Sputnik Sweetheart: Haruki Murakami

Sputnik Sweetheart
Haruki Murakami
Phillip Gabrial (Translator)
p229

I am often split on the work of Haruki Murakami. It is undeniable that he is a skilled writer who creates intriguing worlds and mysterious characters, but I, even today, have difficulty on how high a level he deserves to be placed. At times he appears to be touching on deeply psychological imprints hidden inside the mind of us all, while at other times it comes across as cheap tricks.

Here we have Sputnik Sweetheart, the story of a young lady who finds herself falling in love with an older womanSumire just adores the older Miu, a successful business woman, sleek, demure, and fashionable. Still growing up a bit, the clumsy and confused Sumire seems to not just desire the Miu, but to wish she was much more like her.

And then... well, things happen. Or, maybe nothing really happens. It's sometimes hard to tell with Murakami, but anyhow, the women take a trip to a secluded Greek island and the underling disappears. What happened? Where did she go? I won't give any details, except to say that as is often the case with HM's work, answers are lacking.

Focusing on that for just a moment, I often compare Murakami with Sophia Coppola. They both have wonderful skills, and have shown the ability to weave suggestive tales with confusingly brilliants characters, and they both have a tendency to refuse to take any strong stance on how their own stories end. Sometimes it works, with a whisper on a busy street, or a friend that disappears without a trace, but it's hard to imagine that eventually more doesn't need to be demanded of an artist.

As for Sputnik Sweetheart, I come down in the middle, and admit I enjoyed it, and as a short work I finished it in just a few evenings. I liked the characters, and Murakami makes it so easy to understand why one character desires and loves another. I fall in love with the ears and arms and legs of many of Murakami's women, right along with the narators. However, I don't know if I could argue this as high art as opposed to more mass pop. (Note: there are times with some books that I think Murakami does show his works to be more, just not here).

So, I would say this is a mild recommend, but long down the list of HM books I would recommend to begin with (Wild Sheeps Chase may be the best first Murakami to read). Certainly enjoyable for Murakami fans.