A review by lewisatlarge
Heaven by Mieko Kawakami

challenging dark sad tense 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? No

3.0

This was an extremely challenging book. Reading about the torture these kids endured at school at the hands of other students (to call them bullies infantilizes the absolutely horrific stuff they did) was hard to read at times and 100% not what I expected when I picked up this book. I did find myself screaming into the ether “where are the adults at this school?! Why are these parents so blasé and hands off?! Why are these kids so cruel?? Can one of you PLEASE tell a god damn adult?! ” And I finished the book and wondered what it was all for…I didn’t like it as I was reading it, but it’s been two days and I haven’t stopped thinking about it, which to me is the mark of an impactful book. I can’t really say why or what the overall point was, but I do find myself wondering about the characters and their motivations and about their perspectives more than I have in similar novels. I would say read cautiously for sure…some of the “bullying” is akin to torture quite honestly and incredibly hard to read, especially because you don’t know what will happen and how far these little creeps will go. 
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