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challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Mieko Kawakami is a genius in novel writing, but the number of trigger warnings need to be listed for this book is so high you can write a book just listing them. And, frankly speaking, if not for Kawakami's writing I will not want to read a book of this topic, bullying. But here I am, finishing the book in less than a week.
This is such a page-turner and the plot is so gripping although sometimes being so violent I genuinely didn't want to continue. This book is so philosophical I feel like I can only scratch the surface of its meaning. It talks about bullying, meaning of life, different views on life and so much more. A big chunk of the book is focused on the clash of two different approach to bullying and life in general from Ninomiya and Kojima, though they originate from completely different viewpoints. On one hand, Ninomiya thinks everything is "just a coincidence" without intrinsic meaning and there are fundamentally no difference between all actions, good or bad. We all live in our own world with our own preferences, and when the worlds of different individuals collide, the stronger will win and force other to play with they're rule. On the other hand, Kojima believes that everything happening has a meaning, and if we endure we can find the meaning, the light in the end. Everyone has his or hers own "symbol" (印記）and it's something we should treasure. Being the one being bullied, although what we are doing is accept, it's the right thing to do and in the end all the meaning will be revealed. These two radically opposite views eventually collides in the end of the story. And to be honest, I don't think I understand them very well. This book is filled with so much philosophical thinking and challenging thoughts on bullying, society, and life, and it's a absolutely wild ride.
Also I don't know why the title is "heaven". Heaven is mentioned only two times in the book, and I can't relate these two occurrences with the wider picture the book want to present. But I really like Ninomiya's quote: "Listen, if there is a hell, we're in it. And if there's a heaven, we're already there. This is it."
I think this is a very challenging book that will evoke many emotions in you and make you think deeper into bullying, violence and the merit of right or wrong than ever before. But at the same time I can't really understand a lot of the ideas in the book. They're very intense and I found myself hard to relate to the story and get deep into what the author want to say. Also the violence and explicit descriptions in the book make it a really hard read for me.
So for me it's really hard to rate the book, and maybe in the future I can get to understand more. But who knows? I originally didn't understand All the Lovers in the Night either, but now it's one of my favorite books of all time. Mieko Kawakami is truly a wonderful writer who's not afraid to tackle topics that's dark and challenging, and I would recommend her works to anyone. But, if you want to read Heaven, I would suggest reading the trigger warnings first and get a general idea of what the book is about beforehand, and really avoid this book if you find the content too intense for you.
I will start to describe other's voice as 6B pencil.
This is such a page-turner and the plot is so gripping although sometimes being so violent I genuinely didn't want to continue. This book is so philosophical I feel like I can only scratch the surface of its meaning. It talks about bullying, meaning of life, different views on life and so much more. A big chunk of the book is focused on the clash of two different approach to bullying and life in general from Ninomiya and Kojima, though they originate from completely different viewpoints. On one hand, Ninomiya thinks everything is "just a coincidence" without intrinsic meaning and there are fundamentally no difference between all actions, good or bad. We all live in our own world with our own preferences, and when the worlds of different individuals collide, the stronger will win and force other to play with they're rule. On the other hand, Kojima believes that everything happening has a meaning, and if we endure we can find the meaning, the light in the end. Everyone has his or hers own "symbol" (印記）and it's something we should treasure. Being the one being bullied, although what we are doing is accept, it's the right thing to do and in the end all the meaning will be revealed. These two radically opposite views eventually collides in the end of the story. And to be honest, I don't think I understand them very well. This book is filled with so much philosophical thinking and challenging thoughts on bullying, society, and life, and it's a absolutely wild ride.
Also I don't know why the title is "heaven". Heaven is mentioned only two times in the book, and I can't relate these two occurrences with the wider picture the book want to present. But I really like Ninomiya's quote: "Listen, if there is a hell, we're in it. And if there's a heaven, we're already there. This is it."
I think this is a very challenging book that will evoke many emotions in you and make you think deeper into bullying, violence and the merit of right or wrong than ever before. But at the same time I can't really understand a lot of the ideas in the book. They're very intense and I found myself hard to relate to the story and get deep into what the author want to say. Also the violence and explicit descriptions in the book make it a really hard read for me.
So for me it's really hard to rate the book, and maybe in the future I can get to understand more. But who knows? I originally didn't understand All the Lovers in the Night either, but now it's one of my favorite books of all time. Mieko Kawakami is truly a wonderful writer who's not afraid to tackle topics that's dark and challenging, and I would recommend her works to anyone. But, if you want to read Heaven, I would suggest reading the trigger warnings first and get a general idea of what the book is about beforehand, and really avoid this book if you find the content too intense for you.
I will start to describe other's voice as 6B pencil.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Death, Eating disorder, Medical content