Sputnik Sweetheart -a novel

This is another book I'm reading by Huraki Murakami. I'm thoroughly enjoying his books -- and reading them on my new Kindle!! (Thanks to my sweet kids!) I enjoy trying to identify with a book's character, see if I can relate to them at all; if my experiences mirror any of theirs, and if so, how does what happens to them relate to me? And this time, I've identified with two of the characters, but not completely.

First is Sumire. She's one of the key characters in the story; a girl who's often alone, and writes all the time. Not novels or books, but more vignettes and snippets of things that could be put into some book or another later down the road. She also writes to help her think things through. Her best friend is someone she tells everything to -- when she can't sleep at odd hours of the night, she calls him up. The narrator of the story is referred to as K. He and Sumire have been friends for a very long time. He loves her deeply, and wants to be with her. But he accepts that they will only be friends, yet still remains sad over the fact that they'll never be together in intimate love.

Let me share a few quotes: "The world's crawling with stupid, innocent girls, and I'm just one of them, self-consciously chasing after dreams that will never come true." At one point, she tells K.: "Someday you'll get married to some nice girl and forget all about me." But the most poignant one for me has got to be: "That's gotta be one of the principles behind reality. Accepting things that are hard to comprehend, and leaving them that way."

In the beginning of the story, I was able to relate to Sumire and her need for writing; how it helps her think, how she gets these pieces of prose that come to her, and she needs to write them down. She also has her friend K., someone she can tell anything to, someone who gives her feedback, someone who keeps her grounded. And I could relate to K as well; he loves Sumire, but accepts things the way they are because it's her choice. He never stops loving her, always quietly encouraging her to grow, to spread her wings and fly if that's what she needs to do.

I have a very dear bestest friend of that kind myself. It's very rare that we go a day without speaking or relaying some kind of message. When something good happens, he's the first one I want to tell. When something bad happens, he's the first one I want to tell, as well. I sometimes wonder if I'm the first person he thinks of when it comes to telling something. I'd like to think so, but with guys its harder to tell :P Relating to these characters was at times painful because I know what its like to love someone who prefers to keep a distance. But because it's love, you accept it for what it is, take whatever they're willing to share, wanting only the best in their life, and whatever makes them happy.

Next book on the reading list: Norwegian Wood, by Haruka Murakami