Sputnik Sweetheart: Chapters 9-END

Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami is a quick read. I read it over two days, with school and activities going on. I have to say, I was completely wrong in my expectations.

I thought Sputnik Sweetheart was going to be somewhat vanilla of a novel, but instead, I was plunged into the division of being, being eaten alive (or dead??) by metaphorical cats(?) and parallel worlds. Not to mention the ending, which was possibly the most resolved one of Murakami's that I"ve encountered so far. It's a very complicated end if you wish to ponder deeper meanings, but I, a tired high school student, decided to believe it as it was written. The simplest interpretation (in my opinion) is just to believe that Sumire returned from the alternate reality after realizing how much she depended on K. The issue with that is how could she bear to leave Miu? I'll think about it at a later point...

I found Sputnik Sweetheart a largely forgettable novel, but I also suspect that that is more an effect of my lacking a deeper focus and reading it during winter. I'll plan on rereading it this summer, when I can properly appreciate the summer atmosphere throughout the book.