The Review of Contemporary Fiction

Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami
Brian Evenson

Haruki Murakami. Sputnik Sweetheart. Knopf, 2001. 210 pp. $23.00.

Sputnik Sweetheart, Haruki Murakami’s seventh novel to be translated into English, is less dense and less referenced to pop culture than much of his other work; nonetheless, it touches on Murakami’s usual themes, most particularly the idea of parallel realities. It does so deftly and lightly, in a way that is entirely accessible. For that reason, it serves as a strong introduction to Murakami’s work. At the heart of the novel is Sumire, a woman obsessed with the Beat writers, who wants to be a novelist, and with whom the narrator is in love. Sumire, however, loves Miu, a Korean woman who runs an import business. Miu herself seems incapable of love, at least physical love, ever since an unusual experience has left her thinking that her self has been split, half of it lost in a parallel world. As the novel progresses, Sumire goes on vacation with Miu, propositions her and then, when her advances aren’t accepted, vanishes. She is perhaps simply fleeing from a difficult situation or perhaps has entered another world herself by an act of sheer will. As the narrator investigates what might have happened to her, he discovers documents that give insights into her character without ever quite pinning things down, leaving all loves unrequited. Sputnik Sweetheart is remarkable in its simplicity and its ability to present in distilled form a distinctly Murakamian narrative. Yet this strength might also be considered a weakness. Those who have read Murakami’s other books might well see Sputnik Sweetheart as a concession: Murakami lite. True, it is more simple, more basic, but at the same time there is enough to recommend it that it should be admired for what it is rather than being faulted for not being another Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Indeed, Sputnik Sweetheart provides a model for incorporating the postmodern and the pastoral. It is a lucid work of fiction that is more interesting and perhaps more complicated than it initially seems. [Brian Evenson]


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The Review of Contemporary Fiction Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami Brian Evenson Haruki Murakami. Sputnik Sweetheart. Knopf, 2001. 210 pp. $23.00. Sputnik Sweetheart, Haruki Murakami’s seventh novel to be translated into English, is less dense and less referenced to pop culture than much of his other work; nonetheless, it touches on Murakami’s usual themes, most particularly the idea of parallel realities. It does so deftly and lightly, in a way that is entirely accessible. For that reason, it serves as a strong introduction to Murakami’s work. At the heart of the novel is Sumire, a woman obsessed with the Beat writers, who wants to be a novelist, and with whom the narrator is in love. Sumire, however, loves Miu, a Korean woman who runs an import business. Miu herself seems incapable of love, at least physical love, ever since an unusual experience has left her thinking that her self has been split, half of it lost in a parallel world. As the novel progresses, Sumire goes on vacation with Miu, propositions her and then, when her advances aren’t accepted, vanishes. She is perhaps simply fleeing from a difficult situation or perhaps has entered another world herself by an act of sheer will. As the narrator investigates what might have happened to her, he discovers documents that give insights into her character without ever quite pinning things down, leaving all loves unrequited. Sputnik Sweetheart is remarkable in its simplicity and its ability to present in distilled form a distinctly Murakamian narrative. Yet this strength might also be considered a weakness. Those who have read Murakami’s other books might well see Sputnik Sweetheart as a concession: Murakami lite. True, it is more simple, more basic, but at the same time there is enough to recommend it that it should be admired for what it is rather than being faulted for not being another Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Indeed, Sputnik Sweetheart provides a model for incorporating the postmodern and the pastoral. It is a lucid work of fiction that is more interesting and perhaps more complicated than it initially seems. [Brian Evenson]

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