What is the message of Sputnik Sweetheart?

We try to forget the crushing loss when it doesn’t work out. For the characters in Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami discover that desire, love, and loss can break more than your heart: it can split you in two.

Who is K in Sputnik Sweetheart?

Sumire is an aspiring writer who survives on a family stipend and the creative input of her only friend, the novel’s male narrator and protagonist, known in the text only as ‘K’. K is an elementary school teacher, 25 years old, and in love with Sumire, though she does not quite share his feelings.

What genre is Sputnik Sweetheart?

Novel
Fiction
Sputnik Sweetheart/Genres

Is Sputnik Sweetheart worth reading?

Whether it be describing the feeling of love toward a romantic interest or that of a close friend and companion, Sputnik Sweetheart is worth reading just for the descriptions of love and relationships alone – they’re absolutely incredible.

What does the word Sputnik?

Sputnik has also the meaning “attendant”, “companion”, “travelling companion”, “fellow traveler”. And originally meant that the satellite will accompany the Earth, our planet.

How many pages are there in Sputnik Sweetheart?

229
Sputnik Sweetheart/Page count

What does the ending of Sputnik Sweetheart mean?

She realises Miu can never love her back (because she was raped, she loved Sumire back ‘in her heart and mind’ but not in her body. Sumire took it as a rejection despite Miu promising it wasn’t that). After she took the chance of expressing her love for her and then rejected and distraught, she kills herself.

Does Sputnik mean satellite?

Thus, began the space age. The successful launch shocked the world, giving the former Soviet Union the distinction of putting the first human-made object into space. The word ‘Sputnik’ originally meant ‘fellow traveler,’ but has become synonymous with ‘satellite’ in modern Russian.

Where does Haruki Murakami live in Sputnik Sweetheart?

Though not mentioned in Sputnik Sweetheart, the neighborhood of Kokubunji, a few stops west on the JR Chuo Line, should be of special interest to Haruki Murakami fans. This is the neighborhood in which the author himself lived for awhile and ran the original incarnation of his jazz bar Peter Cat.

Who is the author of the book Sputnik Sweetheart?

Sputnik Sweetheart (スプートニクの恋人 Supūtoniku no Koibito) is a novel by Haruki Murakami, published in Japan, by Kodansha, in 1999. An English translation by Philip Gabriel was then published in 2001.

What happens at the end of Sputnik Sweetheart?

Business obligations take the pair to Europe and they eventually decide to relax for awhile on a small, unnamed Greek island. After Sumire suddenly disappears into thin air, our narrator gets a call from a concerned Miu.

Where does Sumire live in the book Sputnik Sweetheart?

In the beginning of the novel, Sumire is living in the fashionable neighborhood of Kichijoji which is known for Inokashira Park. The neighborhood often tops polls and surveys of Tokyoites’ most desirable neighborhoods to live in. Kichijoji is also a popular place to shop, especially for used clothing.