SPUTNIK SWEETHEART BY HARUKI MURAKAMI

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" IN DREAMS YOU DON'T NEED TO MAKE ANY DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN THINGS. NOT AT ALL. BOUNDARIES DON'T EXIST. SO IN DREAMS THERE ARE HARDLY EVER COLLISIONS. EVEN IF THERE ARE, THEY DON'T HURT. REALITY IS DIFFERENT. REALITY BITES. "



This book is narrated by K, a school teacher about his friend Sumire and her dreams of becoming a writer. While k is romatically attracted towards Sumire, she is in love with Miu - a well established businesswoman she meets who is much older than her. And one day Sumire just disappears without a word and Miu and k are out in search of her which unravels other secrets of thier lives.

By now, I think I have figured out how Murakami's stories go around. Most of his works revolve around  music, cats that are somehow not normal, the magical realism, the loneliness and desperate need for return of love, the sorrow of losing the loved ones, some explicit sexual encounters which sometimes feel wrong. This book also involves all these but still is different from other murakami books.


PROS: In this book I feel Murakami has tried explaining the philosophy of life using his magical realism. How far we go for our love, to achieve our dreams. With the existence of parallel worlds, he makes us think into what we are living at present. There are many lines that will make you stop for a moment and think deep into those circumstances. 

CONS: I did not like the sexual encounter between Miu and Sumire because I did not see any consent there. It was more like Sumire taking advantage of Miu. But except these few pages, the book feels like a magic like any other Murakami book.

MY REVIEW : 3.5/5


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