Sputnik Sweetheart

Haruki Murakami is unquestionably Japan's leading novelist with his many works fiction and non-fiction consistently reflecting contemporary Japanese life while, unusually, sustaining an international appeal through a deeply human perspective. Sputnik Sweetheart is his ninth novel, written in 1999, and tells the story of a young woman Sumire, an aspiring writer who falls in love with an older, successful businesswoman and wine expert, Miu. Their relationship is told through the eyes of Sumire's close (male) friend. It is a curious, mysterious tale, told with the compassion and quirkiness that is the hallmark of Murakami's writing.