Murakami, and the Other Murakami
Book Recommendations- Sputnik Sweetheart | In the Miso Soup
Beloved Readers,
Hope you are all doing well and enjoying spring depending on which part of the world you are in right now. This week's newsletter has book recommendations from one of my favorite authors Haruki Murakami, coinciding with the press release about his upcoming novel after a 6 years gap, which will be hitting the stores in April. Whilst it might take some time for me to get my hands on the new book, let me share some thoughts on the ones I have already read and enjoyed.
The second book for this week is by another Murakami, Ryu Murakami. A prolific writer and filmmaker who specializes in the psychothriller and horror genre. This review/recommendation comes with some content warnings. Hence, read it before you make a choice.
Now over to the details.
Sputnik Sweetheart- Haruki Murakami
Translated by Philip Gabriel
Story:
It is a tale of unrequited love. The narrator, referred to as K, is a pensive school teacher who had fallen in love with his best friend, an erratic and aspiring novelist, Sumire. Sumire can't reciprocate his feelings as she had fallen deeply in love with an elderly business woman Miu. Sumire leaves her writing career and joins Miu as her assistant on a business trip to Europe. Sumire disappears without a trace while vacationing with Miu on a remote Greek island. K joins the search party in Greece only to discover two of Sumire's writings. One explains her extent of longing for Miu and the other details a secret from Miu's past which led to her current abstinence from any desire.
Don't expect the ending to tie up all loose ends or give answers to various questions that arise while reading the story. As in every Murakami book, the ending is ambiguous. Is it a dream? Is this happening in another parallel universe? Or is it an intellectual metaphor? It is up to the reader to interpret the ending.
Murakami's dose of Zen:
"Don’t pointless things have a place, too, in this far-from-perfect world? Remove everything pointless from an imperfect life and it’d lose even its imperfection."
“We’re both looking at the same moon, in the same world. We’re connected to reality by the same line. All I have to do is quietly draw it towards me.”
The Sputnik Metaphor
The title of the novel is derived from a comical misunderstanding. In the first conversation between Sumire and Miu about Sumire's favorite author Jack Kerouac, Miu mistakenly refers to him as "Sputnik" instead of "Beatnik" genre. From thereon, Sumire refers to Miu as her "Sputnik Sweetheart". Sputnik is indeed the name of the Russian satellite which translates to "Fellow Traveller" and this serves as a metaphor with deeper significance in the book.
Murakami's Mozart
Murakami uses Mozart's Violet to describe Sumire's background and the origin of her name. Sumire means Violet in Japanese. The song Violet is about a callous little shepherdess who tramples down a little violet in the field. Although the violet is heartbroken by the shepherdess, it is delighted to die under her darling feet. This foretells the unrequited love of Sumire for Miu.
Who will enjoy this book?
If you are completely new to Murakami and are wondering where to begin? Then this book will ease you into his works. The story is concise, comprising his quintessential elements like unrequited love, loneliness, and loss. Since it doesn't foray into magical realism or surrealism, this book will be a good kickstarter.
If you have already read his other works in the same genre(realism) like Norwegian Wood and Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, then you might find some similarities and some differences, especially concerning characters' emotional connection. One might merely not notice the differences whilst deeply engrossed in his rich prose and metaphors.
As I read more Murakami, my musical knowledge is venturing into unexplored territories.
Click on the link to read the review of Norwegian Wood
In The Miso Soup - Ryu Murakami
Translated by Ralph McCarthy
⚠️Content Warning: This psychothriller/horror is not for the faint-hearted. If you enjoyed watching movies like Hannibal Lecter, Silence of the Lambs, and American Psycho, then this book might entertain you. If you can stomach the violence, then read further.
I had seen these horror movies by skipping scenes and watching only the skeleton of the story. I do not prefer the gory horror genre. There are a few pages in this book that are sickening with overindulgence in violence. Hence, it took me a while to finish this slender book of 180 pages and my opinion is also conflicted.
The story is narrated by Kenji, a 20-year-old unlicensed ‘tour guide’ for foreigners aiming to make their way through the nightlife of Tokyo. A 35-year-old overweight American tourist, Frank, hires Kenji for three days before New Year's eve to take him around the seedy Kabuki-cho district. Kenji has a gut feeling that something is amiss right from the moment he sets his eyes on Frank. His instincts get confirmed as Frank's strange behavior leads Kenji to assume that he might be the serial killer who has been rocking Japanese headlines for the past few days. The story soon spirals down into the dark claustrophobic areas of Tokyo with a graphic bloodbath and unconvincingly placid reaction from Kenji, the witness of the massacre and plausibly a victim of the creepy Stockholm syndrome.
The first half of the book gives a vibrant picture of Tokyo's red-light area Kabuki-cho with peep shows, karaoke matchmaking bars, and lingerie bars. Soon the darker undertone of the realities of urban loneliness and disconnection emerges through the characters. Frank is the epitome of evil, a compulsive liar, and the archetype of a psycho-killer. Kenji is far from innocent, he unwittingly becomes the silent spectator of the crime and remains nonjudgemental for the sake of his survival.
Apart from the ultraviolence, there are discussions of Buddhism and redemption, social commentary on growing consumerism in Japan following the western world, and also discussion on the cultural stigma surrounding the sex industry. It also throws a negative light on the "compensated dating" culture prevalent among Japanese high school girls in the late 90s. The psychological thriller lost its way and came to an abrupt end with a philosophical monologue.
About the author:
Ryu Murakami is an award-winning postmodern novelist and filmmaker. His works explore human nature against the backdrop of the darker side of Japan.
That is all for this week folks. If you enjoyed this and have already read any of the books mentioned here, please leave a note. I would love to hear from you.
Happy reading, have a good week. Thank you for your time. Until next week,
-Preethi
I like Haruki Murakami's books. I've read many of them, and they are really outstanding and special. My favorites are Kafka on the Shore, Norwegian Wood, and 1Q84.
Murakami's simplistic style, layers in the stories, authenticity in the way he opens his inner world to the outside, and all the excitement you feel while chasing after the protagonist make him unique. But after some time, you feel that all the books' essences are similar. So I took a break to read Murakami.
Nowadays, I read Sally Rooney. Some critics bash her style, but I must admit that she is very good at writing novels. Her storytelling style is fluid, and her observations are excellent. It is easy for the reader to easily put themselves in the protagonist's place and follow the story. I would recommend them :)