Sputnik Sweetheart, by Haruki Murakami

During the early part of Sputnik Sweetheart, by Haruki Murakami, I thought I was reading another of those enjoyable books about nothing much. Then it turned into something like Picnic at Hanging Rock, only better in some way.

I didn't like the ending, though. The narrator seems happy, but I felt that just because he can see the same moon in his sky that his friend has described on the phone, doesn't mean that she will call him again. She never was very good at finding her way around this world, anyway. So we're left with the narrator staring at his phone, waiting for it to ring again.

One of the things I liked about this story was the presence of Greek mythology in the Japanese story.

On the whole, I liked the book, but I'd need to know more about semiotics and maybe Japanese folklore before I felt I properly understood the ending.