The Sputnik Sweetheart was the third Murakami book I have read and second in the original Japanese. I almost gave up on it in the early going as it seemed rather boring. Things got far more interesting soon thereafter so I’m glad I stuck with it.

Published in Japanese just three years before Kafka on the Shore, there are many similar themes and items touched upon in these two works. I really enjoyed some of the messages near the end of the book and found them to ring very true.

Being a work of fiction, I don’t want to give much away in my assessment. However, I will say that I’m glad to have read スプートニクの恋人, and the Japanese is not very difficult if you can read at least a few hundred kanji. Also, I now want to visit Greece.

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Posted on February 16th, 2010 under Japan • Tags: book review, haruki murakami. • RSS 2.0 feed • You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed