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I am a non-native speaker.

In a book I'm currently reading, sentences are often started by 'after which'.

She zipped up her tracksuit jacket.

After which he decided to go upstairs. The other three moved on to coffee.

This sounded odd to me, especially due to the paragraph, because I've seen 'after which' only when combining two independent clauses to a single sentence.

I wonder if this is some humorous style or rather a normal thing one could do without raising a strange undertone.

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  • Can you please include more sentences before/after that sentence?
    – user140086
    Oct 13, 2015 at 6:26
  • @Rathony done. Note that very often this construction would start a new paragraph
    – Wottensprels
    Oct 13, 2015 at 6:40
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    I think the sentence could be grammatically wrong as which should be replaced by that. The relative pronoun which cannot be used in an independent clause. But I don't want to insist on it. Let's wait for some more comments/answers.
    – user140086
    Oct 13, 2015 at 6:55
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    The string of words beginning with "After which ...." is a sentence fragment. You don't provide enough context for me to be able to tell, definitely, if the use of that and similar fragments is a stylistic device intended to create or sustain a mood, humor, or etc. Also, the fragment could be a simple punctuation error ("After which, he decided ...." is not a fragment), or a repeated, thematic punctuation error, again, intended to create or sustain a stylistic effect. See "Fragmentary Sentences ..." for details.
    – JEL
    Oct 13, 2015 at 8:14
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    @Rathony I agree with you. I would never use a relative pronoun, (or relative phrase) in an independent clause, and would consider it grammatically incorrect. But you must bear in mind that I am older than most people on this site and my views are regarded by some as, to say the least, passé.
    – WS2
    Oct 13, 2015 at 8:28

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This seems to me more of the authors style. I haven't ever heard people finish a sentence and then start another sentence with "After which", unless that sentence ended with "of course."

It would read strange to me, perhaps humorous if I had more context.

Common example:

We went for a walk, after which we decided to grab some dinner.

Rarer example used for humorous affect, or to build up suspense:

We went for a walk, and we ended up at her apartment. She invited me in, and we walked up to her door. After which we had tea of course.

Example I have not heard used:

We went for a walk. After which we had dinner.

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  • Thank you. The question remains however if this reads perfectly normal beside the fact that it is a style seldom used or if it has a humorous (or other) undertone
    – Wottensprels
    Oct 13, 2015 at 6:50
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    Mostly, it reads strange. If there is humor there I'd probably need to read the page to pick up on it. (Edited answer to reflect)
    – Academiphile
    Oct 13, 2015 at 6:51

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