Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami

We'll be meeting up in the Arcola bar for drinks before and possibly after too.

Partly a story of love and loneliness, partly a detective story, Haruki Murakami’s novel is brought to stage by Bryony Lavery (Frozen, The Book of Dust) and Melly Still (My Brilliant Friend, Coram Boy).

Following their partnership on The Lovely Bones, Lavery and Still join forces once again on the story of Sumire, a young Japanese writer who can’t find the words to write, who styles herself on Jack Kerouac and who falls head-over-heels in love with Miu, 17 years her senior. But when Sumire goes missing off the shores of Greece, her best friend, K’s search for her unearths more questions than answers. Sputnik Sweetheart journeys through Tokyo, Italy, Switzerland, Greece, and an intangible space of shifting realities. Murakami’s story is about doing whatever it takes to overcome loneliness and rest in certainty.

Content warnings: discussions of sexual assault, depictions of a sexual nature, illustrations of animal abuse.

Supported by the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation.