A bit strange, but nothing much happens in this book. It's not the kind of "nothing" of Seinfeld fame, but more of a creepy and lonely "nothing." A prostitue is beaten, a girl meets an old acquaintance and then there is a strage dream-like event that you can't even be sure has happened. Maybe it is a dream. Maybe not. There are no definitive answers here.
The entire narrative takes place in one evening, although I felt that there were places that time might have stopped for a while. In the dead of night, when most everyone is in bed, asleep, the people in this book drift together and drift apart again. Even though there are no great events, it feels a bit like a mystery - I can't help but wonder what is happening to these people and what will happen next. Reading about Takahashi and Mari brings the thrill of meeting a friend and getting to know more about the person and understanding what makes them who they are. But at the same time, learning more about them moves us further away from an understanding. It's a give and take - like the ebb and flow of a tide. Reading about Eri, I can't even be sure what is happening or how - it's all very ethereal, but ties us to a dream world that haunts the rest of the narrative.
After Dark is a strange book - one that I kept thinking I'd have to put down and leave unfinished, but couldn't.