Sputnik Sweetheart
Haruki Murakami
Paperback

Vintage: Sumire is in love with a woman seventeen years her senior. But whereas Miu is glamorous and successful, Sumire is an aspiring writer who dresses in an oversized second-hand coat and heavy boots like a character in a Kerouac novel.

Sumire spends hours on the phone talking to her best friend K about the big questions in life: what is sexual desire, and should she ever tell Miu how she feels for her? Meanwhile K wonders whether he should confess his own unrequited love for Sumire.

Then, a desperate Miu calls from a small Greek island: Sumire has mysteriously vanished...





Sputnik Sweetheart has touched me deeper and pushed me further than anything I've read in a long time (Julie Myerson Guardian 20020614)

How does Murakami manage to make poetry while writing of contemporary life and emotions? I am weak-kneed with admiration (Independent on Sunday 20020614)

A beautiful novel, as light as a feather, and yet enduringly sad... a captivating book from one of the world's most interesting authors (Sunday Herald )

Murakami has been compared to everyone from Raymond Carver to Raymond Chandler - which should tell you only one thing: he's unique (Independent 20020614)

Confirms Murakami as a master of his craft... Out of this world (Time Out )