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A review by booklywookly
Heaven by Mieko Kawakami
3.0
Okay. If we are going by the face value, this is a book about a 14 year old boy being terribly bullied in school by his classmates, who has found a friend (and solace) in a girl from his class, who also is a victim of equally horrible bullying.
But that’s not what the book is about, right? Of course not. In fact the whole bullying and the budding relationship between “eyes” and Kojima serves just as a plot for discussing philosophy.
Spoilers and shit, whatever. Don’t read further otherwise This is my attempt to deconstruct the deeper meaning behind the book. Bear with me. This is purgatory, and Kojima and Momose are two extreme subconsciouses of “eyes”.
Kojima seeks meaning and rationale behind every act. For her, every action, active or passive has a deaper meaning. “Weakness as strength” is her weapon of choice and she has reached a dangerous level of fanatic with that idea to get to her “true self”. Eyes has found comfort in that rationale. Pretty much how a victim seeks warmth in presence of another victim. The familiarity cripples. So much so that when “eyes” decide to correct his “weakness”, Kojima considers that a betrayal and goes insecure.
Kojima seeks meaning and rationale behind every act. For her, every action, active or passive has a deaper meaning. “Weakness as strength” is her weapon of choice and she has reached a dangerous level of fanatic with that idea to get to her “true self”. Eyes has found comfort in that rationale. Pretty much how a victim seeks warmth in presence of another victim. The familiarity cripples. So much so that when “eyes” decide to correct his “weakness”, Kojima considers that a betrayal and goes insecure.
Momose on the other hand dismisses all of that with extreme nihilism. For him, everything happens because, well, it can. There is no meaning to it. If you can do it, you do it. If you can stop it, stop it. If you are at the receiving end, it’s not personal. You just were there. Inertia. Momentum, period. “Wrong time wrong place”. This philosophy is cold and brutal and unsettling, almost, bullying. This is hell. This is also heaven. And no one owes you an explanation for you being here.
Our protagonist is finding himself on the crossroads. He always blamed the handicap in his eyes to be the reason for being targeted. It was easy to assume that. There was a rationale behind it. Almost a relief knowing there was a reason why these things were happening to him. And then *poof*. He is told he being picked up by the bullies had nothing to with his eyes. Now he sees clearly the other side, the one without any logic and rationale. It’s more distressing.
Our protagonist is finding himself on the crossroads. He always blamed the handicap in his eyes to be the reason for being targeted. It was easy to assume that. There was a rationale behind it. Almost a relief knowing there was a reason why these things were happening to him. And then *poof*. He is told he being picked up by the bullies had nothing to with his eyes. Now he sees clearly the other side, the one without any logic and rationale. It’s more distressing.
I am sure there’s more to this book than what I got. @benreadsgood was kind enough to share an article discussing this book. I’m gonna read that now.
I appreciate the environment Kawakami has created. Everything is urgent and panic inducing and I felt tightness around my chest a lot many times reading the book. But then there were these eye-rolling moments like a 14 year old “mysterious” almost cliched mute bully breaking into a 10 page philosophical monologue with a diction of a 50 year old. Too much of a John Galt type of moment for me.
I anyway got told that perhaps I am not capable of understanding this masterpiece, so maybe, I will reread it at some point just to ensure I am not stupid.