[Book Notes] Sputnik Sweetheart

After finishing Sputnik Sweetheart, this is probably my least favorite Murakami so far.

Sumire is a classic Murakami wild and free female motif for the restrained and average Japanese male protagonist to aspire toward. In the grand scheme of his writings, it feels like a philosophical shift from the loneliness of an individual to the brokenness of everyone — Sumire, "Miu," the protagonist, his girlfriend, Miu's kleptomaniacal son.

So while I may not have particularly liked it, I think it represents a significant milestone in the development of Murakami.

The plot was fine: boy wants girl, girl wants woman, woman wants no one, girl disappears herself from rejection, boy and woman search for girl, find nothing, boy breaks up with girlfriend who is married to another man, girl reappears. Fine.

— Jay