Warren Fretwell answers “Can someone explain the ending to me? I...”

Rach asked this question about Sputnik Sweetheart:

Can someone explain the ending to me? I mean, Is she //dead// or is it just a dream or something?

Warren Fretwell Spoiler Alert: I didn't get the impression that K joined her in the alternative universe, but that Sumire did actually return. She calls him from the …moreSpoiler Alert: I didn't get the impression that K joined her in the alternative universe, but that Sumire did actually return. She calls him from the pay phone that she previously used but says, cryptically, that she doesn't know exactly where she is. However, K acknowledges that they are both looking at the same moon, which certainly indicates they are in the same reality. Sumire, like her old self, didn't have sufficient change to call back and is delayed in doing so. I took that as another clue that she has returned to her old habits. K realizes he does not even have blood on his hands but that it must have seeped inside his skin. This seems to be a reference to having to kill the dog and getting blood on one's hands like the ancients who used that ritual to bring back the souls of the dead. K wants Sumire back and breaking off the relationship with the married mother of one of his students is how he "killed the dog" without spilling any blood (Other reviewers missed this completely!). Murakami doesn't spell it all out for us, leaving us to imagine what comes next. But, I got the distinct impression that the book ended on a positive note with both Sumire and K finding their way together.(less)

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Kumari de Silva I agree with you about the metaphor about the bones and blood in the Chinese gate...but because of that I think Sumire is dead. K imagined the phone c ...more
Nov 20, 2021 11:13AM · flag

Warren Fretwell This is why Murakami is so interesting: we can both come to different solutions to his enigmatic writing. I really enjoyed this book. But, “Killing Co ...more
Nov 20, 2021 06:39PM · flag

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Sputnik Sweetheart

by Haruki Murakami

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