Genre
Lesbian romance, bisexual romance, and fiction
Setting and Context
Japan and Greece
Narrator and Point of View
Miu and K narrate in first-person voice. However, in some sections, third-person voice is utilized.
Tone and Mood
Passionate, emotional, enthralling.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Sumire is the protagonist. Miu is the antagonist.
Major Conflict
There are two conflicts: Sumire’s unreciprocated love for Miu and k’s unreciprocated love for Sumire.
Climax
Sumire’s attempts to be intimate with Miu, who is not interested in homosexual romance.
Foreshadowing
N/A
Understatement
Miu’s inability to remember the color of the pyjamas that Sumire was dressed in when she disappeared is an understatement that depicts her bad memory.
Allusions
Historical allusions (such as Sputnik I), literary allusions (such as 'On the Road'), and religious allusions (such as the mention of Buddha).
Imagery
Sumire’s long dream about her departed mother confirms that she is hungering for maternal support and love.
Paradox
K summarizes the paradox of their romantic desires: “This woman (Miu) loved Sumire, but couldn’t feel any sexual desire for her. Sumire loved this woman and desired her. I loved Sumire and felt sexual desire for her. Sumire like me, but didn’t love me, and didn’t feel any desire for me.” The paradox indicates that platonic love or the act of liking a person does not automatically translate to romantic feelings.
Sumire’s paradoxical entry “Do You Ever See Anyone Shot by a Gun without Bleeding?” summarizes the emotional predicament she is in.
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
Sputnik I is a personification of Miu.
