Hehe, yes, after for so long, I've finally finished reading this book. *fails like that*
I've heard a lot of people rave about Murakami's works, and of course, I couldn't help but to be curious. I wanted to know just what it is exactly that's so great about this man's writing. So I decided to give it a try. Not wanting to start off with an especially long book, I bought one of his shorter yet still (seemingly from the look of the summary) interesting book, "After Dark". I was met with a lot of interruptions while trying to finish this. University, assignments, etc... You know, RL. I just didn't have the time to sit down long enough to properly read this. When I read, I like having ample time to do it without interruptions.
And that time came when the holiday for Raya came along. I read the majority of the book during my flight to Sabah (yes, I'm now in Sabah. I just arrived a few hours ago) and finished it during my trip to the family inn.
Anyway, about the book... I'm not quite sure what to think of it. It's very... for the lack of a better word, odd. It's not plot-heavy, it seems to concentrate more on the atmosphere of the setting, emotions. Not much really happens in the book. We have Mari Asai, a girl who's trying to read a book at Denny's, and she keeps getting interrupted by people. Takahashi, Kaoru... She makes new acquaintances, helps with talking to a distressed Chinese prostitute, confides about her sister's condition to one of her new "friends". Then there are other stories surrounding the plot, not just Mari's. There's Eri Asai's deep slumber, the Chinese gang to whom the Chinese prostitute belongs to, then there's the man who beat up the prostitute and the shifts between reality and fantasy(?).
If you're looking for a plot-driven book, then this book isn't what you're looking for. Nothing (much) happens, really. There is no conclusion to any of the stories surrounding the plot. The ending is pretty open, leaving the readers to decide what will happen to the characters after this. But still, that doesn't make the book bad. I was pretty much captivated right till the end. It's difficult to explain the appeal of this work of Murakami's, but I suppose it's his writing. His writing is simply beautiful, and the descriptions he used are effective, different. It sucks you right in, and it makes you feel like you're right there. Just reading the way he has with words makes me envious. *has always had a problem with descriptions, so I make up for it by relying heavily on emotions OTL*
And another thing.
There's this one thing I can't help but to wonder about this story a lot, though.
SPOILERSPOILERSPOILERSPOILERSPOILER
Are Mari's feelings towards Eri incestuous? Because it pretty much seems like it. Not that I really mind.
Well, with this book done, I can now read some of my other books. They're practically gathering dust on my bookshelf - ah, life, why are you so nice to me?
Another book that I'm tempted to read - "Twilight". People are either raving about how awesome it is, or complaining about how terrible it is. I wonder if they have a copy of it here at the inn? I'm going to reserve my judgment on it till I actually read it. Let's see which group I belong to XD
Well, with this book done, I can now read some of my other books. They're practically gathering dust on my bookshelf - ah, life, why are you so nice to me?
