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| Sputnik Sweetheart | 
 enlarge | Author: Haruki Murakami
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy New: £2.94
You Save: £5.05 (63%)
New (27) from £2.94
Avg. Customer Rating:  25 reviews
Sales Rank: 13428
Media: Paperback
Edition: New Ed
Pages: 240
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 0.6
ISBN: 0099448475
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780099448471
ASIN: 0099448475
Publication Date: October 3, 2002
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Haruki Murakami is arguably one of Japan's finest, modern writers and is, increasingly, being seen as one of the top authors working today. The last novel of his to find its way to these shores, Norwegian Wood, was a delightful, if slightly one-dimensional coming-of-age tale. The pyrotechnics of his previous, more surreal novels (Wind Up Bird Chronicle and A Wild Sheep Chase) had disappeared but something of his eccentricity, what made his books such a wonder, had disappeared too. Sputnik Sweetheart is a confident continuation of this more simple style yet one that retains the allegories, the depth of his best work.The narrator, a teacher, is in love with the beguiling, odd Sumire. As his best friend, she is not adverse to phoning at three or four in the morning to ask a pointless question or share a strange thought. Sumire, though, is in love with a beautiful, older woman, Miu, who does not, can not, return her affections. Longing for Sumire, K (that is all we are told by way of a name) finds some comfort in a purely sexual relationship with the mother of one of his pupils. But the consolation is slight. K is unhappy. Miu and Sumire, now working together, take a business trip to a Greek Island. Something happens, he is not told what, and so K travels to Greece to see what help he can offer. Themes of love, loss, sexuality, identity and selfhood are all interrogated, woven into a compelling, romantic, serious and sometimes sad book. It is a disarmingly simple, hugely satisfying, intelligent and moving work and one of Murakami's best. Simplicity, sprinkled with a dose of his magic, has enabled Murakami to write candidly, succinctly and beautifully about the complications and difficulties of love and loving. --Mark Thwaite
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| Customer Reviews: Read 20 more reviews...
 Plot not fully developed August 8, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I've loved the books I've read by Murakami so far (Norwegian Wood, The Wild Sheep Chase, Dance, Dance, Dance and Kafka on the Shore), so my expectations were very high.
Although I love the poetic style of writing with lots of philosophical insight this book didn't quite do it for me.
The story line seemed simple: The male narrator K is in love with his best friend Sumire who is in love with Miu (a married woman) who's not in love with her. A lot of unrequited love in other words, but very strong friendships.
I like the first part of the book best when we're still in "the real world". It's amusing and original the way Sumire meets Miu and befriends her. It adds tension when Sumire discusses her love with K. There's also an interesting subplot dealing with K's casual relationship with a mother to one of his students. I would've liked to stay with the story and see what would've have happened if it had developed naturally. An exploration of friendship sex jealousy etc.
Now Sumire disappears "to the other side" and that isn't a satisfying solution to me. I did like the supernatural element in the previous Murakami novels that I've read, but this was too vague and not fully developed.
It also fails a bit when it comes to the narrative structure. K tells the story, but fragments of Sumire's writing is thrown in as well. Her style seems very similar to K's style. What also disturbs me is the way K describes a sex scene between Sumire and Miu. How is he supposed to know what they got up to? There's no indication that Sumire or Miu told him the details about what happened in the bedroom. Unless they are extremely outspoken, which seems unlikely.
I would say this is a quick poetic read that leaves the reader with lots of questions. It might be a good thing. Perhaps I'd like it better if it was made into a film.
Keep reading - it gets better July 25, 2008
I didn't like the subject matter of this novel, as affirmed by the cover design, and thought it was too feminine. Although it does include lesbianism, it veers away from this as the story progresses.
It gets better after halfway when it becomes more familiar Murakami territory, that is, surreal tales described in fine prose. I especially liked the bit about the ferris wheel, excellent description of time, place and person.
I overcame my initial reservations and persisted with the book, to find it engaging, and a little different.
Good Murakami, though not among his best April 14, 2008
This good novel by Japan's Haruki Murakami has essentially three characters: the narrator, a teacher in his late twenties (a Murakami alter ego, one supposes); the object of his affections, Sumire, an erratic writer in her early twenties; and the object of Sumire's affections: Miu, a married businesswoman in her late thirties with a secret past, that takes Sumire as an assistant and as the companion in an eventful trip to a Greek island. The novel finishes with too many loose ends (at least, I did not understand them), but for most of the times the mixture of existentialism and minimalism, along with Murakami's good grip as a narrator makes one interest hold. Not among the author's best, but still a good novel about the loneliness and despair of modern urban life.
Is love really impossible? January 15, 2008
`Sputnik Sweetheart' starts simply enough with the narrator telling us all about Sumire, an aspiring writer who wears a second hand herringbone coat and chain smokes. Sumire falls in love with Mui, a woman who is seventeen years her senior and who offers her a job. Sumire becomes unrecognisable to the narrator, K, as she is gripped by her feelings. Sumire follows Mui to a Greek Island and it is whilst they are there that K receives a phone call asking him to come to Sumire's aid...
Although there was nothing to particularly dislike about this novel, there wasn't anything I found particularly engaging either. I didn't believe that Sumire would fall in love with Mui and the relationships seemed a bit flimsy. There are about ten amazing pages somewhere near the middle that deal with Mui's past but it wasn't enough to carry the whole novel. The overall message seems a little depressing too; K loves Sumire but she doesn't love him, Sumire loves Mui but she doesn't love her and Mui seems incapable of love. Is love really that impossible?
Not one for me.
Disjointed July 3, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Murakami's description does not falter, but I found this book more disjointed than 'Norwegian Wood' or 'South of the Border, West of the Sun'. It is gripping and beautiful and well worth a read, but make 'Norwegian Wood' your first if you've never before read Murakami.
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