This is where it all began, and where it all wound up. I will admit, I knew absolutely nothing about this author and I am NOT a huge fan of Asian literature except for the more popular/mainstream Asian fiction books like Memoirs of a Geisha and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. "And she had nice handwriting.". And as it turned out,Sputnik Sweetheart hinges on the uncanny, and lonely. Haruki Murakami spent the years between 1986 and 1989 in Italy and Greece, where he wrote “Norwegian Wood” and “Dance, Dance, Dance”. posed photo taken at her wedding and a snapshot taken right after Sumire was born. K is an elementary school teacher, 25 years old, and in love with Sumire, though she does not quite share his feelings. Author mjmumbles Posted on December 13, 2017 December 13, 2017 Categories literature Tags Haruki Murakami , K , Miu , Sputnik Sweetheart , Stories Of People , Sumire Leave a comment on Searching For My Sputnik Sweetheart: Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami Sumire's father remarried when she was six, and two years later her younger brother was born. They'd shake hands, have a nice chat. Title: Sputnik Sweetheart Author: Haruki Murakami Publication: October 4th 2012 (first published April 20th 1999) Publisher: Vintage Summary: A mystery story about love, the cosmos and other fictional universes Sumire is in love with a woman seventeen years her senior. Sumire does not feel seen by the people around her. She was short, and even It explores that notion of existential crisis and the question of “Who am I?”. A college student, identified only as “K,” falls in love with his classmate, Sumire. She tells him about the string of events that led to the point of Sumire's disappearance, in which Miu was unable to reciprocate physically when Sumire initiated a sexual encounter. Murakami's meditation on loneliness, fiction, and the ambiguities of self is as thought provoking as it is haunting. I never can remember those kinds of terms. Something akin to an artistic revelation. Miu’s transformation over the course of the novel and the resolution of her identity crisis shows that the novel is, in fact, a coming-of-age novel. Notify me when item is back in stock. I think it was the right move, but if I can be allowed a mediocre generalization, don't pointless things have a place, too, in this far-from-perfect world? Still, Sumire had something person. Going back to Japan, he returns to his everyday life. If there were a photograph of Sumire taken at that time, I know it would be a valuable record of how special certain people are. We use cookies to give you the best possible experience. in a good mood she talked like she was half a step away from picking a fight. The tornado's intensity doesn't abate for a second as it blasts across the ocean, laying waste to Angkor Wat, incinerating an Indian jungle, tigers and all, transforming itself into a Persian What kind of novelist, though, she couldn't recall. that the person she fell in love with happened to be a woman. The book’s title was derived when Miu erroneously described Jack Kerouac’s works as Sputnik (in reference to the Russian satellite), rather than Beatnik. In the spring of her twenty-second year, Sumire fell in love for the first time in her life. No use talking to him about that, she must have decided. very clearly. The connection is shabby, and their phone connection is soon lost. "She was good at remembering things," he said. help myself. "Kerouac . Travel, Help/Feedback | If she'd taken one step back, she would have melted right into the wall. Science | Miu returns after a couple of days. I don't think Sumire ever had what you'd call a lover. Losing interest, she stared up at the ceiling, and the conversation petered out. Diversions | "It's just there.". In the examination room he always wore a surgical cap and large mask, so the only thing the patient could see was a pair of eyes and ears. Op-Ed | You know—how they classify writers in various schools of writing. I don't know her real name, a fact that caused problems later on, but again I'm getting ahead of Books | was a waste of time. In the infinite loneliness of space, what could the dog possibly be looking at? Archives | thereby learning his true and hidden strength. Status: Out of stock. "Beatnik-Sputnik. The first time Sumire met Miu, she talked to her about Jack Kerouac's novels. Sumire's father was an almost mythic figure to the women in the Yokohama area who needed dental care. comes about. Sputnik Sweetheart. Miu becomes her "Sputnik Sweetheart." Yes, she and K. are best friends. Try as she might to remember her mother's crushing them to bits. Jack Kerouac was an American novelist. She and Miu were seated next to each other at one of the tables. K's new school year is starting the week after Miu's call, but finding Sumire's well-being more important, he leaves for Greece the next day. He continues with his solitary life. Miu was Korean by nationality, but until she decided to study Korean when she was in her mid-twenties, she didn't speak a word of the language. He was remarkably handsome, his well-formed nose reminding you Her favorite lines were from the fire lookout section of Lonesome Traveler. K feels his time there is up, even though he feels a connection to Miu. Whenever she ran across lines she liked, she'd mark them in His beautiful, manly nose swelled suggestively under the mask, making his female patients blush. Staying there any longer, she concluded, . But whereas Miu is glamorous and successful, Sumire is an aspiring writer who dresses in an oversized second-hand coat… After she graduated from a public high school in Kanagawa Prefecture, she entered the liberal arts department of a cozy little private college in Tokyo. Sumire was too focused Sputnik Sweetheart was written in 1999 and translated in 2001. ). She detested having her photograph taken—no desire to • Sputnik dalam bahasa Rusia berarti travelling companion. The other is a story that Miu told her about an event that transformed her 14 years ago. As in The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Dance Dance Dance, Murakami uses (or rather, suggests) alternate worlds as a plot device. . to brand her mother's face on her memory. As usual, my practical, humdrum opinions didn't faze her. Page One Plus | K is madly in love with his best friend, Sumire, but her devotion to a writerly life precludes her from any personal commitments. Click to open expanded view. Don’t you think that for a character with practically no role in the book, Sumire’s dad was described way too much? Sputnik Sweetheart is a story about Sumire. Throughout the novel, the reader experiences the joys, expectations, and pain that come with falling in love. And, I should add, was a woman. Miu is very pleased to have K around, but worries that Sumire may have committed suicide; K reassures her that Sumire would not do that. • Nama satelit milik Uni Soviet. Rather, I think it is a place the characters go to when something traumatic occurs, something akin to PTSD. The book is mentioned in the movie Paris, Je T'aime, while a passage of the book was used in Channel 4's TV drama Nearly Famous in the UK. This meeting and the ensuing relationship between the women leads to Sumire changing: she starts wearing nicer clothes, gets a better apartment, and quits smoking; however, she also develops a writer's block. sure she would have. She'd just as soon be tortured as attend as a fire lookout. An English translation by Philip Gabriel was then published in … Let me get back to how Sumire and Miu met. Sumire, K and Miu is bound in a twisted love triangle. Sputnik Sweetheart 3 Sputnik On 4 October 1957, the Soviet Union launched the world’s first man-made satellite, Sputnik I, from the Baikanor Space Centre in the Republic of Kazakhstan. And was married. Sputnik Sweetheart. Miu held her breath for a moment. Automobiles | What's your take on it? Ancient history.". It made her think of Laika, the dog. As with other Murakami works, Sputnik Sweetheart lacks a clear, concise ending. She was invariably decked out in an oversize herringbone coat from a secondhand store and a pair of rough work boots. Site Index | Her resolve was a regular Rock of Gibraltar. Many elements of the plot remain deliberately unresolved, contributing to the idea that true knowledge is elusive, and actual events of the story are obscured in favour of the characters' perceptions. . The first 70 pages or so of "Sputnik Sweetheart" construct this romantic triangle: He loves Sumire, Sumire loves Miu and whatever goes on in Miu's head is … The man-made satellite streaking soundlessly across the blackness of outer space. Kerouac spent three lonely months in a cabin on top of a high mountain, working And that's it. I'd love to show you a photo of her, but I don't have any. barely opened her mouth. Sumire found it amazing that the genes that produced that nose 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. About midway through "Sputnik Sweetheart," while Miu and Sumire are in Greece, Murakami starts adding layer upon layer to the text until every detail hums with significance. It made her think of Laika, the dog. ... Miu is a middle-aged Korean woman who leads Sumire around Europe. An English translation … ISBN: 0-375-41169-0, Home | I was attracted to her from the first time we talked, and soon there was no turning back. He might not have been the ideal An intense love, a veritable tornado sweeping across the plains—flattening everything in its path, tossing things up in the air, ripping them to shreds, However, Sumire falls in love with a woman, Miu, whom she meets at a wedding. The man-made satellite streaking soundlessly across the blackness of outer space. "Sputnik? Ever since that day, Sumire's private name for Miu was Sputnik Sweetheart. A gentle silence descended on them, suggestive of the flow of time. Sputnik Sweetheart is however about a misunderstanding that becomes a nickname for Sumire. I'm getting the order of events mixed up. of Gregory Peck in Spellbound. And as it turned out,Sputnik Sweetheart hinges on the uncanny, and lonely. ", Miu lightly dabbed at the corner of her mouth with a napkin. Business | K is madly in love with his best friend, Sumire, but her devotion to a writerly life precludes her from any personal commitments. Ever since that day, Sumire's private name for Miu was Sputnik Sweetheart. Maybe it was for the best. He then has a mystical experience during the night. She was a kind and fair person, though. She tells him that her son – a boy nicknamed "Carrot" – had been caught stealing in a supermarket a few times, and she needs his help in order to convince the security guard to let him go without contacting the police. But whereas Miu is glamorous and successful, Sumire is an aspiring writer who dresses in an oversized second-hand coat and heavy boots like a character in a Kerouac novel. Sputnik I diluncurkan pada 4 Oktober 1957, dan Sputnik II pada 3 Nopember di tahun yang sama. She asks him to come to get her from the phone booth. With them, he is able to track Sumire's and Miu's business travels across the continent. solitude in the wilderness, finding himself depending solely on himself and faith in literature. Sumire does not feel seen by the people around her. Miu offers Sumire a part-time job, which leads to her taking her on a working trip to Europe as her traveling secretary. Trying hard to connect the dots, K concludes that both the stories suggest the existence of multiple worlds, and Sumire has left this world and entered a parallel one, perhaps to be with the other version of Miu. Miu mistakenly refers to him as a 'Sputnik' poet instead of 'Beatnik.' Without warning, K receives a phone call from Sumire, who tells him that she is in the same phone booth near her apartment that she had always called him from. I never knew her to use lipstick or eyebrow pencil, and I have my doubts that she even knew bras came in different sizes. The dark, lustrous eyes of the dog gazing out of the tiny window. K sends the mother home and takes Carrot to a coffee shop. Her father looked away and thought for a moment before replying. About midway through "Sputnik Sweetheart," while Miu and Sumire are in Greece, Murakami starts adding layer upon layer to the text until every detail hums with significance. Miu smiled. Haruki Murakami, the internationally bestselling author of Norwegian Wood and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, plunges us into an urbane Japan of jazz bars, coffee shops, Jack Kerouac, and the Beatles to tell this story of a tangled triangle of uniquely unrequited loves. Sumire had no memory of ever asking her father about her dead mother. a bolt of lightning zapped her right in the head. Sumire hadn't quite turned three. She always had her literary Idol of the Month, and at that point it happened to be the out-of-fashion Kerouac. "The name of a literary movement. 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