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Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami
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Sputnik Sweetheart (original 1999; edition 2002)

by Haruki Murakami

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
6,7641401,375 (3.73)222
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)
Member:happyporgus
Title:Sputnik Sweetheart
Authors:Haruki Murakami
Info:Vintage (2002), Edition: Reprint, Paperback, 224 pages
Collections:Your library
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Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami (1999)

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» See also 222 mentions

English (114)  French (6)  Spanish (6)  Dutch (5)  Swedish (3)  Italian (1)  Norwegian (1)  Catalan (1)  All languages (137)
Showing 1-5 of 114 (next | show all)
Given my preference in Books, Movies and other media, I should really not have liked this book. But I really did. Generally, romance, drama and overly vocal inner monologue serve to slightly annoy me so I tend to avoid this genre. In this case however, while it may have had to do with the fact that I read it while mountaineering in the alps, I found it simply beautiful. ( )
  bramboomen | Oct 18, 2023 |
Antes de comenzar esta reseña, quise ver lo que la gente opinaba de este libro; hubo una que llamó especialmente mi atención, la lectora decía que le había gustado y que sin embargo estaba un tanto cansada de que Murakami contara la misma historia una y otra vez. Estoy y no estoy de acuerdo con ella pues, aunque sí los personajes masculinos son siempre lectores, amantes de la música y una tanto solitarios, y las mujeres un tanto extrañas y muy queribles pero inalcanzables, en realidad no me parece que se cuente la misma historia, creo que eso es precisamente lo que, en lo personal, hacen las obras de Murakami, contar historias un tanto fantásticas de modo distinto y sí, siempre te dejan con un regusto a mucha soledad y Sputnik, mi amor no es la excepción.

Cada vez que alguien dice, sobre Murakami o cualquier otro autor y sus libros, que determinada historia ya se ha contado mucho, vuelvo a la idea que alguna vez una gran lector me dijo, lo importante no es que el argumento sea nuevo, sino la forma en que es contado, la forma como una historia ya conocida te vuelve a atrapar.

E insisto, aunque los personajes de Murakami sean muy similares, las historias nunca son las mismas, al menos las que llevo leídas. ( )
  uvejota | Jul 26, 2023 |
The most recent Murakami work I finished before this one was his memoir on music. Before that, I had loved Murakami’s writing. Yes, there are facets of his style that are abrasive or distasteful, but as a whole, Murakami is able to convey a certain feeling with his words that few other authors could capture.

But, reading a memoir-type book of his, I think I got too close to the author. In his writing, I could recognize all of the protagonists from his other novels that I so loved.

So now, this book. In classic Murakami style, it elegantly forces introspection along themes of loneliness, longing, and the feeling of being completely changed by some moment in time. I find these to be beautiful, intriguing, and relatable themes, yet now I cant separate the author from the protagonist. I can’t anymore be completely engrossed by the novel, captured by the world it creates. Instead, I feel like I’m reading the make believe, the fantasies of one guy who feels misunderstood, loves music and literature, and longs for troubled women. Quite the disappointment. ( )
  Melman38 | Apr 12, 2023 |
Insomma.. La storia non ha né capo né coda.. Alcuni personaggi non c'entrano nulla e non danno alcun apporto alla storia. ( )
  HelloB | Apr 11, 2023 |
A long time fan of the author, the simplistic approach, lackluster characters and plot were disappointing. I'd put off reading this one for quite some time, and now that I've read it, I'm glad.

Based in Japan as are all his stories, we learn of a young girl hired by an older woman who soon 'falls in love' with her while on a business trip. During an escape vacation to Greece, the young girl disappears. Told through the POV of a male educator whose friendship with the girl was longstanding, the only element typical of Haruki is the insertion of an alternative universe as her means of escape. One of his earliest works, its clear his skill evolved over the years, so rather than rate it lower, I felt it important to give credit where credit is due, though I cannot recommend it to those familiar with his work. ( )
  Jonathan5 | Feb 20, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 114 (next | show all)

» Add other authors (10 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Murakami, Harukiprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Gabriel, PhilipTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Gräfe, UrsulaÜbersetzersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lourenço, Maria JoãoTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Malinen, IlkkaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Matsuura, JunichiTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Porta, LourdesTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Sims, AdamNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the world's first man-made satellite, Sputnik I, from the Baikanor Space Center in the Republic of Kazahkstan. Sputnik was 58 centimeters in diameter, weighed 83.6 kilograms, and orbitted the earth in 96 minutes and 12 seconds.
  On November 3 of the same year , Sputnik II was successfully launched, with the dog Laika aboard. Laika became the first living being to leave the earth's atmosphere, but the satellite was never recovered, and Laika ended up sacrificed for the sake of biological research in space.

-From The Complete Chronicle of World History
Dedication
First words
In the spring of her twenty-second year, Sumire fell in love for the first time in her life.
Quotations
Information from the Italian Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
Però, se mi è concessa un'osservazione banale, in questa vita imperfetta abbiamo bisogno anche di una certa quantità di cose inutili. Se tutte le cose inutili sparissero, sarebbe la fine anche di questa nostra imperfetta esistenza.
… quando la luna se ne sta sconsolata nel suo angolino a oriente come un vecchio rene sciupato.
Era una di quelle piogge quiete ma incessanti che in primavera oscurano e impregnano di umidità la terra, risvegliando dolcemente gli istinti delle infinite creature senza nome che la popolano.
«Ogni ragionamento o teoria che spiega tutto in modo troppo esauriente, nasconde una trappola. … se c'è qualcosa che può essere spiegato con un solo libro, forse non merita spiegazione. Insomma, quello che voglio dire è che è meglio non affrettarsi a tirare troppo presto conclusioni».
Cominciai a non abboccare più a tutte le cose che mi dicevano. L'unico spazio nel quale esprimevo un entusiasmo incondizionato era quello dei libri e della musica. E così, come forse era inevitabile, ho finito col diventare una persona piuttosto solitaria.
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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.

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