Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Heaven by Mieko Kawakami

230 reviews

plumblossom_'s review

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Bullying, Physical abuse, Cursing, Eating disorder, and Body shaming

fairytomie's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Bullying, Ableism, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Self harm

Minor: Death of parent, Vomit, and Death

miafromorchardstreet's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical content, Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Minor: Eating disorder

saoreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

This is an odd book; as I see it, it brings out perspectives worth reflecting on, but I find it infuriating that no justice was done. Being seen as different should not be a reason to be treated awfully, simply because they wanted to? It was hypocritical at most and selfish at best. They stuck to their own definitions, but it's frustrating to read something that seems to offer insight but provides nothing at the same time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Body horror, Confinement, Body shaming, Bullying, Torture, Vomit, Abandonment, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Medical content

evajoanna's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Bullying, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault

augie_'s review

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Blood, Bullying, and Sexual content

carinaisabelle's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Blood, and Violence

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Sexual violence

Minor: Eating disorder

rockmelon's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Blood, Physical abuse, and Bullying

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content

Minor: Eating disorder

yu_1hng's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying

Moderate: Blood, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide

roosmarleen's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Blood, Vomit, Body shaming, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Excrement, Emotional abuse, and Confinement