Sputnik Sweetheart

[twissie]

So that's how we live our lives. No matter how deep and fatal the loss, no matter how important the thing that's stolen from us - that's snatched right out of our hands - even if we are left completely changed people with only the outer layer of skin from before, we continue to play out our lives this way, in silence. We draw ever nearer to our

Comments

[mcnina_w_cheese]

"Birthday Stories"! It's addictive. I couldn't stop reading. The title is deceiving though.

[twissie]

Oh, but those aren't written by Murakami, though, are they? I though that it was just a collection of short stories selected by/for Murakami for his birthday? :x I've looked at it in the bookshop, and the introduction gave me that impression.

[mcnina_w_cheese]

You're right. I didn't realize that until now. Nevertheless: I love it!
The other one I got is "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman". I don't think it made a big impression on me because I can't remember the stories at all. I prefer his novels (Dance,Dance,Dance is amazing)

[twissie]

Don't think I've seen Dance, Dance, Dance in the stores before :o I'll be on a lookout for it, then ^^

[tego]

I finished Sputnik Sweetheart a week ago too! :) It reminded me a lot of South of the Border, West of The Sun, which I read earlier this summer, except it was better. Great book.

[twissie]

Haha, how weird. It reminded me a lot of Wind-up Bird Chronicle, actually. Anyway, glad to hear you enjoyed it too :) It was a really wonderful book, and I love that it wasn't too long, I think it's one of those books I'll come back to again and again~

[fiere]

I think Sputnik Sweetheart is my favourite Murakami novel, tbh. I haven't read all of them but almost. I have at least one of his short story collections, but because my biggest issue with him is his lack of wrapping things up, I remember getting extra frustrated from the collection where it's just a series of non-endings, one after the other! I still read his stuff because it's totally worth the frustration, of course. ;)

[twissie]

Ahaha, the way he leaves stuff unanswered can be pretty brutal at times :x Kafka on the Shore kind of killed me, but then Wind-up Bird Chronicle came along and made everything better. I think that's my favourite of his so far~

[fiere]

Definitely! I guess I'm spoiled in the sense that I'm used to stories having a well-wrapped-up ending, where everything is explained, and preferably a happy ending too. XD

They've all sort of run together in my mind, but I just read the plot summary of Chronicle on wikipedia and didn't recognise any of it, so maybe I haven't read it! I even recognise the cover, but I think I might be mixing it up with Hardboiled Wonderland (which I have read, and remember being terribly frustrated by as usual). So I should read that as well!