Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Heaven by Mieko Kawakami

27 reviews

yuyuv's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Classism, Eating disorder, Ableism, Grief, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Medical content, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Blood, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Violence, and Sexual assault

sofiadanielle's review against another edition

challenging dark sad 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

3.5

A challenging read to get through despite the novel’s short length. The content was heavy, and if you don’t like depictions of violence/harm (in the sense of physical bullying), you won’t like this book. 

I don’t think I quite grasped the deeper meaning to what Kawakami wrote, though my heart ached for the two main characters; more so, I felt myself angered by the kids around them and how they were treated. 

Between Kojima and Momose’s worldviews, I found myself.. A little torn? I don’t really entirely believe either one of them, nor do I know how I feel about their sentiments on a deeper level.
 
I wish I could say I enjoyed the book more, but aside from feeling challenged/sad/angered by the content, I feel that the book missed its mark with me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Sexual assault, Bullying, Classism, and Violence

jleen3's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Classism

lucy_1's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Violence, and Classism

cviii's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Violence, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Sexual harassment, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief

Moderate: Excrement, Classism, Rape, Self harm, Suicide, Death of parent, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Eating disorder, and Medical content

laughingrecord's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Suicide, Blood, Bullying, Ableism, Medical content, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Grief

gsher002's review against another edition

sad medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Vomit, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Blood, Classism, Confinement, Eating disorder, Medical content, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Bullying, Child death, and Suicidal thoughts

lilacwhisker's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Very sad and very reflective. I am definitely going to read her other books now!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Ableism, Bullying, and Classism

Moderate: Sexual content

gia0203's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

truly devastating. I loved it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Bullying, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, and Classism

Minor: Self harm and Eating disorder

snowwhitehatesapples's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

 Review can also be found at Snow White Hates Apples.

A painful and understanding exploration of teenage violence and its effects on the victims, Heaven follows a teenager who’s severely bullied for his lazy eye and his friendship with another victim of bullying, Kojima who chose to be “dirty” to remain connected to her father. Both of them quietly suffer through their bullies’ attentions, but Kojima has a different view of their silent suffering. She believes that instead of fear, it’s a show of true strength and that they’re instruments to teach their bullies a lesson. All of this—the bullying, the passive acceptance, the turned eyes are part and resultant of greater issues nurtured and sustained by society.

So, with its simple and direct prose, there’s no hiding the disturbing reality of how far a bully will go with their victim and how bullies don’t really need a reason to hurt another. We also see the ups and downs of a friendship born from mutual terror and pain, and the conflicting ideologies of the narrator, Kojima and Momose, one of the narrator’s bullies.

However, though I appreciate the covered angles, there wasn’t enough depth. Sure, I felt for the characters. I wanted them happy and unhurt, and the bullies punished, but I also wanted more because truthfully, everything, especially the social commentary, felt surface-level. I had hoped for there to be consequences or a more well-connected ending as it feels like there are scenes missing. In fact, the pacing of some events was a little off throughout the story, but the off-ness of those wasn’t as jarring as the sudden jump from the end of Chapter Eight to the events in Chapter Nine. For me, it was this jump that cemented how Heaven reads more like it was only showing us a specific period of the narrator’s life and no more.

Nevertheless, I do like the author’s ability to include conflicting perspectives on matters without actually siding with either. It might not be as satisfying of a read due to this, but I enjoyed the freedom to read the story from a more-grey-leaning standpoint. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Classism and Blood

Minor: Eating disorder