Sputnik Sweetheart

Murakami, Haruki

ISBN 10: 1843798042 ISBN 13: 9781843798040

Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks, 2014

Synopsis

Haruki Murakami is unquestionably Japan!|s leading novelist with his many works { fiction and non-fiction { consistently reflecting contemporary Japanese life while, unusually, sustaining an international appeal through a deeply human perspective. Sputnik Sweetheart is his ninth novel, written in 1999, and tells the story of a young woman { Sumire, an aspiring writer { who falls in love with an older, successful businesswoman and wine expert, Miu. Their relationship is told through the eyes of Sumire!|s close (male) friend. It is a curious, mysterious tale, told with the compassion and quirkiness that is the hallmark of Murakami!|s writing.

About this title

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

Review

"Grabs you from its opening lines. . . . [Murakami's] never written anything more openly emotional." -"Los Angeles Magazine" "Murakami is a genius." -"Chicago Tribune" "Murakami has an unmatched gift for turning psychological metaphors into uncanny narratives." -"The New York Times Book Review" "An agonizing, sweet story about the power and the pain of love. . . . Immensely deepened by perfect little images that leave much to be filled in by the reader's heart or eye." -"The Baltimore Sun" "[Murakami belongs] in the topmost rank of writers of international stature." -"Newsday" "Murakami's true achievement lies in the humor and vision he brings to even the most despairing moments." -"The New Yorker" "Perhaps better than any contemporary writer, [Murakami] captures and lays bare the raw human emotion of longing." -"BookPage" "Murakami . . . has a deep interest in the alienation of self, which lifts [Sputnik Sweetheart] into both fantasy and philosophy." -"San Francisco Chronicle" "Not just a great Japanese writer but a great writer, period." -"Los Angeles Times Book Review" --Los Angeles Times Book Review

The skilled narration assures you that everything is real, but reality for 'K', a Tokyo teacher who sleeps with his pupils' mothers, is 'a cardigan with the buttons done up wrong'. 'K' is in love with Sumire, a needy aspiring novelist in clumpy workbooks, who looks on 'K' as her friend but is in love with Miu, an older woman hiding a curious past. Each layer of the mystery deepens the ramifications of isolation and love. Wonderful. --- Rachel Redford, The Oldie

About this edition

• Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1843798042
• ISBN 13: 9781843798040
• Binding: Audio CD
• Number of pages: 6