Reviews with content warning for Death - Heaven

Wow this book made me so uncomfortable. Heed the content warnings! There were some interesting philosophical questions brought up, and I like how Kawakami writes characters who are children.

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prisc3lla's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

4.0

I don't really know what to think. I wish I knew more. I wish the author went more into detail about characters.

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ardour's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

i thought this was gonna be a 5 star read for most of the book, but then it got sad and i realised i’ve never been one to enjoy a sad book/film etc. Literally no fault of the book i still thought it was fantastic, I love books that are dark but not so much *sad*. I thought the writing was brilliant, especially how it was so flawlessly written in a teenager’s voice.

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mxcopmy's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring 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

3.5

A 3.5 stars.

It is clear to me that Mieko can still make difficult themes that are often unmentionable amenable in a story. Heaven is a book that leaves you with serious moral questions when it comes to how we as human beings treat another sometimes.

Heaven follows the story of a boy who is violently bullied at school. Thus, there are some violent chapters where there is serious physical lashing out at the protagonist that make you struggle to swallow. He gets in touch with Kojima after she left some mysterious notes for him to let him know she wanted to be friends with him. Together, they share the pain and sorrow of bullying, as Kojima is also a victim of this.

Their friendship outlines the ability to draw strength from another's perspective. Thus, Kojima has her own philosophy to bullying that makes the main character (whose name is not known) change his perspective. The protagonist has a lazy eye which he thinks is why he is being bullied to which Kojima says: "I don't think they're scared of the way your eyes look or anything. They're scared to admit there's anything they don't understand." This is another sublime way of reflecting how poetic and thoughtful Mieko can write. She really wants to give you a lived experience of her characters' mindsets and feelings.

This is only the second book I've read by Kawakami, but what always leaves me reeling so much after reading her books is the metaphorical way she controls her stories. She mixes these so well into a beautiful message that everyone can get something out of. This is also the big reason why I can enjoy her books. Very simple, but so meaningful. And that's all this needs to be for me!
I do have to say that I felt a bit less of a connection with this story than with 'all the lovers in the night'. This is not due to the writing style, but rather pieces that I found incomprehensible. I think this is also a feeling that is personal rather than a statement. I can really understand why people prefer this book over Kawakami's other books.

Again, this is highly recommended for people who want to take in a short but heavy read. Just remember that this book contains some heavy scenes about bullying. Then again, I want to close with a very sad anecdote from our protagonist's...:

"I wasn't crying because i was sad. I guess I was crying because we had nowhere else to go, no choice but to go on living in this world. Crying because we had no other world to choose."

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