Reviews with content warning for Bullying - Heaven

Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Heaven by Mieko Kawakami

714 reviews

noella19's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Unnerving, necessary and very beautiful.

Mieko really is something special

Content Warnings

serinas's review against another edition

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slow-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

I saw great praise and reviews about Mieko Kawakami's other books, and wanted to read a book of her because of that. I settled on Heaven because of the plot, and it seemed like a short read I could read in one sitting.

Heaven definitely tackles heavy themes that are important to write about, and it was part of the reason why I chose Heaven. I'd recommend to check the TW if you are sensitive to some topics regarding bullying, violence and suicide.

The review
I rated it 3 stars. This was honestly a hard book to rate, as I didn't enjoy it. I don't know if the meaning got lost in the translation, or if I just missed the memo.

I couldn't connect with the characters at all, and I didn't really connect with the way the story was told. I didn't find Heaven that meaningful and deep? Many of the observations and things the MC did was surface level, even when he confronted the bullies. There are definitely allegories, metaphors, and a poetic touch to the writing style, but I still found it very basic. That might just be me, as I had high expectations - and that might be why this was a miss for me.

I always expected the tide to turn, but it never did. Nothing changed throughout the book, not until the end. I'm just left disappointed, which is a shame, as I was super excited about reading Heaven.
The tension that was in the beginning supsided pretty quickly, but I still held on to hope that it might get good again. It didn't, in my opinion. At some point it got weird, the

conversation with Momose is a great example. The MC is 14, and the whole conversation seems very unrealistic - the content of the conversation, the way they speak, and the philosophy they share.

The trauma bond was something I thought would be explored in more depth as well, as there was much potential there. This bond had an abrupt ending, and it made sense story-wise, but much of the plot and character development was lost when

the MC had the conversation about the eye surgery with Kojima

(in my opinion).

The ending was fitting, as I interpreted it as

a new beginning for the MC where he finally can see the beauty in the world

. Still, I wasn't really a huge fan of Heaven unfortunatly.

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slimfolly's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.5

A surprisingly engaging story. I wouldn't say that I'd be interested in a story about a teenager, but I was tempted because of the author. A very sad and helpless story that forces you to feel uncomfortable. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to read it.

Content Warnings