The term trauma is employed to denote an individual’s emotional response to an event that poses a threat to their preconceived notions regarding themselves and others. The field of literary trauma research has conceptualised traumatic experiences as a perpetual void that fractures one’s sense of self, leading to enduring silence and a lack of awareness regarding the specific event. This is because a traumatic event is not fully experienced or encoded as a memory, and therefore, it is not typically integrated into one’s conscious awareness. The encoding of intensely specific and emotionally charged memories might result from traumatic recollections. Consequently, this leads to the manifestation of a compromised sense of self-worth and cognitive impairment. Similarly, it can be observed that in Murakami’s novel After Dark, a significant number of characters grapple with personal traumas, yet these traumatic encounters are not adequately encoded into their memory. In certain circumstances, the character exhibits the ability to recall specific details, while other memories appear to be vague or completely absent. This study examines the collective traumatic memory experienced by the characters in Haruki Murakami’s novel After Dark focusing on the processes of memory formation, recall, and potential repression. This analysis aims to elucidate the process of selecting recollections, which is heavily influenced by historical prejudices, cultural assumptions, and idiosyncratic tendencies. The study also investigates the potential consequences of improperly stored traumatic experiences on an individual’s sense of self, leading to a fragmented state of being, an immobilised encounter that remains inaccessible and indescribable.