Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki MurakamiMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
"I have this strange feeling that I'm not myself any more. It's hard to put it into words, but I guess it's as if I was fast asleep, and someone came, disassembled me, and hurriedly put me back together again. That sort of feeling."
Sputnik Swweetheart seems like a notes written for Wind-up Bird chronicle which have been collated and published in much lesser pages. Although this book is fantastic in itself but after reading WUBC, I wanted to be more challenged by the author, and get that extra edge of realism/ surrealism. In short, for those who haven't read Murakami, please read this first and then read WUBC.
" ... reality was one step out of line, a cardigan with the buttons done up wrong."
Now, on to this Sputnik Sweetheart. Like the Sputnik Satellite which crossed over from Earth's orbit to the outer space, similarly here the characters (Miu and Sumire) crosses the line of "other side". To Miu it changed her emotionally and physically, while Sumire never came back. To me it felt like Sumire has gone to search the earlier version of Miu who had the capability of loving someone.
"When the orbits of these two satellites of ours happened to cross paths, we could be together. Maybe even open our hearts to each other. But that was only for the briefest moment. In the next instant we'd be in absolute solitude. Until we burned up and became nothing."
Above lines again highlights the fleeting nature of relationship during various period of our lives. More so this book delves on the issue of unrequited love.
I had written a poem on same topic so here it is:
"Unrequited
Why is my love unrequited
when I am so mysticated
I think of her Day and Night
and through the Twilight
she says, "u not in consideration
cos u in someone else's imagination"
Believe she is concealing feelings
to prevent the trickling complications
will this be the end of tale
or events will turn the table
only time will know
so lets kowtow!"
One more theme of Murakami's books is on loenliness. The para phrasing by Murakami is seeped in reality, for eg: "The world in books seemed so much more alive to me than anything outside. I could see things I have never seen before". Also "Being all alone is like the feeling you get when you stand at the mouth of a large river on a rainy evening and watch the water flow into the sea". Second one goes into my bucketlist.
At the end, although Sumire is not found but I am unable to understand the symbolism of K looking for bloodstains on palms of his hands and mentioning that blood would have seeped inside. Would love to hear other readers views on these closing lines of this novel.
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