Reviews with content warning for Eating disorder - Heaven

Reviews tagging 'Eating disorder'

caroisreading's review

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.5

This is a triggering story. It's unrelenting in its descriptions of bullying. As with all her novels, Mieko Kawakami writes so beautifully about tragedy and loneliness, and our humanity that's so capable of both destruction and healing. This is her most depressing pair of characters yet, two brave outcasts, not yet high schoolers.

Our narrator is a young boy who has a lazy eye, the victim of intense bullying and physical violence from the popular students. His fellow student Kojima reaches out to him one day through a letter, and she is revealed to be a similar victim of bullying, and is described to be unkempt and unwashed. Their friendship grows through sweet and simple letters, and soon conversations outside of school. In contrast, we experience their helplessness, as they are shells of themselves at school, bracing for the beatings each day.

There is a conversation with one of the bullies, who proves to be a complete nihilist. He symbolizes the cold, emotionless, male antagonist who's all too familiar in our lives. It's every man for himself. Empathy is weakness. Kill or be killed.

I can't praise enough Mieko's artistry, and her way of pulling us through emotions, and the confusion her characters feel. She is THE master of female characters, as always. I especially loved Kojima and her strength, her frailty, her intelligence, her heart. I wanted to save her, though she was saving herself.

You'll appreciate this book if you like dark, intricate writing and characters, coming-of-age stories, and have been in an isolated period of your life.

Content Warnings

mimi_jaja's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

This gave me flashbacks to reading DNA in school

Content Warnings

nathiddles_106's review against another edition

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dark sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.25

I hate to think that, realistically, the bullies will probably wouldn't received retribution for their acts.

Content Warnings

plumblossom_'s review

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.25

Content Warnings

fairytomie's review

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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.

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

augie_'s review

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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

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.

Content Warnings