A review by serendipitysbooks
Heaven by Mieko Kawakami

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-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? It's complicated

3.75

 Heaven was by turns brutal and tender. It’s the story of a fourteen year old boy who has a lazy eye and is horrendously bullied at school. It’s also about an awkward friendship that develops between him and a female classmate who is suffering mentally and emotionally and is also being bullied as a result. Their friendship is tentative but tender, but also limited and somewhat unhealthy. The level of bullying and distress they suffer made for a really tough reading reading experience, as did the callous response of one of the perpetrators of the bullying when he was confronted about his actions. I struggled a little with the dialogue between the two main characters. It didn’t sound authentic to my ears but that could be due to cultural differences - this is a Japanese novel - or because this pair was of an especially philosophical bent. This book undoubtedly was well-written (it was shortlisted for the International Booker after all) with the teens’ emotions especially well-captured. Yet, it was a such tough read that doesn’t offer a lot of hope, so definitely not one for all readers. 
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