Friday, November 23, 2007
Strengths and weaknesses
After reading Sputnik Sweetheart, I found that it was an interesting book, with many different strengths and weaknesses. The main problem with the book is its slight lack of storyline, with the story seemingly going round in circles and twisting and turning until reality is inseparable from the surreal world the book inhabits. This, perhaps, makes up for the lack of story, as it is incredibly thought provoking and an really interesting book, not only to read, but also to flick through and choose random pages, as each one is guaranteed to have a sentence or phrase that sets your mind spinning. Another strength of the book is its characters, although slightly unrealistic, are quite easy to empathise with on different levels. I'm not suggesting that everyone feels split in two, or is trapped in unrequited love, but certain feelings from all of the characters come through to make the book so much more than just a story to the reader. Another strength is the amazing use of metaphors and turns of phrase that leave you truly engrossed in the lives of the occupants of perhaps the most complex love triangle literature has known, it is this and the many ways the book can be interpreted that makes this such an interesting read, as it has a different theme and ending, depending on who's reading it. Is it a story of love, jealousy, separation or just a very surreal book, to explain how people can be split, not literally as Miu is, but just as effectively. Perhaps this could also be considered a weakness, however, as the ending can leave you feeling slightly unfulfilled, as there is not really an ending as such. It is not known whether or not Sumire and K ever actually meet again, where did sumire go, did she find what she was looking for, did she and Miu ever make its as a couple? None of these questions are answered, at least not effectively anyway. the slight irrelevancy of some extracts is also quite infuriating, for example the huge amount of words donated to the nose of Sumires father. As fabulous as it might be, i hardly think its as important to the book as other subjects might be. However, overall, i feel this is a worthwhile book, and that the author has written an original and unique book that could be popular all over the world, despite cultural and slight linguistic differences.
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6 comments:
I like the idea that you can just dip into the text and find something interesting? Do you think that some sections have a 'stand alone' quality?
It what sense is it 'thought provoking'? What thoughts? Philosophical ones?
Is the unresolved ending a weakness?
Some interesting comments.
didn't K make a comment that even the irrelevant things had a place? or something like that... do the irrelevant things perhaps make the book...?
I don't think that any partsz of mthe baook are irrelevant, Murikami put them in there for a reason, he thought that they were important. But if you were writng a book and you wanted to write about somethihng that wasn't anything to do with the book would you bend the plot to shove it in?
i would write another book :P
and if you did bend the plot so to speak, i reckon you would be at risk of losing the readers motivation. which i dont think murakami does.
I kind of share the same opinion as Amy and Camille when it comes to the whole issue of irrelevance. Although I will admit I too found the parts about Sumires dad's nose strange and repetetive, if only for the first couple of chapters of the book. Do you think maybe its some kind of cultural Japanese inside joke and noses? Maybe they're not considered attractive in Japan and it's ironic, or maybe they are considered especially attractive and he does just genuinely have a fantastic nose...we may never know...
I disagree with the point you make about irrelavance. I think the randomness of points such as that about Miu's fathers' nose are what makes the book what it is. However i can see where you are coming from.
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