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theotherallie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity and Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual assault
threeyearsaway's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
can't really tell if it's a 3 or 4 for me so i'm gonna keep it at a 3.5 for now :D
as always murakami’s obsession with sex and fantasizing is still very much apparent (i do think that some scenes were actually not so out of place this time), but i think he still hit the mark for me. i always really enjoy his stories for the magical and unexplainable thing in a seemingly ordinary world factor. despite some of the problematic factors they still intrigue me.
and bottom line it felt good to finally finish a story in less than a full week again lol 😰 not surprised it was a murakami book #GoIncels! 💯
as always murakami’s obsession with sex and fantasizing is still very much apparent (i do think that some scenes were actually not so out of place this time), but i think he still hit the mark for me. i always really enjoy his stories for the magical and unexplainable thing in a seemingly ordinary world factor. despite some of the problematic factors they still intrigue me.
and bottom line it felt good to finally finish a story in less than a full week again lol 😰 not surprised it was a murakami book #GoIncels! 💯
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
mushimush's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Sexual content
ourbrightplace's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
these people just feel so real, it’s rare to see authors write so casually about private scenes in one’s life.
i would have been mad at the way the women was written but given that this book is in the perspective of K, it makes sense to me
i would have been mad at the way the women was written but given that this book is in the perspective of K, it makes sense to me
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
ad1t1s's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity and Sexual assault
Moderate: Sexual content
aberyl's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content
andrew_t's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I will admit that I am not overly familiar with Murakami's works but the first one I read was Kafka on the Shore. And, while it wasn't a bad book, I didn't enjoy it, but I enjoy this one much more.
There's a certain quality to Sputnik Sweetheart that I felt in Kafka on the Shore but felt it was overshadowed by some of the things I was at odds with. However, that quality is much more present in Sputnik Sweetheart with less of the bad and it makes the book incredibly amazing and special.
The book was short, sweet, and enjoyable from beginning to end. Sure there was the occasional rough spot but they were small enough that they were very easy to get through, the rather explicit descriptions of characters' bodies that are often found in Murakami's works are kept to a minimum in this one and for that I am thankful.
The book does slow down a little in the middle but man I loved the ending, it was brief and left the future of the story to the imagination of the reader, and I have to say that I was smiling ear to ear reading it. Given the character's previous interactions it almost felt like the most appropriate ending the book could have.
Overall I'd say that this is a very enjoyable book that you could just pick up and read in a few days and extract a great amount of enjoyment from it.
And if you're a fan of Murakami and haven't read this one, give it a try, it's always good to fill in your catalog of completion for an author.
There's a certain quality to Sputnik Sweetheart that I felt in Kafka on the Shore but felt it was overshadowed by some of the things I was at odds with. However, that quality is much more present in Sputnik Sweetheart with less of the bad and it makes the book incredibly amazing and special.
The book was short, sweet, and enjoyable from beginning to end. Sure there was the occasional rough spot but they were small enough that they were very easy to get through, the rather explicit descriptions of characters' bodies that are often found in Murakami's works are kept to a minimum in this one and for that I am thankful.
The book does slow down a little in the middle but man I loved the ending, it was brief and left the future of the story to the imagination of the reader, and I have to say that I was smiling ear to ear reading it. Given the character's previous interactions it almost felt like the most appropriate ending the book could have.
Overall I'd say that this is a very enjoyable book that you could just pick up and read in a few days and extract a great amount of enjoyment from it.
And if you're a fan of Murakami and haven't read this one, give it a try, it's always good to fill in your catalog of completion for an author.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Sexual content
hue's review against another edition
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
saraaaa's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
It's worth noting that this is not a love story between two women, despite being often marketed as such. It was an enticing and beautiful story, but had a lot of flaws.
There was an excessive number of similes that, as evocative and poetic as they were, kept breaking the narrative flow. Take, as an example: "She put an olive in her mouth, with her fingers took out the pit, and threw it in the ashtray, with grace, like a poet that adds a comma to a poem" (rough translation from Italian): now, as poetic as this sounds, a simile helps to picture a scene, an action, a condition more accurately, or more profoundly, if you will; Murakami's figures of speech do none of this. Moreover, this stylistic choice is equally present in the speech and first person p.o.v. of all the protagonists, highlighting its artificiality.
It was impossible not to notice the repeated, obviously useless descriptions of Myu's legs, "taut and solid" body, and short skirt. But, after all, it's a pretty typical approach to... women, in late '90s productions. Much harder to ignore was Murakami's weird obsession with nipples and their consistency, which made me almost believe he doesn't have any of his own.
The sexual scene between the two female protagonists read awfully like a porn scene, and smelled of voyeurism on Murakami's part.It's uncomfortable for one of the characters, and even more so for the reader, who finds themself reading a first person account of a heterosexual woman trying to convince herself she actually likes homosexual sex, for the sake of a girl she'd almost seen as her child just a few moments before. Only later things are explained – rather unconvincingly, with a ridiculously acephobic (though the term could almost be anachronistic here) dramatic reveal, that reduces the vitality of a woman to her fertility and sex drive.
Nevertheless, this book also gave me a lot to reflect on. Many deep and complex concepts were present through the whole book, that was heavy on the philosophical side. Told as if they were being directly discussed with the reader, one would find themself giving thought to those ideas naturally.
This was my first work by Murakami, and despite all his flaws, I can't ignore just how good of a writer he is, when it comes to setting up gloomy, tense, dark, mysterious atmospheres – they'd always accompany me much after I'd put the book down.
The ending was, well, not an ending at all, and entirely up for interpretation. Murakami keeps leaping from dream to reality, from reality to hallucination, without a warning, until the boundaries between the two completely blur out and, at the end, they disappear.
There was an excessive number of similes that, as evocative and poetic as they were, kept breaking the narrative flow. Take, as an example: "She put an olive in her mouth, with her fingers took out the pit, and threw it in the ashtray, with grace, like a poet that adds a comma to a poem" (rough translation from Italian): now, as poetic as this sounds, a simile helps to picture a scene, an action, a condition more accurately, or more profoundly, if you will; Murakami's figures of speech do none of this. Moreover, this stylistic choice is equally present in the speech and first person p.o.v. of all the protagonists, highlighting its artificiality.
It was impossible not to notice the repeated, obviously useless descriptions of Myu's legs, "taut and solid" body, and short skirt. But, after all, it's a pretty typical approach to... women, in late '90s productions. Much harder to ignore was Murakami's weird obsession with nipples and their consistency, which made me almost believe he doesn't have any of his own.
The sexual scene between the two female protagonists read awfully like a porn scene, and smelled of voyeurism on Murakami's part.
Nevertheless, this book also gave me a lot to reflect on. Many deep and complex concepts were present through the whole book, that was heavy on the philosophical side. Told as if they were being directly discussed with the reader, one would find themself giving thought to those ideas naturally.
This was my first work by Murakami, and despite all his flaws, I can't ignore just how good of a writer he is, when it comes to setting up gloomy, tense, dark, mysterious atmospheres – they'd always accompany me much after I'd put the book down.
The ending was, well, not an ending at all, and entirely up for interpretation. Murakami keeps leaping from dream to reality, from reality to hallucination, without a warning, until the boundaries between the two completely blur out and, at the end, they disappear.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexual content
Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia
Minor: Infertility
spookily's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Death of parent