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 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.

I just finished this book while sitting on a beach under the shade of a palm tree. It is interesting for me to write a book review, as I just finished my master's degree in library science, which had me reading and writing at an unnatural pace. I find myself with no guidelines to write this review, which is nice, also with no pressure, but here I am. This book conveys an overall atmosphere of everyday (but everyone sees "everyday" differently, everyone as their own universe, and this book beautifully displays universe convergences [satellites that meet for just a brief time in orbit {as well as: [powerful soul connections] and otherworld, sharing feelings that I can relate to, and importantly: inspiring reflection (including artistic reflection). Sumire is introduced as an avid writer (with various reasons for not putting all of the pieces together)...I enjoy books that share an artist's everyday life, feelings, reasons why they create art. An inspiring glimpse. The book has an opening effect, clearing the fog, a kind of therapy. The idea that the book is fiction escapes me, it is a blur. I recommend against reading the inside book flap (or back of the book) as some of the descriptors mention events halfway into the book, and it may be nice to not *anticipate* them (I did not read these descriptors, as an avid fan of Murakami's work I trust him, and do not need to be drawn in with what are considered major events and told what the story is or is not) Discovery awaits, enjoy. ( )

Having read several of Murakami's books now, this is by far my favourite. Short, whimsical, and moving, I think this book is an ideal starting place for those who are new to Murakami's work. ( )

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 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. ( )

A lean, delicate examination of identity, humanity, and unrequited love, Sputnik Sweetheart is perhaps not the best of Murakami's novels, but certainly still an engaging one. One scene, that in the Ferris wheel, might well be one of the creepiest and most vivid that he's ever written. Yet I thought the last third of the book, after Sumire and Miu, felt a little disjointed from the rest (though it would have made for a killer short story), and the power of the final few pages didn't quite make up for that for me. Readable, but not one of his best. ( )