Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Heaven by Mieko Kawakami

65 reviews

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

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Content Warnings

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

_inge's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

3.0

I knew this would be a tough read. I usually avoid books which feature bullying as it is, and I was warned of particularly vivid descriptions of bullying in this novel. I didn’t think it would be this vivid and this disturbing, however. I skimmed some passages because they were too much to handle. There’s a lot of trigger warnings for anything relating to bullying in this. 

I didn’t feel a connection to any of the main characters, as them being bullied was the center of this novel. Aside from Kojima’s interest in art and both of them enjoying reading fiction, we don’t actually see them do anything beyond being bullied or discussing what bullying has done to them. I don’t even think the protagonist is named, as everyone simply calls him ‘Eyes’ when he’s bullied. Bullying therefore takes over their entire personalities. 

This does mean there’s space for some really interesting conversations about what it means to be bullied or to bully. Some ideas on this really helped me shape my own feelings about having been bullied in the past.

I love that we got a conversation between one of the bullies and the protagonist as well. I’m not sure if I agree with the ‘happy’ ending; I wonder if the protagonist genuinely felt disturbed by his eye too and wanted it fixed because of that, or if his sole reasoning for wanting it fixed was being bullied for it.

I wish we’d learn more about Kojima too. Since the protagonist doesn’t see her again I hope she didn’t harm herself in any way. The ‘happy’ ending for him therefore didn’t feel as happy as a whole, as Kojima might be struggling.

 

All in all this was a difficult read. It’s definitely not for everyone, and I’m unsure what to think of this myself. It’ll be interesting to see if I think back on this in the future.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Eating disorder, Mental illness, Sexual content, Medical content, Gaslighting, and Dysphoria

xnedra2084's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, and Medical content

rosemaryburr's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense 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? Yes

4.0

i think this book just wasn’t for me, i can feel i’m going to be depressed for the next few days

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Death and Suicide

laurataylor'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? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Car accident, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

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

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Minor: Vomit

radiodarkblue's review against another edition

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Medical content

savvylit's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-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

4.5

This incredibly immersive and well-written novel is painful to read. The narrator's classmates inflict truly awful cruelties upon both him and Kojima. Kojima's friendship signifies hope for our narrator and is thus the only pleasant aspect of the entire book. By writing Heaven, Kawakami seems to remind readers that often life doesn't come with happy endings or justice. Life can be dark and unforgiving... and that's it.

This book is very well-written, hence my rating. However, I'm not sure I would ever recommend this title to anyone. Nor would I want to read it again. I had to stop reading Heaven so often; I could barely stomach the bullying and misery.

If you're ever feeling too content or glad and need a super dark book to bring you down, this might be it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Medical content, and Medical trauma

lavyourself's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming

kia_y_k's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism