that if she's ever caught.Also, Takahashi started to play the trombone because of a single jazz piece. Jazz musicians, music and songs are referenced throughout the entire novel. Mari was supposed to spend her entire night (and early morning) reading at a Denny's restaurant. Author Appeal: Murakami loves reading.The story weaves through the thin line between dreams and reality, and in the early hours of the new day, both get even less discernible from each other. It tells the story of five characters: Mari, a nineteen-year-old girl Takahashi, a trombone-player at an all-night practice session Eri, Mari's sister who is in a deep sleep a Chinese prostitute who has been beaten up in a Love Hotel and a salaryman working late on a software project. It was published in 2004.Īfter Dark takes place in Tokyo, from midnight until dawn. After Dark is a novel by Haruki Murakami.

After dark japanese novel