I buddy read Heaven by Mieko Kawakami with @literaryamy. So glad this was a buddy read, as talking about it as we read and then seeing Amy’s brilliant review helped me better appreciate and understand this novel. Translated from Japanese, Heaven follows a bullied middle school student, Eyes, nicknamed for his lazy eye. He is friendless until another bullied student, Kojima, starts writing him notes and they strike up a friendship. The bullying they both suffer at school is extreme, and they react differently to it. Eyes seemingly puts up with it, and thinks it is something he can’t change. Kojimi thinks their acceptance of the cruelty of their peers means they understand life in a way that the other students can’t. 

 

The unrelenting brutality of other kids is hard to read at times, and left me asking “where are the parents!” Or the teachers, or any adult who could step in at all the warning signs. But I don’t think this narrative is supposed to be taken completely at face value, as the NYTimes review notes parallels to the philosophies of Nietzsche and Laozi. The story eventually reaches a breaking point, and the ending is beautiful, painful, and perfect. 

 

This is a very different story than Breasts and Eggs. For me it was harder to understand, so I’m thankful that I read it with a friend. I am completely enthralled with Kawakami’s genius, and I’m looking forward to more of her work being translated into English.