K

The first-person narrator of Sputnik Sweetheart goes unnamed except for a single instance in which Sumire refers to him by the initial "K" in Chapter 11. He is 25 years old, a recent college graduate who has begun a career teaching elementary school. K met Sumire in college before she dropped out, and they developed an immediate connection because they both enjoyed reading novels. K tells Carrot that this was his first real friendship. He grew up feeling lonely and alienated, even within his own family. He explains, "they didn't have any idea what kind of person I was or what I aspired to" (57). K also tells Carrot that he only felt close to the family dog during his childhood.

In addition to spending most of his life friendless and lonely, K feels a general confusion about himself as a person — he has no strong ambitions or interests. But his...