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Original Essays | October 18, 2009

Victoria Hislop: IMG From Leprosy to Lorca — Strange Inspiration



My first novel, The Island, was inspired by a chance visit to a tiny island leper colony off the coast of Greece on our summer holiday. It was a... Continue »
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Sputnik Sweetheart

by Haruki Murakami

Sputnik Sweetheart Cover

Staff Pick

In this compact volume, Murakami has once again concocts a literary Mobius strip of life, longing and shifting realities. If you've been afraid to read Murakami, this is a golden oppurtunity. Sputnik Sweetheart is a perfect introduction for those new to this highly addictive writer.
Recommended by Gerry, Powells.com

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

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.

A college student, identified only as “K,” falls in love with his classmate, Sumire. But devotion to an untidy writerly life precludes her from any personal commitments–until she meets Miu, an older and much more sophisticated businesswoman. When Sumire disappears from an island off the coast of Greece, “K” is solicited to join the search party and finds himself drawn back into her world and beset by ominous, haunting visions. A love story combined with a detective story, Sputnik Sweetheart ultimately lingers in the mind as a profound meditation on human longing.

Review:

"Like a Zen koan, Murakami's tale of the search for human connection asks only questions, offers no answers and must be meditated upon to provide meaning." Publishers Weekly

Review:

"Dreamlike and compelling....Murakami is a genius." Chicago Tribune

Review:

"Grabs you from the opening lines....[Murakami?s] never written anything more openly emotional." Los Angeles Magazine

Review:

"Murakami is a world-class writer who has both eyes open and takes big risks." The Washington Post Book World

About the Author

Born in Kyoto, Japan, in 1949, Haruki Murakami grew up in Kobe and now lives near Tokyo. The most recent of his many honors is the Yomiuri Literary Prize, whose previous recipients include Yukio Mishima, Kenzaburo Oe, and Kobo Abe. His work has been translated into twenty-seven languages.

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 2 comments:
megcampbell3, December 23, 2007 (view all comments by megcampbell3)
This is a book without concrete literary resolutions—a mirror of life as it is—we never seem to really know what motivates each of the three characters, not truly, and they don't seem to consciously know themselves. Do things happen by design or at random? Deceptively simple, "Sputnik Sweetheart" can be read in a day, but would likely be best understood revisited through the seasons and years. Is anything as it appears in a world constructed (translated) by Haruki Murakami?
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(5 of 10 readers found this comment helpful)
nospam, April 25, 2006 (view all comments by nospam)
Easy to get into, easy to read, this book is very enjoyable. It has great characters and an intriguing mystery.
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(8 of 19 readers found this comment helpful)
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780375726057
Translator:
Murakami, Haruki
Publisher:
Vintage Books USA
Author:
Murakami, Haruki
Location:
New York
Subject:
Literary
Subject:
Teachers
Subject:
Japan
Subject:
Women novelists
Subject:
Missing persons
Subject:
Businesswomen
Subject:
Unrequited love.
Subject:
FICTION / Literary
Edition Description:
Vintage Intl
Series Volume:
77
Publication Date:
April 2002
Binding:
Paperback
Language:
English
Pages:
224
Dimensions:
802x524x59 51

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