A review by naharobed
Heaven by Mieko Kawakami

2.0

Hmmm I’m confused by this one. I liked it, but it was also just mediocre. The prose is extremely simplistic and matter-of-fact. I don’t know if that’s a byproduct of translation or something else. In short, it’s a story about a 14-year old boy with a lazy eye who endures some pretty bad bullying at school. He forms a tenuous friendship with a girl in his class who is also a victim of bullying. I don’t know, it was just weird. If you’ve read any translated Japanese fiction, you’ll know what I mean. There’s no plot, there’s not really any character development. Half the book is spent telling you what’s happening and the other half is philosophical musings