The narrator, known only as K, is a young schoolteacher in Tokyo who is secretly in love with his friend Sumire, a university dropout who dreams of becoming a novelist. Sumire, however, falls for Miu, an older, elegant Korean-Japanese businesswoman, and goes to work for her. When the two women travel to Europe, and then to a small Greek island, Sumire disappears, and K is called there to help. Haruki Murakami uses a quiet, melancholy tone to describe unrequited love, loneliness and the sense that people are like satellites orbiting each other without touching.
It suits readers who like Murakami's dreamlike novels about longing, with strange episodes that leave some questions unanswered. It is also shorter and more intimate than many of his books, and a reasonable place to start for those new to him.
Deep, inward-looking, open-ended and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Wisdom Collector. Which reader are you?
- ISBN
- 9789896602017
- Language
- PT
