Reviews

Heaven by Mieko Kawakami

filzan's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

2.5

cbxtherine's review

3.0

momose is vile but i get what he means :/

cosmo_junk's review against another edition

3.0

unclear, imperfect. it was a book.

belvetica's review

challenging dark hopeful sad medium-paced

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

4.5

outthereadingslump's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-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? Yes

4.0

sadkitty's review

5.0

There's just something about Japanese novels centered around themes of human nature and suffering and mental health that just... hit close to home.
This one is easier to digest as I kept comparing it to No.Longer Human (for no good reason) but the mindf**k is still the same.
The bullying well, the bullying is graphic and it made me wonder about a lot of things. On survival. And on life in general.
I wasn't disappointed. I don't know why people read sad books but the reason I reas them is because of the cathartic value they provide. And Heaven, I swear, will literally break you down.

sunshinedragon14's review

challenging dark emotional fast-paced

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

saartje's review

challenging dark emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

valpixels's review

4.0

i'm amazed but scared.

seraphiina's review

4.0

"Heaven" was truly an unexpected read. Following the life of an unnamed 14-year-old boy and his friendship with his classmate Kojima, who bonds through their shared experience of being bullied relentlessly, I had initially thought this novel might be predictable. That every story about bullying ends in the same way, becoming the same kind of sob story that only conveys the obvious message of how harmful bullying is. Yet "Heaven" felt much more authentic - the characters felt like real middle school students, going through some absolutely horrible events and finding their own philosophical meaning through it. While this story broke my heart, it did so in ways I did not expect, and also brought some surprisingly heartwarming moments. Will definitely recommend this short, yet touching novel.