Sputnik Sweetheart

A book written by one of my newer favorite authors, Haruki Murakami, as I have read 5 of his through this RA Favorite initiative!  Murakami has a style of futuristic/psychological thriller of sorts and this is present in Sputnik Sweetheart.  The narrator, K., tells of his relationship with Sumire, a woman he met while in college who shared the love of reading.  The two are two parts of a very strange triangle which is completed through the 39-year-old Miu, a woman Sumire met at a wedding.  Much of this story is told through the voice of the three characters reflection of their dark past.  Sumire has never been able to cope with the loss of her mother and while she is deeply connected to K., she has no interest in a sexual relationship with her “best friend.”  K. is deeply in love with Sumire, yet he needs to have his needs met through “one nighters” with other women.  Finally, Sumire finds her love… Miu, a married woman.  Is Miu replacing Sumire’s need for a mother figure?  Sumire often calls K. in the middle of the night to share her feelings or other events happening in her life.  Mui hires Sumire to be her assistant, and then takes her to Greece for a relaxing vacation.  But after Sumire learns a deep dark secret about Miu, Sumire disappears from the island!  Miu, who has learned all about K. from Sumire, requests that he come to Greece to assist in the search.  This story is all about love, sexuality, missed connections, and identifying the “self.”  In only the manner Murakami creates characters, this story has it all.  Will K. ever find love? Will Miu forgive herself for nixing Sumire’s advances? How will K.’s mistress react to his rebuffing?  There are so many levels mixed in Murakami’s mysticism that reflects the complicated nature of our lives and relationships.  I grow to love his novels the more I read them.  Probably one of the top authors in society today!  Worth a read if you like truly character driven books rather than great stories, though this one isn’t bad….  I hear his next book is coming out in 2012!