MOHSIN HAMID RECOMMENDS SPUTNIK SWEETHEART BY HARUKI MURAKAMI

Mohsin Hamid published his first novel, Moth Smoke, in 2000. Most recently his novel Exit West was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. He also authored an acclaimed essay collection Dis­con­tent and its Civilis­ations which, like the book he recom­mends here, muses on every­thing from identity to love to politics to art.

In Haruki Murakami’s masterful tale, Sumire is in love with a woman 17 years her senior. But whereas Miu is glamorous and successful, Sumire is an aspiring writer who dresses in an oversized second-hand coat and heavy boots, like a character from a Jack Kerouac novel. Sumire spends hours on the phone talking to her best friend, K, about the big questions in life: what is sexual desire, and should she ever tell Miu how she feels? Meanwhile K wonders whether he should confess his own unrequited love for Sumire. Then, a desperate Miu calls from a small Greek island: Sumire has mysteriously vanished...©Alexi 2017 www.alexibooks.com

Published in Dawn, Books & Authors, December 31st, 2017