Reviews with content warning for Medical content - Heaven

Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Heaven by Mieko Kawakami

59 reviews

sweetsxrrxw's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

this was both my first kieko kawakmi book and the first book i've read after a very long slump. to avoid falling back into a slump, i kinda overstimulated myself and i decided to read the english edition (while listening to the audiobook) and also the spanish one. and yeah i feel like this hyperstimulation made me understand the book better

although i noticed a couple differences between the editions which me feel like ??? the most jarring one was by the end of the book: while in the spanish edition the narrator has seen his biological mother and, therefore, knows she had a lazy eye too, in the english edition he doesn't. and i thought that's such a small but important detail because it can build or destroy a solid reason to explain his choices.

anyway, have i enjoyed reading this? pretty much! would i reccomend the book? hmmm, it depends; not to everyone, that's for sure. and, of course, check the trigger warnings, because most of them are pretty graphic.

i believe on the main points of the story was to show us a somewhat flat character surrounded by differing opinions on what to do or how to cope with his situation and which one was better to settle for. personally, i like reading stories about characters facing hardships and their choping mechanisms to deal with them and i don't dislike stories that talk about bullying. and i really enjoyed the premise of two hurt people bonding over fear. their friendship was beautiful and, even though it didn't suffer huge changes, it was nice to see how it evolved with time and how they found a safe space in each other's company.

it's a shame that by the end of the book they never got to meet again

but definitely my favorite part was the second half of the book.

i just felt so many emotions while reading it. the volleyball bullying scene was totally the most devastating one in the book and i felt a knot in my stomach while reading it (i even had to take a little pause before i kept reading). however that same gut-wrenching scene led to many outstanding scenes such as the portrayal of the kids' philosophies. while i did not specially agree with their ways, i understood kojima and momose's opposed ideals. i mean, they both made good points at some part of their monologues.
oh and i think one of my favorite relationships in the book was the one the narrator had with his stepmom. at first she seemed like a distant person but by the end of the book both mother and son could find some kind of comfort in each other. and trust me, i was so so happy when he finally told her about the bullying and she made him change schools and later also supported him in the surgery process.

as for the last scene, it was a perfect bittersweet ending to the story.

once again i felt so happy that the main character was healed and saw the beauty of some parts of the city he used to hate so much. but at the same time it was heartbreaking to realize he didn't have anyone to share that beauty with :(

i feel like this could have been a 4 star read if it wasn't for a couple reasons:

the two scenes where we get a fairly detailed description of the narrator, a 14 year old, masturbating.
like yeah i understand how he does it only to calm down when he is feeling super tense and distressed
but they could have totally been black out scenes.
i know i said the philosophy of some characters was interesting (and so is the polarity between them) but.. they're 14. i think at that age one might be able to think of some of those points, but it would have felt more truthful if they were, at least, two years older.

but yeah, overall, i think it's a worthy read!

Content Warnings

moongelli's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

"middle schoolers at their worst"

near-dnf but completed since it was a short read, i saw it to the end.

Content Warnings

ilsabelle's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

miafromorchardstreet's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This shattered my heart into a million pieces and put it back together again with a new kind of beauty. Mieko you’re a different sort of genius.

Content Warnings

saoreads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This is an odd book; as I see it, it brings out perspectives worth reflecting on, but I find it infuriating that no justice was done. Being seen as different should not be a reason to be treated awfully, simply because they wanted to? It was hypocritical at most and selfish at best. They stuck to their own definitions, but it's frustrating to read something that seems to offer insight but provides nothing at the same time.

Content Warnings

augie_'s review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Content Warnings

perfectcupoftea's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

Not really my kind of book. It wasn’t bad at all, for what it is it’s wonderful but it was outside of my preferred genres. I like a more action packed story, but if you’re into books that are more emotional, introspective and thought provoking, almost philosophical, then this is for you! The relationship between the main character and Kojima was quite touching. Overall, not my cup of tea but definitely someone else’s fave. Check trigger warnings! There’s nothing especially graphic, but the story deals heavily with bullying.

Content Warnings

ttortugamarina's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

cecilialau_'s review against another edition

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3.5

Hmm. - I know that’s not a good sign to start that way, but I feel sort of conflicted (not that reviewing sth is that big a deal, I just want to do it justice if that makes sense). I had been looking forward to reading this while knowing that it had been described as a tough read. To say the least, imo. There’s a sort of nonchalant, reasoning/rationale to the writing. A detachment if you will. And it’s written in first person which says a lot about how this boy is attempting to distance himself from what is happening to him but also how his emotional state has been neglected and damaged by everything that has happened to him. There is no real “connection” to other ppl until he meets Kojima (which is what made me want to continue reading).
It’s important to be prepared as a reader for the disturbing bullying (violence) that is happening - especially bc of the way that is is endless and speaks volumes on neglect in general.

when he speaks to Momose and his pov is that “nothing matters” and that he doesn’t care when it is “unrelated” to him is so heartbreakingly true in the sense that some ppl are just not able to emotionally and empathetically understand that words and actions have consequences. That we can never see eye to eye with everyone even when it comes to things that are incredibly reasonable to some of us that you don’t treat others as they do in this book.

Content Warnings

jamievincent's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

The strength of this novel lies in its character’s interpersonal relationships or lack thereof. Humanity seeps through every page, even when the novel makes you question if that’s a good or bad thing.

This is an amazing quick read that manages the careful balance of asking questions about life, death, and morality while being told through the perspective of a child believably. I would highly recommend checking the trigger warnings before picking it up as it does get incredibly heavy at some points. I will definitely be reading more by Mieko Kawakami.

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