Status
Available
Description
The scenario is as simple as it is uncomfortable: a college student falls in love (once and for all, despite everything that transpires afterward) with a classmate whose devotion to Kerouac and an untidy writerly life precludes any personal commitments -- until she meets a considerably older and far more sophisticated businesswoman. It is through this wormhole that she enters Murakami's surreal yet humane universe, to which she serves as guide both for us and for her frustrated suitor, now a teacher. In the course of her travels from parochial Japan through Europe and ultimately to an island off the coast of Greece, she disappears without a trace, leaving only lineaments of her fate: computer accounts of bizarre events and stories within stories. The teacher, summoned to assist in the search for her, experiences his own ominous, haunting visions, which lead him nowhere but home to Japan -- and there, under the expanse of deep space and the still-orbiting Sputnik, he finally achieves a true understanding of his beloved.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member DRFP
This was the first Murakami novel I read and it remains, thus far, my favourite. It's funny, it's poignant, and everything works despite Murakami's trademark surrealism. Even Murakami’s frequent name dropping of writers, musicians, or whatever, doesn’t feel unnecessary here given the young,
There are similarities to Norwegian Wood but Sputnik Sweetheart is a similar story told far better in my opinion.
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trendy characters the story revolves around. There are similarities to Norwegian Wood but Sputnik Sweetheart is a similar story told far better in my opinion.
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LibraryThing member SnakeVargas
This was the first of Murakami's books i read and it definately got me hooked. Murakami usually deals with themes of identity and loneliness/the impossibility of truly knowing another. And Sputnik Sweetheart is no exception. The thing that keeps me coming back to Murakami is the poignant beauty of
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his writing. His sentances are lyrical. A testament to both the author, and the high quality of the translations. Sputnik Sweetheart is a great introduction to Murakami, although i think that probably The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Kafka on the Shore are better novels, they both require the reader to get more into Murakami's weird dreamspace. Show Less
LibraryThing member klarusu
This is another poignant and unique offering from Murakami. I love his writing and the translations read well (although as to their accuracy I cannot testify, being less than fluent in Japanese!). I certainly won't talk too much about the plot as, for me, each Murakami novel needs to be approached
This is where the book begins to depart from the norm. With a backdrop of normality, Murakami introduces his own 'magic' storylines that depart from reality but remain very real to the reader. It is very alien to the western mind - there is something very Japanese about it, in a similar spirit to Miyazaki's animation and completely apart from any flights of fancy I've come across in western writing. The reader is left to put their own interpretation on the events of the novel and choose how far to take Murakami's description of events as literal.
In translated novels, you are so dependent on the translator's skill to let you appreciate the flair and language of the original. Read in translation, this book carried a depth of language and richness of evocative description, both of places and emotions. It reads well and in an unstilted manner. How closely this matched the sense of the original I cannot say, but I believe that anyone skilled enough to translate something that reads so well in English will have been true to the author's original words.
I would certainly recommend this highly and would suggest that even if you are a reader who prefers to read more literal novels, it is worth giving Murakami a try. It might surprise you!
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for the first time without preconceived ideas. This is, on the surface, a simple tale of unrequited love. The narrator, a male teacher, in love with his friend, a girl. She, in turn, is in love with a sophisticated older woman she met at a wedding and continued on to work for. As usual, Murakami's treatment of love is subtle, poignant and tasteful.This is where the book begins to depart from the norm. With a backdrop of normality, Murakami introduces his own 'magic' storylines that depart from reality but remain very real to the reader. It is very alien to the western mind - there is something very Japanese about it, in a similar spirit to Miyazaki's animation and completely apart from any flights of fancy I've come across in western writing. The reader is left to put their own interpretation on the events of the novel and choose how far to take Murakami's description of events as literal.
In translated novels, you are so dependent on the translator's skill to let you appreciate the flair and language of the original. Read in translation, this book carried a depth of language and richness of evocative description, both of places and emotions. It reads well and in an unstilted manner. How closely this matched the sense of the original I cannot say, but I believe that anyone skilled enough to translate something that reads so well in English will have been true to the author's original words.
I would certainly recommend this highly and would suggest that even if you are a reader who prefers to read more literal novels, it is worth giving Murakami a try. It might surprise you!
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LibraryThing member sirfurboy
I have removed the rest of Murakami's works from my reading list. Some people obviously get a lot from him and enjoy his work, and he does write well. Personally though I cannot bring myself to really care about his characters. Especially as I know his story threads will be dumped unresolved at the
I don't mind some unresoved threads in a book. But with Murakami it would be nice to have some that are actually resolved.
This book is about a kind of love triangle. Boy loves girl. The girl loves another girl. Not a book I would normally read from any author to be fair. I only bought this one because it was my fourth attempt to really "get" Murakami.
All his protaganists seem to be disconnected - adrift in a sea of people. The sense of isolation in the multitudes is a recurrent theme in his work, and remains so in this book.
But there is also surrealism, and the vague inference of alternate universes. We are no dount meant to wonder what happened to Sumire, the Japanese girl who goes missing in Greece - but then again, when we look at some conceptual art we are *supposed* to wonder what that is telling us to, or else we should bring our concepts to it. For both Murakami's novels, and for conceptual art, I personally find myself unable to care.
That no doubt makes me a cultural philistine - but then I don't care about that either. So Murakami lovers will shake their heads, knowing I have missed the point. I will shake my head and agree with them - and go and read a book that makes sense instead.
I will add that reading other people's thoughts on Murakami - inevitably they confess to not knowing what the books are about either - or else they come up with conflicting meanings. Any book that is so deep that it defies careful analysis cannot be rightly distinguished from eloquent nonsense.
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end of each book.I don't mind some unresoved threads in a book. But with Murakami it would be nice to have some that are actually resolved.
This book is about a kind of love triangle. Boy loves girl. The girl loves another girl. Not a book I would normally read from any author to be fair. I only bought this one because it was my fourth attempt to really "get" Murakami.
All his protaganists seem to be disconnected - adrift in a sea of people. The sense of isolation in the multitudes is a recurrent theme in his work, and remains so in this book.
But there is also surrealism, and the vague inference of alternate universes. We are no dount meant to wonder what happened to Sumire, the Japanese girl who goes missing in Greece - but then again, when we look at some conceptual art we are *supposed* to wonder what that is telling us to, or else we should bring our concepts to it. For both Murakami's novels, and for conceptual art, I personally find myself unable to care.
That no doubt makes me a cultural philistine - but then I don't care about that either. So Murakami lovers will shake their heads, knowing I have missed the point. I will shake my head and agree with them - and go and read a book that makes sense instead.
I will add that reading other people's thoughts on Murakami - inevitably they confess to not knowing what the books are about either - or else they come up with conflicting meanings. Any book that is so deep that it defies careful analysis cannot be rightly distinguished from eloquent nonsense.
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LibraryThing member Clara53
To me, this book has two protagonists - the narrator himself and the object of his adoration, an aspiring writer. Sad story of unrequited love (an odd triangle, actually), exploration of feelings - of friendship and love and problems of being ill fit for society... A meant-to-be writer's pure,
In the first few pages of the book, I didn't care for too many metaphors that seemed forced and reaching... Maybe that's why this novel didn't grab me from the beginning, like some books do. Later on, the metaphors drastically diminished (and those that did occur were much better!) and the story flowed easier due to that. So it's fair to say that the book "grew on me". This author was on my list for a while, but I have a strange feeling that maybe I should have started reading him with another book, not this one, that maybe this is not his typical work... Still - a few very good insights into human nature here, like this one:
"Given the chance, people are surprisingly frank when they talk about themselves. 'I am honest and open to a ridiculous degree', they'll say, or 'I'm thin-skinned and not the type who gets along easily with the world'. Or 'I am very good at sensing others' true feelings'. But any number of times I've seen people who say they're easily hurt hurt other people. For no apparent reason. Self-styled honest and open people, without realizing what they're doing, blithely use some self-serving excuse to get what they want. And those "good at sensing others' true feelings" are duped by the most transparent flattery. It's enough to make me ask the question: How well do we really know ourselves?"
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almost painful necessity to write... In the first few pages of the book, I didn't care for too many metaphors that seemed forced and reaching... Maybe that's why this novel didn't grab me from the beginning, like some books do. Later on, the metaphors drastically diminished (and those that did occur were much better!) and the story flowed easier due to that. So it's fair to say that the book "grew on me". This author was on my list for a while, but I have a strange feeling that maybe I should have started reading him with another book, not this one, that maybe this is not his typical work... Still - a few very good insights into human nature here, like this one:
"Given the chance, people are surprisingly frank when they talk about themselves. 'I am honest and open to a ridiculous degree', they'll say, or 'I'm thin-skinned and not the type who gets along easily with the world'. Or 'I am very good at sensing others' true feelings'. But any number of times I've seen people who say they're easily hurt hurt other people. For no apparent reason. Self-styled honest and open people, without realizing what they're doing, blithely use some self-serving excuse to get what they want. And those "good at sensing others' true feelings" are duped by the most transparent flattery. It's enough to make me ask the question: How well do we really know ourselves?"
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LibraryThing member RBeffa
Sputnik Sweetheart is an interesting novel from Murakami with three primary characters. I am really having a tough time rating or reviewing this one. I was engaged and interested, but I think it was the central mystery of the story, the disappearance of the narrator's best friend (and secret crush)
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Sumire that ultimately disappointed me. The documents she left on her laptop should have been the highlight of the story I think, after the buildup, but proved rather unsatisfying. The emotions in this story ring completely true to life and the characters are intriguing, as well as the setting, but I never fell in love with this. I couldn't figure out what was supposed to have happened to Sumire. I don't think the other two main characters, K and Mui figured it out either. Show Less
LibraryThing member dczapka
I only have limited experience of Haruki Murakami, but what I've read of him has impressed me immensely. Sputnik Sweetheart, one of this shorter works, continues in this tradition, crafting an enigmatic world that feels as if it is getting progressively less comprehensible, a fantasy that is
The story is narrated by a young male character--unnamed, but identified only once or twice as K. He is infatuated with Sumire, a beautiful young writer struggling to make a living, who does not return his affections. When Sumire meets a strange older woman named Miu, she believes she is falling in love, and quickly accepts Miu's job offer as a traveling secretary. But when, during a holiday in Greece, Sumire disappears without a trace, Miu calls upon K to try to find out where she has gone, and why.
What makes the novel so engaging is that it is equal parts romance and mystery, with the early part of the text focusing strongly on K's and Sumire's feelings about love and relationships. We understand immediately that K's feelings for Sumire are unrequited, but so does he, allowing us to root for his love to be returned without feeling as if we are betraying either character. Sumire too is a very strong character despite the little we are allowed to know about her: there is a certain youthful desperation to her that makes her supremely likable and engaging.
Where the book truly shines, however, is in its mysterious elements. Once Sumire disappears, the mood shifts strongly towards something almost creepy and supernatural. Miu's presence adds a certain haunting quality to the proceedings, and her story about the ferris wheel certainly stretches the bounds of plausibility, but there is a quality to the telling of the story that is urgent and palatable. Even in the final highly unusual and ghostly scene, we trust that what we are reading is entirely possible within the world Murakami has created, allowing the scene's emotional register to take over.
Nevertheless, the novel is not perfect. I would have liked to have known more about the supernatural elements, to have been given some kind of explanation for certain ideas and details, but on the plus side, the lack of explication doesn't ruin the experience of the book. Sputnik Sweetheart is touching, sweet, and captivating, and certainly the kind of book that will make someone unfamiliar with Murakami want to read more.
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nevertheless firmly planted in reality.The story is narrated by a young male character--unnamed, but identified only once or twice as K. He is infatuated with Sumire, a beautiful young writer struggling to make a living, who does not return his affections. When Sumire meets a strange older woman named Miu, she believes she is falling in love, and quickly accepts Miu's job offer as a traveling secretary. But when, during a holiday in Greece, Sumire disappears without a trace, Miu calls upon K to try to find out where she has gone, and why.
What makes the novel so engaging is that it is equal parts romance and mystery, with the early part of the text focusing strongly on K's and Sumire's feelings about love and relationships. We understand immediately that K's feelings for Sumire are unrequited, but so does he, allowing us to root for his love to be returned without feeling as if we are betraying either character. Sumire too is a very strong character despite the little we are allowed to know about her: there is a certain youthful desperation to her that makes her supremely likable and engaging.
Where the book truly shines, however, is in its mysterious elements. Once Sumire disappears, the mood shifts strongly towards something almost creepy and supernatural. Miu's presence adds a certain haunting quality to the proceedings, and her story about the ferris wheel certainly stretches the bounds of plausibility, but there is a quality to the telling of the story that is urgent and palatable. Even in the final highly unusual and ghostly scene, we trust that what we are reading is entirely possible within the world Murakami has created, allowing the scene's emotional register to take over.
Nevertheless, the novel is not perfect. I would have liked to have known more about the supernatural elements, to have been given some kind of explanation for certain ideas and details, but on the plus side, the lack of explication doesn't ruin the experience of the book. Sputnik Sweetheart is touching, sweet, and captivating, and certainly the kind of book that will make someone unfamiliar with Murakami want to read more.
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LibraryThing member scroeser
I like the simplicity of this story...with such an odd story it could so easily become bogged down in explanations and world-building, but instead Murakami just sketches the outlines and leaves it at that.
LibraryThing member Meredy
Six-word review: Typically puzzling yet rewarding Murakami story.
Extended review:
There's something about the novels of Haruki Murakami: I read them, I enjoy them (or don't: that would be Norwegian Wood), I'm moderately mystified by them--and then, a little while later, I find that I can't remember
They seem to want to be classed as existentialist novels, and yet when I think of them in comparison with Camus, I find them far more elusive and less concrete.
I know I liked Sputnik Sweetheart. I even wrote this in my notebook as soon as I finished it: "I found this more coherent than any of the other five Murakami novels I've read." I also harvested a lot of good quotations, from which the following selection comes:
• "[I]f I can be allowed a mediocre generalization, don't pointless things have a place, too, in this far-from-perfect world? Remove everything pointless from an imperfect life, and it loses even its imperfection." (page 4)
• "I felt like I was a meaningless bug clinging for no special reason to a high stone wall on a windy night, with no plans, no beliefs." (page 77)
• Sumire: "On the flip side of everything we think we absolutely have pegged lurks an equal amount of the unknown. Understanding is but the sum of our misunderstandings." (page 134; bold in original)
• Sumire: "Only a handful of writers--and I'm talking the most talented--are able to pull off the kind of irrational synthesis you find in dreams." (page 137-138; this is followed in the narrative by a dream sequence)
• In my notebook I labeled this "statement of theme": "So that's how we live our lives. No matter how deep and fatal the loss, no matter how important the thing that's stolen from us--that's snatched right out of our hands--even if we are left completely changed, with only the outer layer of skin from before, we continue to play out our lives this way, in silence."
I guess I'll take my word for it.
Extended review:
There's something about the novels of Haruki Murakami: I read them, I enjoy them (or don't: that would be Norwegian Wood), I'm moderately mystified by them--and then, a little while later, I find that I can't remember
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what happened. I remember that there was something about cats, or moons, or train stations, or wells--a lot of wells--but the story and the characters have diffused into a kind of dreamlike otherworldly vapor.They seem to want to be classed as existentialist novels, and yet when I think of them in comparison with Camus, I find them far more elusive and less concrete.
I know I liked Sputnik Sweetheart. I even wrote this in my notebook as soon as I finished it: "I found this more coherent than any of the other five Murakami novels I've read." I also harvested a lot of good quotations, from which the following selection comes:
• "[I]f I can be allowed a mediocre generalization, don't pointless things have a place, too, in this far-from-perfect world? Remove everything pointless from an imperfect life, and it loses even its imperfection." (page 4)
• "I felt like I was a meaningless bug clinging for no special reason to a high stone wall on a windy night, with no plans, no beliefs." (page 77)
• Sumire: "On the flip side of everything we think we absolutely have pegged lurks an equal amount of the unknown. Understanding is but the sum of our misunderstandings." (page 134; bold in original)
• Sumire: "Only a handful of writers--and I'm talking the most talented--are able to pull off the kind of irrational synthesis you find in dreams." (page 137-138; this is followed in the narrative by a dream sequence)
• In my notebook I labeled this "statement of theme": "So that's how we live our lives. No matter how deep and fatal the loss, no matter how important the thing that's stolen from us--that's snatched right out of our hands--even if we are left completely changed, with only the outer layer of skin from before, we continue to play out our lives this way, in silence."
I guess I'll take my word for it.
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LibraryThing member sixwoolsocks
This isn't one of my favorite Murakami books. It's pretty weak compared to Kafka on the Shore or The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. While it was well written & I appreciate a change of pace from the usual Murakami, it just didn't do it for me.
LibraryThing member updraught
Reading a Murakami novel feels like seeing a classic at the theatre: You know exactly how the story is going to end; nonetheless, it is full of suspense and unexpected turns. Sputnik Sweetheart is a story about relationships, expectations, and the loneliness we are left with. Rich in imagery and
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subtle empathy. Show Less
LibraryThing member esswedl
Lyrical, haunting, haunted. A bit of a head-scratcher. I was taken by the photographic-style vignetting: the central details are crisp and in-focus, whereas the edges are blurry.
LibraryThing member jhybe
first murakami encountered, and i got hooked. best scene includes catching sight of oneself from a ferris wheel.
LibraryThing member techszewski
I really enjoyed the first half of this book. Second half had me feeling like that maybe this book was better off a short-story, if it had started as one. After hearing Murakami mentioned by so many friends lately, I had to find out for myself what all the buzz was about. I look forward to picking
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up another of his books. Show Less
LibraryThing member GingerbreadMan
I'm pretty sure this is not REALLY Murakami's best novel. But you know how it is, sometimes a book comes along at just the right time and just..."speaks to you" sounds so corny, but something like that. "Sputnik Sweetheart" pushed all the right buttons for me, right now.
It is in a way a classic
Murakami again pulls off a seamless travel from realism into something very different. You hardly notice how things are beginning to tilt, and before you know it you accept a tale like the spectacular one about Miu and the Ferris wheel (which cannot be related without spoling it) as normal.
But what stays with me here is manly the relationships between these people, the distinct feeling they all share that something is LACKING in human nature, that you can be just as alone in a room full of people and the fear that it might be impossible to know someone for real. K, especially, is very relateable to me, in a bittersweet way. This book, at this time in my life, filled me with melancholy and wonder. It will linger for along time.
It is in a way a classic
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love triangle. K, our narrator, loves kooky, messy would-be author Sumire. She, however, just thinks he's the best friend ever (hello, my teenage years) and besides, she's pretty certain she can't fall in love anyway. Until she does, with Miu, a 17 years older businesswoman. Who in turn thinks Sumire is great, but can't love her. Sumire starts working for Miu, stops writing and the two women go on a business trip to Europe, which transforms into a holiday in Greece. From which Miu calls K in distress. Sumire has disappeared from the face of the earth, without a single trace.Murakami again pulls off a seamless travel from realism into something very different. You hardly notice how things are beginning to tilt, and before you know it you accept a tale like the spectacular one about Miu and the Ferris wheel (which cannot be related without spoling it) as normal.
But what stays with me here is manly the relationships between these people, the distinct feeling they all share that something is LACKING in human nature, that you can be just as alone in a room full of people and the fear that it might be impossible to know someone for real. K, especially, is very relateable to me, in a bittersweet way. This book, at this time in my life, filled me with melancholy and wonder. It will linger for along time.
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LibraryThing member aram-mm
Murakami's fame preceded him and I approached the book hoping to be blown away or terribly disappointed. The story of this unrealised love triangle did neither.
Although some might find the characters' attitude too dispassionate for their tastes, my impression while reading it, was not that the
Some diverting scenes while irrelevant for the main plot helped giving the book its detached tone and increased my interest as I tried to figure out their meaning and place in the story.
The toying with the concept of identity and the simple enjoyable prose reminded me slightly of Auster's “Book of Illusions” and probably anyone who has read and liked it will enjoy “Sputnik Sweetheart”.
Although the book provided me with some hours of entertaining reading, my failing to tie up all the threads (or the author's failing or unwillingness to do so) left the impression of a certain lack of substance, which is not all that bad as it also left me wanting for more, which I hope I will find in some other of Murakami's books.
Although some might find the characters' attitude too dispassionate for their tastes, my impression while reading it, was not that the
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characters were cold, but that they failed to -or decided not to- communicate their feelings by means other than quite plain and calm words. This is perfectly illustrated by lovers that do not go further than saying “I like you very much” to each other. This stripped the book of any obvious melodramatism and created an undercurrent of tension (be this sexual or otherwise) that kept me interested and reading while waiting for it to break loose.Some diverting scenes while irrelevant for the main plot helped giving the book its detached tone and increased my interest as I tried to figure out their meaning and place in the story.
The toying with the concept of identity and the simple enjoyable prose reminded me slightly of Auster's “Book of Illusions” and probably anyone who has read and liked it will enjoy “Sputnik Sweetheart”.
Although the book provided me with some hours of entertaining reading, my failing to tie up all the threads (or the author's failing or unwillingness to do so) left the impression of a certain lack of substance, which is not all that bad as it also left me wanting for more, which I hope I will find in some other of Murakami's books.
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LibraryThing member Lucybird
I must say I loved Sputnik Sweetheart. It seemed to bridge that gap between the more ‘normal’ books by Murakami, like ‘Norwegian Wood’, and the more surreal of his novels, like ‘The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle‘.
Initially the situation in Sputnik Sweetheart seemed pretty normal, a sort of
The language was still beautiful but maybe a bit more simple. That’s part of the reason I think this one would make a good introduction to Murakami, along with it’s less in your face surrealism. It still has an aspect of surrealism which would give a hint but not so much it makes it a challenge to read.
Also really appreciated the book references in this one.
Not my favourite but still loved it.
Initially the situation in Sputnik Sweetheart seemed pretty normal, a sort of
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twisted romance story. Boy (K) loves girl (Sumire), girl loves other girl (Miu), other girl is married but has never been in love. Not sure if you would call that a love triangle or what! After a while things began to get a little strange (just like the Murakami I know and love). Sumire and Miu go to Greece and after a few days K gets a phone call from Miu, a woman he has never met, saying that something has happened to Sumire. From then on things just get stranger and stranger. I really liked the surrealism in this book but it wasn’t overwhelming as it is in some of Murakami’s other books. This aspect did make it an easier and less confusing read but also meant it didn’t stick with me in the same way Kafka on the Shore did (for example). [highlight for spoiler]I do wonder what happened to Sumire, she does seem to have just disappeared without a trace, and did K ever recieve a phonecall from her or was it just the way his mind was working or a strange dream? If she did go to a dream world (hey anything is possible when it comes to Murakami) did she meet the other side of Miu there? And whatever happened to her cat!Oh and what happened to Carrot, what was that bit even about!The language was still beautiful but maybe a bit more simple. That’s part of the reason I think this one would make a good introduction to Murakami, along with it’s less in your face surrealism. It still has an aspect of surrealism which would give a hint but not so much it makes it a challenge to read.
Also really appreciated the book references in this one.
Not my favourite but still loved it.
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LibraryThing member leahdawn
As far as Murakami books go, this one was just "OK". His other works are generally much better.
LibraryThing member RandyMetcalfe
Love, loss, and loneliness combine in this superficially superficial novel. Murakami presents a world of isolated characters on singular trajectories, whose paths sometimes cross but never truly meet. Like the characters themselves, emotions are untethered, emerging as love unrequited, unconnected
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sexual desire, and an unspecified fear. Only child-like friendship, fiercely loyal, singular, and platonic, seems real, something characters can cling to but, sadly, not build upon. The prose is lithesome, youthful, and unadorned, yet at times almost dreamlike. Sort of a curious combination of Camus and Alain-Fournier. The setting, nominally Japan with a visit to a nameless Greek island, is sprinkled with enough namechecks of world brands such as Amstel, Heineken, Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, that it feels like it could be taking place anywhere, or in keeping with its orbital theme, somewhere high above the earth. Or perhaps we are in a dreamworld, the “other” place that the characters sometimes seek, or fear they have lost themselves to. This is a novel that will prompt new thoughts, but will not settle down into a one-line summary. Highly recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member Laura400
Candidly, this isn't my favorite Murakami. But in part it's as good as anything I've read by him. In large part, I found it too slow to develop, and too slow-paced and distanced, even for Murakami. But it did take off and come together when the narrator found Sumire's writings, which makes perfect
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sense. So I applaud Murakami for the narrative risk, even though I think it decreases the readability of the work. Show Less
LibraryThing member kkisser
A story of a young teacher in love with his best friend Sumire, who’s in love with another but neither can have what they want. Then one day the teacher is asked to come out to Greece to help in a mystery. The story is a poignant telling of loss, identity, and love beautifully crafted with
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reflections on magic in the ordinary. Show Less
LibraryThing member LadyBlossom
Poetic, a wonderful read.
LibraryThing member DavisRoberts
Unique and refreshing.
LibraryThing member Smiler69
I’ve read several of Murakami’s books and usually enjoy his offbeat characters who carry dark secrets in a world turned on it’s head. This one wasn’t my favourite. Still worth the read.
LibraryThing member JimElkins
Murakami is a conventional, late romantic storyteller, with admixtures of surrealism and fantasy. This isn't really a contemporary novel. It uses some devices from short story writing toward the end--little epiphanies, unfinished episodes, evocative vignettes--and it uses some fantasy devices
The sign that Murakami is basically a mid- or late-twentieth century writer, and not a twenty-first century writer is that his characters all listen to Romantic music (and so, clearly, does the author): Gieseking, Schwarzkopf, Argerich, etc, playing the usual pieces by Beethoven, Liszt, Chopin, etc. This may seem trivial and irrelevant, but it is fundamental. Murakami's palette of emotions is formed by those pieces, those periods and performances. What does it mean to present yourself as a contemporary writer, and find it unproblematic that your emotional imagination is so at home in the 1820s and 1830s (the composers) and the 1970s and 1980s (the performers)?
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through the middle--Doppelgängers, parallel universes--but it's a traditional love story. The sign that Murakami is basically a mid- or late-twentieth century writer, and not a twenty-first century writer is that his characters all listen to Romantic music (and so, clearly, does the author): Gieseking, Schwarzkopf, Argerich, etc, playing the usual pieces by Beethoven, Liszt, Chopin, etc. This may seem trivial and irrelevant, but it is fundamental. Murakami's palette of emotions is formed by those pieces, those periods and performances. What does it mean to present yourself as a contemporary writer, and find it unproblematic that your emotional imagination is so at home in the 1820s and 1830s (the composers) and the 1970s and 1980s (the performers)?
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