Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

Heaven by Mieko Kawakami

49 reviews

sunnymushroom's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Body shaming, and Blood

Minor: Death of parent, Vomit, Eating disorder, Sexual content, and Suicide

nitroglycerin's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

I’m not sure how I felt about this book. It was compelling in that I wanted to know how the characters would resolve their issues within the book, but it was sad to be with them through the story. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Vomit, Sexual content, Bullying, Violence, and Physical abuse

Minor: Suicide, Mental illness, Eating disorder, and Suicidal thoughts

conspystery'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I’m conflicted about this book. It’s deceptive in how shallow it appears, especially towards the beginning; the writing style is subdued and polite almost to the point of clinicality, and the main character’s plight seems painfully simple. But it’s so much more than that. Kojima’s character arc is particularly fascinating, and so are her impacts on the narrator-- she’s presented sympathetically and ironically at once in her ideas about how best to deal with bullying. Momose is her narrative foil, the embodiment of the opposite extreme of these ideas. Heaven dives deep into the philosophy of bullying, and neither of the two main ways it’s presented are particularly appealing; Kojima is too willing to accept needless suffering, and Momose is too willing to fall into nihilism and hopelessness to care about anything, let alone other people. 

I think this book’s point is to balance these ideas about pain, to emphasize the importance of understanding that some suffering is out of our control while also asserting morality wherever it can be applied and standing up against needless pain when possible. It notes its own false dichotomy with how the main character responds to the ideas he’s shown. The way it makes this point is a bit meandering at times, with lots of scenes which feel like they compound the issues in the novel far past its main theme, and often deeply disturbing to read in its detail. Yet there are genuinely beautiful moments in this book as well, and the simple but precise writing highlights them in contrast with their darker, more uncomfortable counterparts. Overall, I liked what this book had to say about the importance of balance, and I also enjoyed the uncompromisingly sublime scenes (like at the very end of the novel.) The discomfort of the rest of the book was necessary to an extent, but some of it-- especially the scenes which were not explicitly, directly connected to the furthering of the philosophical content of the novel-- was a bit much for me. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Violence, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Blood, Eating disorder, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Excrement, Vomit, and Medical trauma

airr'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Bullying, Violence, Emotional abuse, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Blood

Minor: Vomit

gsher002's review against another edition

sad medium-paced

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

2.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Vomit, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Blood, Classism, Confinement, Eating disorder, Medical content, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Bullying, Child death, and Suicidal thoughts

tindin's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Classism, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Body shaming, Physical abuse, Violence, Vomit, Hate crime, Toxic friendship, Rape, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Death of parent and Domestic abuse

feebles640's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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? No

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Medical content, Sexual assault, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Eating disorder

Minor: Vomit

peatbogmaid's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This book was the first Kawakami I've read and it was spectacular, the way she's able to grip you in and twist your guts is beautiful.
Especially with the parts of the book where the bullying takes place, she describes everything with such clarity but the same clarity and detail is given to moments of peace and stillness too.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism and Bullying

Moderate: Violence and Vomit

charliw's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Violence, Blood, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Eating disorder, Sexual content, Mental illness, and Confinement

Minor: Death of parent, Vomit, and Self harm

beanwa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Violence

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit