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9th out of 348 books
—
1,239 voters
Sputnik Sweetheart
Sumire is in love with a woman seventeen years her senior. But whereas Miu is glamorous and successful, Sumire is an aspiring writer who dresses in an oversized second-hand coat and heavy boots like a character in a Kerouac novel.
Sumire spends hours on the phone talking to her best friend K about the big questions in life: what is sexual desire, and should she ever tell Mi...more
Sumire spends hours on the phone talking to her best friend K about the big questions in life: what is sexual desire, and should she ever tell Mi...more
Paperback, 229 pages
Published
October 3rd 2002
by Vintage
(first published 1999)
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Dec 03, 2010
Mariel
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Laika is my dawg
Recommended to Mariel by:
Be my 3am valentine
A moment in my life that has come back to haunt me during times of communication difficulty is when I told my grandmother that I hated to repeatedly shout out what I'd said for my mostly deaf grandfather because it made what I'd said sound stupid. Her response was that it was stupid all along, or something like that.
I've decided that reading translated works and translating them again with one's mind, experiences, what have you is like doing a cover song. Jeff Buckley actually used another Leona...more
I've decided that reading translated works and translating them again with one's mind, experiences, what have you is like doing a cover song. Jeff Buckley actually used another Leona...more
Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Blurb: Haruki Murakami, the internationally bestselling author of Norwegian Wood and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, plunges us into an urbane Japan of jazz bars, coffee shops, Jack Kerouac, and The Beatles to tell this story of a tangled triangle of uniquely unrequited loves.
K falls in love with Sumire but a devotion to an untidy writerly life precludes her from any personal commitments - until she meets Miu, an older sophisticated busin...more
When I asked my friend if she had tried to read Murakami's works, and she said no and she let me borrowed her one and only copy and it was given to her by her couple friend. And I was in doubt accepting her offer, because (1) It was given to her as a birthday gift and she didn't read it yet, fresh in the box; (2) some of my friends in Goodreads always talks about Murakami and his works so I decided to look for a free copy and lastly, (3) my insecurity works when I saw the cover, look, a nude wom...more
Mar 16, 2009
Seth Hahne
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Anyone who enjoys Murakami's special brand of genius.
After the excellent Kafka on the Shore and the perhaps much better Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, I've been on something of a Murakami kick. I find his storytelling fascinating, both in device and in style. His use of the extraordinary-as-mundane is a tasty joy for me to indulge. Sputnik Sweetheart, while not as wonderful an experience as the two aforementioned works, was quite a bit of quick fun.
Thematically not dissimilar from Wind-up Bird, this short novel revels in questions of identity, conscious...more
Thematically not dissimilar from Wind-up Bird, this short novel revels in questions of identity, conscious...more
Mar 14, 2010
K.D. Oliveros
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Ranee
Recommended to K.D. by:
1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die
Shelves:
1001-non-core
This is my 2nd novel by Haruki Murakami and just like Kafka in the Shore, this still amazed me. I even enjoyed this more than Kafka.
For me this is the best unrequited tragic love story I've read so far. As this is said to be the most openly emotional novel of Mr. Murakami, the prose is really haunting and the scenes are dreamy and surreal. Again, because Mr. Murakami uses a lot of metaphors and symbolisms, there can be layers of interpretations. I am not really fond of love stories (this just ha...more
For me this is the best unrequited tragic love story I've read so far. As this is said to be the most openly emotional novel of Mr. Murakami, the prose is really haunting and the scenes are dreamy and surreal. Again, because Mr. Murakami uses a lot of metaphors and symbolisms, there can be layers of interpretations. I am not really fond of love stories (this just ha...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Why does Haruki Murakami hit the spot so well for me, and for thousands of other readers worldwide? There's a common element in all his works; it's a bridge of fantasy and reality that has just the right delicate balance. There's something about that balance that's so mesmerizing. You can connect with it on a level that you can’t in pure fantasy, and there’s enough of a disconnect from solid reality to leave you in wonder. Of all the other writers that have been categorized as magical realism th...more
I had a lot of free time today so I decided to go to a bookstore. When I went in, I was greeted by a range of Murakami books (joined by Palahniuk, etc. I don't know, must be their bestsellers). I had to wipe my drool. My eyes were set on Sputnik--it has been on my reading list for a long time now but unfortunately, I don't have the money to buy it yet. Just as I was about to move to another section, a brilliant idea suddenly came: Why not read it here and now? The book isn't that thick and maybe...more
Haruki Murakami seems content sticking to writing from raw dreamstuff. Characters are impossibly quirky, most scenes are surrealistic and involve the misplaced or the random, and the plot is pleasantly aimless.
...to be inlove. Like a sweeping feel and eruptions of clear desire. Like a force too great it changes you without breaking you; It engorges you then melt you yet it calms you back to lesser tones, relaxing.
Mr. Murakami captured 3 common themes revolving around love- the "first love"; the unrequited love; and the repressed love. When you thought you have thoroughly predicted that this is certainly a love triangle, you find deeper depths that makes you realize (or so i hope you realize)that ther...more
Mr. Murakami captured 3 common themes revolving around love- the "first love"; the unrequited love; and the repressed love. When you thought you have thoroughly predicted that this is certainly a love triangle, you find deeper depths that makes you realize (or so i hope you realize)that ther...more
I have an important announcement: Henceforth, when I refer to "my favorite writer" I will be talking about Haruki Murakami. He has been promoted, and no longer must defer to Mr. McInerney, Mr. Easton Ellis, Mr. Fitzgerald or Hemingway. Mr. Palahniuk, of course, plummeted with his 2008 sketch of the pornographic film industry "Snuff." This means that if two of these authors show up on the floor next to my bed, right of way goes to Murakami. This also means that if ever again in my life I am asked...more
Norwegian Wood made Murakami a cult figure in Japan, but I prefer Sputnik Sweetheart, I understood, related and feel for the characters more. Why they thought, acted, and loved the way that they did. I didn’t want to read another Murakami so close to my birthday, scared of the possibility that I’d get depressed again after the romantically morbid Norwegian Wood. But this was a nice surprise. I thoroughly enjoyed the first half but started getting worried when it started to get a little too mysti...more
Don't get me wrong, I don't think this is, by any chance, a bad book. My low rating can be easily explained by the fact that I've already read too much Murakami.
I used to like him quite a lot, but come on, doesn't he get tired of writing the same book over and over again? Let me show you the pattern. A simple guy who likes to 1.cook 2.listen to music/read books 3. think about the meaning of life meets an ordinary girl who turns out to be totally extraordinary, which gets her into trouble soon a
...more
what really made me grab this book from the bookshelf in the first place? was it because of the name 'Murakami'? or was it because of the woman seductively beckoning me to caress the cover and explore its inner pages? or... was it the endearment sweetheart or the word 'sputnik'?!
sputnik! that did it for me. i used to tease friends for being too 'sputnik' - like a satellite going round and round with lots of energy. i would especially tease someone who had an electrifying crush on someone! :-)
i...more
sputnik! that did it for me. i used to tease friends for being too 'sputnik' - like a satellite going round and round with lots of energy. i would especially tease someone who had an electrifying crush on someone! :-)
i...more
Creo que describe mis sentimientos perfectamente
Lo que este libro logro fue dejarme en un estado de autoreflexion acerca de la existencia y lo que he hecho en mi vida... lo cual no habia hecho desde que me dio la crisis de los 20... que no fue hace mucho, pero no importa. El caso es que me hizo pensar y me hizo creerlo.
Los libros de Murakami me recuerdan un poco al realismo mágico, porque los personajes lo toman como si fuera todo tan naturalmente, y que él haga eso, me encanta, porque va de ac...more
Apr 20, 2011
Ernest Junius
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
The ones who haven't read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
So far, I have probably read half of all Murakami's work. I mean I like them all. Even the worst ones, I still like it. How can I hate one of my favourite authors?
After I read Sputnik Sweetheart I couldn't help thinking that this is a second rate version of my favourite The Wind-Up Chronicle. Sputnik Sweetheart obviously has Murakami's trademark soaking its every nook and cranny: missing people, letters, magical realism, surrealism, dreams, greece, and so on. I finished it in two days, it is a v...more
After I read Sputnik Sweetheart I couldn't help thinking that this is a second rate version of my favourite The Wind-Up Chronicle. Sputnik Sweetheart obviously has Murakami's trademark soaking its every nook and cranny: missing people, letters, magical realism, surrealism, dreams, greece, and so on. I finished it in two days, it is a v...more
رواية جميلة نوعاً ما، كعادة أبطال هاروكي، يبحثون عن أنفسهم، حياتهم رتيبة، ولا أعتقد بأنها مختلفة عن حياتنا الطبيعية، ولكن الفرق، بأنه هنا يتحدث عن أفكارهم، فنحن دائماً أفكارنا غير واقعنا تماماً، كما الأحلام !!
أعجبني الأسلوب، بأن الراوي كان يتحدث عن حياة صديقته ومن ثم تكلم عن نفسه، أسلوب هاروكي ساحر، لا أعرف، أصبحت أقرأ له بدون ملل ولا كلل، ربما سلاسة السرد والحوار هو ما يجمل كتاباته
هناك تفاصيل جنسية كثيرة ليس لها من داعٍ، لا أعرف لماذا يقحمنا فيها >__<
أبطال هاروكي أيضاً، كالعادة، يحبون الق...more
أعجبني الأسلوب، بأن الراوي كان يتحدث عن حياة صديقته ومن ثم تكلم عن نفسه، أسلوب هاروكي ساحر، لا أعرف، أصبحت أقرأ له بدون ملل ولا كلل، ربما سلاسة السرد والحوار هو ما يجمل كتاباته
هناك تفاصيل جنسية كثيرة ليس لها من داعٍ، لا أعرف لماذا يقحمنا فيها >__<
أبطال هاروكي أيضاً، كالعادة، يحبون الق...more
O meu primeiro Murakami - mas julgo não ter começado bem.
Uma bela história, personagens interessantes, sem dúvida, mas uma voz narrativa profundamente... desinteressante. As reflexões repetem-se sem acrescentarem nada de novo ao que já tinha sido dito, numa narrativa pejada de lugares comuns (pelo menos na tradução de Maria João Lourenço, não faço puto ideia como será o original) e uma insistência em descrever o inútil que me irritou. Sim, grande parte do texto é inútil: não tem "literatura sufi...more
Uma bela história, personagens interessantes, sem dúvida, mas uma voz narrativa profundamente... desinteressante. As reflexões repetem-se sem acrescentarem nada de novo ao que já tinha sido dito, numa narrativa pejada de lugares comuns (pelo menos na tradução de Maria João Lourenço, não faço puto ideia como será o original) e uma insistência em descrever o inútil que me irritou. Sim, grande parte do texto é inútil: não tem "literatura sufi...more
'Sputnik Sweeheart' is a novel that works its way quietly through the mind, awakening the senses and forcing you to look at the world through a different window. Like many of Murakami's characters, we are introduced to a set of young adults, who have somehow made it through the first stages of their life, but seem to be lost as to where they go from there.
Sumire, a young college drop-out with dreams of being a Japanese Kerouac meets Miu, a woman twice her age who she slowly begins to fall in lo...more
Sumire, a young college drop-out with dreams of being a Japanese Kerouac meets Miu, a woman twice her age who she slowly begins to fall in lo...more
So, back to Murakami, again. I intend to read all his novels, that's for sure. Just not on a reading spree. I'm in love with how his words flow, with how he blends fantasy into reality, with the type of characters he creates.
Sputnik Sweetheart conveys the feeling of isolation and loneliness that can be found in most of Murakami's novels (the ones I've read so far). K, the guy who tells the story, and Sumire, the girl he is secretly in love with, are both lonely people, who spend their free time...more
Sputnik Sweetheart conveys the feeling of isolation and loneliness that can be found in most of Murakami's novels (the ones I've read so far). K, the guy who tells the story, and Sumire, the girl he is secretly in love with, are both lonely people, who spend their free time...more
Nov 03, 2012
Viviana Vardasca
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
my-library,
leituras-2012
Há muito tempo que tenho este livro, na estante, há espera de uma oportunidade. Não foi por falta de boas opiniões que, ao longo do tempo, fui recebendo de amigos e conhecidos. No entanto, tenho sempre algum receio em ler algo de um novo autor, sobretudo um tão aclamado como Haruki Murakami. Considerado um dos favoritos para o Nobel de Literatura deste ano, a curiosidade venceu e dediquei-me completamente a esta leitura.
Confesso que foi uma agradável surpresa. O autor tem, pelo que me foi permit...more
Confesso que foi uma agradável surpresa. O autor tem, pelo que me foi permit...more
"And it came to me then. That we were wonderful traveling companions but in the end no more than lonely lumps of metal in their own separate orbits. From far off they look like beautiful shooting stars, but in reality they're nothing more than prisons, where each of us is locked up alone, going nowhere. When the orbits of these two satellites of ours happened to cross paths, we could be together. Maybe even open our hearts to each other. But that was only for the briefest moment. In the next ins...more
A story of wistful beauty, love, and longing. A strange “through the looking glass” tale, told from a unique perspective. Not only was this a beautiful piece of writing, but it was full of things I love – lesbians, unrequited love, Beatniks, magic... Also, it didn't read at all like a translation, which really impressed me. Now I'll have to read everything else I can find by this writer.
“And it came to me then. That we were wonderful traveling companions but in the end no more than lonely lump...more
“And it came to me then. That we were wonderful traveling companions but in the end no more than lonely lump...more
I'd like to re-read this in a year or two. I think I would enjoy it more if I had been able to read it all in a single day, or perhaps even extending into a second day. Due to a hectic schedule, I was unable to read for a week and I was no longer in the mood the book was trying to convey.
And it's a very mood driven book. There's a haunting, elegiac atmosphere permeating everything. Murakami's mysteries usually feel like a Lynchian nightmare, unspooling in every direction at once, while this was...more
And it's a very mood driven book. There's a haunting, elegiac atmosphere permeating everything. Murakami's mysteries usually feel like a Lynchian nightmare, unspooling in every direction at once, while this was...more
As my second Murakami book I prefer it for it's subject, though I still find The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle better writen and more stylish.
Before the final pages I had hoped to escape the same feeling of lightness, that overcame me last time. I feel like I have lost my beauty - no, not my beauty - my sense of 'beautiful', as much as I had yet left of it. This book broke my tethers, I am floating. 'Tis in my nature to run from myself, so true enough I'll soon depart what I yet perceive to be a hated...more
Before the final pages I had hoped to escape the same feeling of lightness, that overcame me last time. I feel like I have lost my beauty - no, not my beauty - my sense of 'beautiful', as much as I had yet left of it. This book broke my tethers, I am floating. 'Tis in my nature to run from myself, so true enough I'll soon depart what I yet perceive to be a hated...more
I was looking for new authors and came across a lot of strong opinions on Murakami, good and bad, on Goodreads. I thought I'd give him a shot. But i absolutely hated it. What I don't know is if its a bad translation, or if its Murakami's style itself, but I felt it was just horribly written. His similes and metaphors were amateurish and misfit; Her resolve was a regular Rock of Gibraltar. His descriptions seem forced; ...to help prop up her uncertain life here on this third planet from the sun.A...more
I really liked the language/prose in this book. It flowed very nicely (which probably is partly thanks to the translator). The story is told from the point of view from a young, male elementary school teacher in Japan. It's largely about a woman he knew in college, remained friends with, and has a huge crush on. She falls in love for the first time with a middle-aged woman. I wasn't thrilled with some of the plot---there's some mysticism about being in two places at the same time which maybe mea...more
Original Review
“Why do people have to be this lonely? What's the point of it all? Millions of people in this world, all of them yearning, looking to others to satisfy them, yet isolating themselves. Why? Was the earth put here just to nourish human loneliness?”
I went to Kitab Khana last evening, after leaving the Oxford Book Store (somehow I don't like this one) planning to buy Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go. I sat in a comfortable leather chair near the classics section and after reading 3 pa...more
“Why do people have to be this lonely? What's the point of it all? Millions of people in this world, all of them yearning, looking to others to satisfy them, yet isolating themselves. Why? Was the earth put here just to nourish human loneliness?”
I went to Kitab Khana last evening, after leaving the Oxford Book Store (somehow I don't like this one) planning to buy Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go. I sat in a comfortable leather chair near the classics section and after reading 3 pa...more
K is a 30 year old teacher whose best friend is Sumire, a female former student and aspiring writer who calls him at very odd hours to talk about the Big Questions of Life. K is very attracted to Sumire, and Sumire is very attracted to Miu, an enchanting 40ish woman who describes herself as only half there--her passionate half was lost 14 years earlier.
Miu and Sumire (her employer) are on a pleasure/business trip to Greece when K gets a late-night call from Miu. Sumire has disappeared "like smpk...more
Miu and Sumire (her employer) are on a pleasure/business trip to Greece when K gets a late-night call from Miu. Sumire has disappeared "like smpk...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The ending | 9 | 186 | 16 hours, 57 min ago |
Haruki Murakami (村上 春樹) is a popular contemporary Japanese writer and translator. His work has been described as 'easily accessible, yet profoundly complex'.
Since childhood, Murakami has been heavily influenced by Western culture, particularly Western music and literature. He grew up reading a range of works by American writers, such as Kurt Vonnegut and Richard Brautigan, and he is often disting...more
More about Haruki Murakami...
Since childhood, Murakami has been heavily influenced by Western culture, particularly Western music and literature. He grew up reading a range of works by American writers, such as Kurt Vonnegut and Richard Brautigan, and he is often disting...more
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“Why do people have to be this lonely? What's the point of it all? Millions of people in this world, all of them yearning, looking to others to satisfy them, yet isolating themselves. Why? Was the earth put here just to nourish human loneliness?”
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“I dream. Sometimes I think that's the only right thing to do.”
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They simply show you have taste.
Dec 04, 2010 12:44pm
Lori, me too. I've read just about everything else. My twin even bought the pla...more
Dec 04, 2010 12:47pm