After Dark

First edition in English. 8vo. Pp. [vi], 191, [1]. Quarter-bound shocking pink cloth over ribbed, purple paper boards, stamped in gilt to spine; fore-edges untrimmed. Dust jacket photography and design by Chip Kidd (priced $22.95 to front flap). 1/75,000 copies printed.

Translated from the Japanese by Jay Rubin. Originally published in 2004 as Afutā dāku, by Kōdansha Ltd., Tokyo.

Author's twelfth novel, composed under the ear worming strains of Curtis Fuller's 'Five Spot After Dark' (1959). From drama to metaphysical speculation, three loosely interrelated stories of strange encounters by Tokyo denizens in the witching hours between midnight and dawn. A post-modern exemplar, the book is noted for having a 'real-time' timeline, with a 3 a.m. reading start-time recommended.

"After Dark is hypnotically eerie, sometimes even funny, but most of all, it's a book that keeps ratcheting up the suspense." –Michael Dirda, Washington Post Book World