Devouring Books: Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami

"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 loneliness?"

Ah. Just when you think you'll never finish a book ever again because you're halfway through Vanity Fair and can't get into anything else, but you also can't carry that around with you because it's massive, you pick up a Murakami book and finish it in two days, and also remember what reading's all about. I mean, that's what you do if you're me, obviously. How I've lasted 3 months without reading a Murakami book is beyond me, but finally, finally! More weirdness and confusion and sadness and completely wonderful loveliness.

Let's see. Where to begin? Firstly, Sputnik Sweetheart was translated by a different dude than the guy who translated the other two Murakami books I've read, which isn't something that I'd normally mention except that, well, I could kind of tell! At least, I could a bit at the beginning (which was before I knew it had been translated by some other dude) where I was like 'this feels a bit... clunky' and then checked out the translator and it was some guy who wasn't the other guy (isn't this the best storytelling ever?) Anyway, basically all this meant was that at the beginning I was slightly apprehensive that this maybe wasn't going to be that good, but something happened that meant either the translator or I got more into it, or maybe that the story just took over from the writing, but either way, I loved it.

So, like all Murakami things I've read so far (all three of them) Sputnik Sweetheart kind of defies classification. It's very mysterious, and yet not a mystery (although at times I was like *gasp* revelations!); there are events and moments that seem unconnected to the main narrative, although I'm sure if I thought about them for long enough I'd come up with some kind of explanation; and there are some homosexual feelings expressed but it doesn't at all feel like a GLBT book. Above all, I guess, it fits into the very special 'Murakami' Genre: all the hallmarks are there (ears, cats, different worlds, super sophisticated exploration of sexuality) and, well, at the moment this select genre (which is made up of, I think, 12 novels) is kind of my favourite, so how could I dislike Sputnik Sweetheart?

You want to know about the story? Ok, so the narrator (whose name we never discover because there's a wonderful passage about how he can't talk about himself, because he doesn't really even know who/what he is yet, so how can he tell us any 'facts' about himself?) is one of Murakami's lonely boys (TM) who loves a girl who is his best friend, but who feels no desire for him, or anyone, until she meets a woman who she does have sexy feelings for, and although it sounds kind of like a love triangle, it very much isn't because there's no struggle, just an acceptance that everyone likes who they like, and that no-one in the situation can do anything to change it. It's all very complex and sad and kind of super wonderful.

So... I've come to that point as I do in every Murakami review where I don't want to say anymore, because 1) I don't want to really give anything away, and 2) there's not really anything I can say to do his books justice. And to be honest, I can't think of any solid reasons as to why you MUST read them- all I can tell you is that they make me feel ridiculously sucked in and attentive and AMAZED and just, sometimes paradoxically, really happy. But that's just me! You might be pissed off by the crazy, and just want concrete happenings, and that's fine, but it's apparently just not what I'm looking for with Murakami. And I'm never disappointed!

I read this book as part of the Fuck the Patriarchy Readathon. If you'd like to donate to Rape Crisis, please visit this Justgiving page. Thanks!