A truly excellent ode to the timeless trope of bullying.
‘Heaven’ by Mieko Kawakami is by far one of the most transiently beautiful books I have ever had the pleasure to read. The ephemeral beauty of this book, is so fleeting that if you don’t pay attention it, you fail to realise the true pain that lies underneath.
Hailed as a bold foray into new literary territory, Kawakami’s novel is told in the voice of a 14-year-old student who subjected to relentless torment for having a lazy eye. Instead of resisting, the boy chooses to suffer in complete resignation. The only person who understands what he is going through is a female classmate who suffers similar treatment at the hands of her tormentors. These raw and realistic portrayals of bullying are counterbalanced by textured exposition of the philosophical and religious debates concerning violence to which the weak are subjected. Kawakami's simple yet profound new work stands as a dazzling testament to her literary talent. There can be little doubt that it has cemented her reputation as one of the most important young authors working to expand the boundaries of contemporary Japanese literature.
In the spirit of most Japanese Authors who have been translated from their native language to English, one way to describe Kawakami’s book is ‘surreal’. The writing style, the events and the characters are truly bizarre but mostly without any of the negative connotations. They are bizarre in a manner that truly reflects the vulnerability of humanity.
The striking thing about the writing style executed in Heaven, is that the author makes the reader feel physically comfortable at will. Without being overly explicit, without the use of bombastic words and without the use of unsavoury words the author makes us feel physically comfortable. There are moments in the book, when you will want to shout ‘STOP!’ as loudly as possible. The truly amazing thing that rounds all of this up, is that our own pain at reading this book doesn’t come from the actual physical portrayal in the book, but the cruelty that humans seem to have for each other. Our pain lies in the character whom we have to grown to empathise with so much.
I give this story a solid Five stars, and while it is particularly difficult to get through because of the prism of emotions one feels while reading it, I urge everyone to stick through and finish this masterpiece.
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