Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - Heaven

Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

Heaven by Mieko Kawakami

465 reviews

zuzannaxwera's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

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diaadiary's review against another edition

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dark emotional lighthearted reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

There is a special kind of power and skill that comes from writing a wonderful, meaningful story in under 150-200 pages. Kawakami has written a masterpiece and I will stand by that opinion forever. While reading this book I felt a kaleidoscope of feelings; this is the kind of book that will take you on a fucking ride.

The writing made my brain twisty and turny. The story begins with a creation of a wholesome and lighthearted friendship, including breezy and simple dialogues of youth that embody innocence. Kawakami makes the beginning so desirable and nostalgic, that you can’t help wanting to stay there forever. At times I did feel bored, but I cannot help appreciating those mundane parts of daily life.

However, amidst the youthful joy, there is an underlying threatening mood. The reader quickly realizes that there is an impending doom on the horizon. Kawakami perfectly displays the complexity of the human condition, all inclusive of its horrors, delights, wants, or needs. She executes this through conversations and monologues. Her characters not only discuss innocent themes of life, but fervently talk about the existential, philosophical, and confusing parts. It was interesting to experience each character’s values on love, loss, guilt etc. These middle schoolers challenged what it means to be hurt/to hurt, how/why people inadvertently hurt their loved ones, and the meaning of death.

Kawakami’s prose is effortless yet profound. The split between carefree living and existential dread was craaaaaazy ok. This book was bittersweet, disturbing, and reflective. Not to be dramatic, but I will proceed to curl up under the covers in the fetal position and stare at the wall.

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nlh_tnr's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense slow-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

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fairytomie'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? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This book truly ripped my heart out. This is my introduction to Kawakami’s work and i’m in love with how poetic her writing is.

Justice for these characters and the fact we don’t know what happened to Kojima is so heart-wrenching.

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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.

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lou_christie's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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nikitaaaart's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

*Trigger warning: These conversations and discourse need to happen. Not all triggers are bad for you. Some triggers are a way of introspecting one's own actions and thoughts to rectify them. Yes, they're discomforting but true change begins there. Yet I'm mentioning the following triggers for those who actually need it: mention of abuse, violence, bullying.*

Words ceased to exist in my head after I turned over the last page. How I'm even writing this is beyond me. But I'm making an attempt to make sense of the swirl of emotions this book left.

Heaven is not just a book, not just a mere story of bullying. Kawakami portrays the raw, the real side of bullying and abuse the survivor experiences. It is not easy to read the violence, the indifference shown towards the protagonist, "Eyes" and Kojima, two 14 year old adolescent classmates in Japan who bond over the shared experience of their lives being brought down to only one thing — their pain.

While "Eyes", whose name we do not know experiences his life in a depressive state of feeling nothingness, of being nothingness, wishing he never existed for all this to begin with. Finding out meaning from all this pain, the survival, the acceptance that this is her reality is what Kojima believes in. That is her innocence.

As you progress page by page the intensity, the heartbreak, the anger, the sadness, the empathy keep on increasing. It was honestly extremely disheartening to read the justification given by one of the characters for bullying. But that's reality. That is how they reason with themselves for a good night's sleep.

When we talk about the shared bond between the teens, with that also comes the trauma bonding between the two. Mieko has intricately described each and every crux of abuse, even the absence of parents or teachers from the whole scenario stands true to reality.

While people will never not say that they should have stood up for themselves, or to be brave, or have some courage; the truth is people should never have bullied. It is not only about the victim. Even the classmates are all bystanders and supporters because they know they could be next. What about their courage? Their bravery?

I'm shattered with the story yet in awe of how well Mieko Kawakami, Sam Bett & David Boyd (translators) have articulated every emotion, every pain, and the distinct individual experience of being victimized.

This goes beyond saying, you should read this to know the intricacies of abuse that exist in schools.

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carinaisabelle's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

5.0

This was a painful read. The violence against our main character, a 14 year ols boy who we never learn the name of - he could be anyone. The bullies are too good at hiding their violence. The violence made me sick to my stomach. I was angry and I cried. Knowing that this is the reality of many people.

When we first meet the 14 year old boy, he is beeing beaten up and bullie for his lazy eye. And Kawakami, through her narrator let's us know that this is a normal occurrence for him.

In the novel we also meet Kojima, a girl in the same class as our main character who is also bein bullied. She reaches out to the MC, and at first it feels like our MC finally get a friend. One that truly understands him and supporst him. But alas, it was not meant to be.

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rockmelon's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

listen, if there's a hell, we're in it. and if there's a heaven, we're already there. this is it.

unhappamine & nihilismapamine
with a touch of happamine & reflectpamine

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yu_1hng's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.0

There's some pretty messed up shit in this book and there's no good guy wins and the bad guys get what they deserve. Its cuz its not that kind of a story.

The two protagonists try to cope their bullying with honestly dysfunctional mindset. I don't agree with Kojima's optimisim in maybe the bullying means sth so they must endure it. However I do like how two opposite takes on life and it's meaning is presented.

Additionally I think it highlights the severe bullying culture in school and how absent parents, shame culture and also the law allows t e increse in frequency and severity of such occurrences .

I'd say when delving into this book being aware of our pre conceived ideas on how such stories should be handled and how a character should be reacting.

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