Sputnik Sweetheart (my view)



                                      “I dream. Sometimes I think that's the only right thing to do.”

I just finished reading Haruki Murakami’s Sputnik Sweetheart. I had been meaning to read Murakami for a VERY long time, but kept procrastinating it mostly because balancing academic reading with recreation reading is always a challenge. I was glad that I managed to keep everything at bay and decided to gobble the book down soon as I could and to be true, I have no regrets for doing that. J

A true page-turner the book is. I have never been a fan of fiction, but every now and then I feel tempted to give reading fictions a shot and end up appreciating it more. In fact, some of the fictions that I have read left me feeling way more inspired and influenced than non-fiction. The ability of the authors to create an engaging, interesting and unpredictable story has always been something that always fills me with a sense of wonder. Sputnik Sweetheart is one such story—though complex, the story left an impression, a subtle, yet a lasting impression on my mind. If I were to share the story of the book with someone, I do not think I would be able to do justice, rather I am quite sure I would leave the person feeling that Murakami is probably messed up and that’s why he has such complex characters in his book, so for that reason I choose to not share the story or the plot in the book. All I would say that-- what was more captivating for me, was Murakami’s writing. The magic of Murakami lies not in his story, but in the narration of his story. And in those narrations, it is not just the writing advice that one can draw, but there are some important life-lessons in general that are subtly and convincingly reinforced as you read this book.

In the process of sharing extremely chaotic characters in his stories, Murakami appears to make attempts to communicate that he acknowledges how messy relationships, thoughts, feelings, and life, in general, can be. Although he does not offer any advice or any fixes, what he implies is that it is ok and that it is normal to feel unsettled and helpless and that there are times you just cannot do anything to make things right. However, in those circumstances all you can do is DREAM. In conclusion, I’d share that though extremely complex, his characters are somewhat relatable in the sense that you’d probably see a bit of yourself in all of them...at least I did.



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