Rating: 
Summary: For your Murakami fix
Review: Haruki Murakami is one of those author's who, if you read one of his books, you're hooked and have to read them all. If you're a fan, this book will not disappoint. The narrating character is similar to the man in most of his books. There's nothing extraordinary about him, yet that's exactly why you love the guy and are happy to be let into his life for a little while. This book reminded me a bit of my favorite Murakami book, Hard-Boiled Wonderland. It's the idea of another possible world out there that makes things interesting. The love story wasn't as gripping as say, the one in South of the Border, West of the Sun. I hate calling attention to the love triangle in this story, as most reviews do, but I suppose it is unavoidable. Our narrator must deal with his unrequited love for a unique woman who reminds me of one of the author Banana Yoshimoto's characters. She, in turn, must deal with her unrequited love for the older woman she works with. The most striking thing to me about this book, was that Murakami actually made me, a woman, understand what it's like for a man to feel love and lust for a woman. I understood all of the narrator's thoughts and feelings. I guess that's what's great about Murakami's books. If you love Murakami, then read this one too. It will be like hanging out with an old friend.
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Summary: Short and Sweet
Review: Recently, I've been reading a lot of Murakami. If I had to thematically connect this book with another, it would be The Wind Up Bird Chronicle. Both of these novels deal with the ideas of alienation, conquest, and fragmentation. I won't give away anything more about this book, becuase you should read it, and come to an understanding for yourself. My only complaints about this book, is that it was a bit too short. Not that brevity is problem, just that certain central characters did not develope as much as I would have liked. A note to future readers of this author: Pay close attention to the last lines of these books. They are beautiful, thoughtful, and worth contemplation.
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Summary: not Haruki's best, but VERY worthwhile
Review: Sputnik Sweetheart-- as you can read elsewhere in the review, it's about Sumire, a 20something would-be writer, who feels friendship for our narrator, K, a slightly older teacher, though he adores her and desires her. Instead, Sumire falls in love with Miu, a mysterious older woman. Though they're never what you'd actually call a couple, Sumire ventures to join Miu at work, and they travel to Europe, where Sumire disappears "like smoke," as Murakami writes. Our narrator is summoned from Japan to help solve the mystery. If there's a central theme, it might be the examination of loneliness, and how people try to meet, and nearly meet, but never quite do so. Though Murakami doesn't hide this below the surface, his style is such that the reader never feels as if attending a lecture, but rather it resembles listening to the all-too-seldom musings aloud of a very wise, close friend. A never-consummated relationship, a close relationship between one who is madly in love and another who has no such desire to take "that step," is the source of great sadness and lonesomeness. I've not encountered a writer yet who writes of this as well as Haruki. If you've read Norwegian Wood, Sputnik Sweetheart should hold few surprises for you. It has the simple story structure of Norwegian Wood, and indeed many of the plot elements are very similar. But there is a shadowy, creeping supernatural flavor to the novel also, an otherworldliness that reminds me of _A Wild Sheep Chase_ or _Wind-up Bird Chronicle_. IF YOU'RE NEW TO HARUKI MURAKAMI: I wouldn't start with Sputnik Sweetheart. He's written many wonderful novels, and I would recommend _Norwegian Wood_ or _A Wild Sheep Chase_ instead: _Norwegian Wood_ because it's simply a better all-around novel, and _A Wild Sheep Chase_ because it's a better introduction to Haruki's work. Sputnik Sweetheart is a little delicacy, a short and bittersweet treat. I eagerly await Haruki's next work. ken32
Rating: 
Summary: A perfect introduction to Murakami
Review: There are few modern writers whose books can make you think about our place in the universe the same way that Murakami can. Although the book isn't as powerful as his masterpiece, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles, it serves as a perfect introduction to the themes that appear in that book and the rest of Murakami's novels. If you're hesitant to take a stab at the lengthy Bird Chronicles, but you're curious about Murakami, I'd highly reccommend this book. I know after reading it that almost anyone would look forward to the opportunity to read the rest of Murakami's books.
Rating:
Summary: beautiful
Review: sputnik sweetheart is an amazing and beautiful book. in the tradition of norweigan wood and south of the border, haruki murakami details human loneliness, loss, and longing in beautiful, poetic, and honest ways. this short, haunting book is definitely worth reading.
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Summary: Like sipping on a fine Burgundy...
Review: I envy you if you have not read this; there is something magical about that moment you begin this tale and realize how Murakami just keeps getting better with each novel. In fact, if you haven't read any of his novels, I'd suggest setting aside a weekend, buying a few such as this one, "Wind-Up Clockbird", "Dance Dance Dance" and "South of the Border, West of the Sun", stocking up on some good wine, snacks and cat food, unplugging the phone and then settling back for pure pleasure. His prose is stripped down to an almost zen-like state; I don't understand how it survives translation so well. Beautiful, like an Arvo Part of literature. The story? Well, I won't spoil it, there is enough written here already. Just your basic tale of loneliness and artificial separation that so many experience in this cold and non-emotional twenty-first century. One can only wish that some people read these and actually learn something - that true contact involves emotions, is messy and is why we exist in the first place. Enjoy!
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Summary: Simply Superb...Heart Wrenching...Thought Provoking
Review: ...This book in more than one ways has managed to take me to a different land...a land of innocence lost, a land of loves betrayed, a land of hopes reborn - only to be shattered and a land of exquisite poetry. I never read Haruki Murakami earlier till i casually bumped onto it while checking out ... and then when i read the other reviews and the storyline, i knew i had to pick this one up... Many of my friends who read this book earlier called it a "strange love story". However i wouldn't classify it as that. to me the book ran deeper on various platforms of love and other such relationships. This book has re-defined for me the meaning not just of love, but of the madness associated with it too. Then I went on to discover what was the actual representation of this mysterious, yet in many ways a most delightful book and i got my answers so fast...It was the missing person Sumire's story...it was her lover's quest to find her out and what he got were not just fragments of her life but more... A must read for anyone who has ever fallen in love!
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Summary: He's done it again
Review: Always the master of forlorn emotions, Murakami has done it again. Frequent readers of his work will spot some familiar elements, yet I think he manages to avoid being caught in that trap of a middle aged writer unable to produce a new idea. Even if his characters' stuggles with love and life has played out before, this is a writer that just puts it on the page better than almost any other. Closest in feel to "South of the Border, West of the Sun", but I liked this one more than that one.
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Summary: a down-sized but beautiful Murakami novel
Review: I'll admit first off that Murakami is one of my all time favorites and I've read every one of his novels available in English. I still think his masterpiece is The Wind Up Bird Chronicle for its sheer mass and scope, but I was impressed by this novel for just the opposite. In this rather short and seemingly simple novel, some of the deepest and most profound thoughts and events take place. Like our narrator in Norwegian wood, we have a young man devoted to a girl, in this case the lovable Sumire. Unfortunately, she feels no desire for him and instead falls in love with a married women. This is where things turn into Vintage Murakami with surrealistic events taking place (old Murakami fans will think of the elevator to another time zone type of thing). Here, Sumire disappears and our narrator sets out in search of her. What he ultimately discovers is what the reader will uncover. The prose is very sparse compared to his other novels, but I think Murakami does well in this kind of minimalist style which has a seething undercurrent lurking just beneath the surface. The emotions are heartfelt and deep -- our narrator suffers for his love and devotion. Not only another excellent Murakami novel, but an accessible one that should earn him some new fans. Hopefully this novel will direct new readers to his earlier masterworks.
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Summary: A deeply insightful portrait of human loneliness
Review: Most of Murakami's work revolves around a common theme -- the sense of isolation people feel and how easy it is for this loneliness to break your spirit and leave you little more than an empty shell. Sputnik Sweetheart focusses on the sense of loss people feel when they discover that love is fleeting and realize that the closeness they share with someone today will soon fade and may never be recaptured. The plot is fairly straight-forward. K is in love with his best friend Sumire, an aspiring writer who considers K to be a close friend, but nothing more. Sumire, in turn, is madly in love with Miu, a married wine importer who lost the capacity for love when she went through a traumatic experience as a student. Sumire sets aside her writing to work as Miu's personal assistant, and the two head off to Europe on a business trip. Sumire mysteriously disappears, and Miu summons K to help search for her. Each of the novel's characters is scarred by loss, and like the Sputnik, each character feels isolated, connected to the world and the people around them by the most thin and tenuous of threads. Miu suffers a traumatic experience as a young student which leaves her half a person and turned her hair white. As K sees her for the last time, she is a hollow shell, and her white hair reminds K of bone that has had every bit of life bleached from it. Sumire's sense of loneliness is even greater. Having never previously experienced or even understood love, she falls completely for Miu only to realize that Miu will never love her back. Like two satellites briefly passing each other in space, never to meet again, Sumire realizes that the has grown as close to Miu as she ever will and that she will eventually lose what little she has. She imagines another world where Miu's lost half still lives and abandons our world to seek Miu there. K too feels isolated. As Sumire becomes increasingly enamored with Miu, K sees his best friend and closest confident slip away. When Sumire disappears for good, K does his best to move on with life, but the sense of loss stays with him, and as the novel concludes, K finds himself tempted to join Sumire somewhere in that other world. If you're a Murakami fan, you need no encouragement to read this book. If you're new to Murakami and are wondering which work to start with, Sputnik Sweetheart will provide you with an excellent introduction to Murakami's writing and leave you wanting more. This is a beautifully written novel, and Murakami's simple, eloquent prose conveys they characters' loneliness like few other writers can. Bravo Murakami! We eagerly await your next book.
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