This is my attempt to translate the wonderful opening paragraph of Sputnik Sweetheart, a novel by Murakami Haruki:
In spring, at the age of 22, Sumire fell in love for the first time. It was an intense love, like a tornado sweeping across a vast plain, ripping up everything in its path, throwing all into the sky and tearing it to pieces, leaving behind only a crushed, desolate landscape. And then, its power not abating, it blasted across the ocean, ruthlessly smashed Angkor Wat, immolated the forests of India, including the poor tigers, and then became a sandstorm in the deserts of Persia, entirely burying an exotic fortress-city under the sand. It was a magnificent, unforgettable love. Her darling was 17 years older, married, and, it might be added, was a woman. This is how everything began and how (nearly) everything ended.