Sputnik Sweetheart Audiobook By Haruki Murakami cover art

Sputnik Sweetheart

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Sputnik Sweetheart

By: Haruki Murakami
Narrated by: Adam Sims
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Part romance, part detective story, Sputnik Sweetheart tells the story of a tangled triangle of uniquely unrequited love.

K is madly in love with his best friend, Sumire, but her devotion to a writerly life precludes her from any personal commitments. At least, that is, until she meets an older woman to whom she finds herself irresistibly drawn. 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 visions. Subtle and haunting, Sputnik Sweetheart is a profound meditation on human longing.

©2001 Haruki Murakami (P)2013 Random House Audio Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Magical Realism Psychological

Critic reviews

“Grabs you from its opening lines. . . . [Murakami’s] never written anything more openly emotional.” (Los Angeles Magazine)

“Murakami is a genius.” (Chicago Tribune)

“Murakami has an unmatched gift for turning psychological metaphors into uncanny narratives.” (The New York Times Book Review)

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Typical Murakami Elements • Memorable Scenes • Decent Pronunciation • Complex Inner Worlds • Poignant Story
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loved the story but the narrator lacked character understanding in terms of sarcasm and breaks

sputnik sweetheart

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Some books you like and do not even know why. They are the ones who play with some feelings at the botton of yourself, and give voice to things that alone you could not describe. While being recognized in the history is when the reader is conquered. I think that's why I like Haruki Murakami's books, and especially this one. Sputnik Sweetheart comes with impossible loves. Those who are so sweeping and impossible that you can only resign and live them. The narrator and co main protagonist is so lost in your love, that he loses his own name. His love for his long lasting friend Sumire (Violet in Japanese) that is in love with another woman leads to the many adventures that are described in the book. The book's name keeps a good translation for this kind of love: Sputnik means traveling companion in Russian, and what a platonic love is but a beloved companion on the journey of life. The book still holds other features typical of Murakami's novel: as the reference to classical works, a little fantasy and the traditional distress It is another good example of the excelent work of this author. A must-read for anyone who is already a fan, and a good start for those who are not yet.

A novel on love

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A book about feeling lonely, unrequited love. What a bunch of crap. I hated every minute of it and of course could not put it down. Damn that Murakami.

I hated this book, all five stars of it.

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This is a delicious book, wonderfully read and performed. Why do we think and feel we are lonely? If you ever wonder, read or listen. You won't regret it.

Lonely?

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When you first pick up the novel you're originally going to be reminiscing of morikami's other work such as Norwegian Wood or blind Willow sleeping woman. this novel has a great deal of elements from those other works in terms of its slice of life variety but manages to blend an element of the obscure. The book does so in a way that is subtle without being alarming. the characters speak to the condition of the human psyche In a way that seems very natural.

A slice of the surreal

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Great book but not the best choose for if this is your first Haruki Muriakami novel wind/pinball is a better place to start just a side not but over like the book would recommend.

Amazing story as always

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A disappearing woman. Classical music. Cats. Dreams. Yup, I just finished another Murakami novel. I'm going to sleep and dream on this one tonight and write the review tomorrow. No really. I fully intend to write a real review, I'm just uncertain how I feel. Half of me wants to write a review, but the other half just wants to look longingly out the window, go to the beach, or sit in a restaurant and eat some nice Greek food. That should pass after a good night's sleep and I should be able to decide where Sputnik Sweetheart belongs in my catalog of Murakami. Until then, I will go outside check out the stars and look for lonely satellites of love.

Satellites of Love

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Haruki Murakami is one of my favorite authors and I jumped for excitement when Audible had new titles from his extensive catalog. "Sputnik Sweetheart" is not as good as some of his other books like "Hard-boiled Wonderland" or "After the Quake", but it's definitely worth the read if you like this author. While reading this book, I started asking myself if I am bias to Murakami's work, just because I'm a super fan of his and almost obsessed at reading everything that he writes.

If "Sputnik Sweetheart" was by any other author, would I still like this book as much as I do? Would I even bother at writing this review? Would I even give this book 3 stars because it seems like Haruki Murakami writes the same genre over and over, about an love affair with some abstract symbolism.

I'm a reader that doesn't really like to follow a particular author. I read whatever that interest me at the time with a wide range of subjects. If I like a series, I will keep on getting those books or drop it because of having no interest. I'm not a fan of Grisham's or Nora Roberts' novels. I have a few of there popular books, but they are all one word writers, where they can't write more than they know.

As for my thoughts on Murakami, each of his books are so different from each other that you don't know what to expect until you get deep into the story. Maybe he is a typical stereotype author and his keys are stuck at typing out the same thing over and over, but he does it right with illusions with his words.

Any Other Author

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as usual, but not as good as Norwegian Wood. Senseless lulls (life is monotonous--we get it) and sometimes he tells rather than shows, an amateur error. That said, it's still pretty good

Existential Angst...

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If you have not read any of Murakami's books, I would suggest that you start with "Kafka on the shore" or "The wind-up bird chronicle". This book does have some of the ingredients common in Murakami's books (unrequited love, alienation, metaphors, etc.), but it's not as haunting as "Kafka on the shore" or as intense as "The wind-up bird chronicle". The story could be longer to resolve some important mysteries that I expected to be explained. It left me with somewhat "unfinished" feeling. But I still enjoyed this book because of the interesting balance of characters and some memorable scenes I could visualize.

Not Murakami's best, but I still enjoyed it

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