Heaven by Mieko Kawakami

 

Paperback Edition

 

In Heaven, a fourteen-year old boy is tormented for having a lazy eye. Instead of resisting, he chooses to suffer in silence. The only person who understands what he is going through is a female classmate, Kojima, who experiences similar treatment at the hands of her bullies. Providing each other with immeasurable consolation at a time in their lives when they need it most, the two young friends grow closer than ever. But what, ultimately, is the nature of a friendship when your shared bond is terror?

Unflinching yet tender, sharply observed, intimate and multi-layered, this simple yet profound novel stands as yet another dazzling testament to Mieko Kawakami’s uncontainable talent. There can be little doubt that it has cemented her reputation as one of the most important young authors at work today.

 

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Heaven

Author : Mieko Kawakami

Published year : 2021

Pages : 167

Language : English

Genre : Asian Literature, Coming of Age

Age Recommendation : 18+

Recently, there is a lot of book sales in Indonesia and I can't help myself crossing books from my wishlist. Heaven is one of the 50% discounted books from Kinokuniya during 12.12 (Or 11.11? Sorry lost track). 

Anyway, I've been in a reading slump since my pregnancy, looking at the thin pages of Heaven made me want to read it right away ignoring the queue of to-be-read books.  

Different from other authors that usually create a middle aged-woman or man as the protagonist, Mieko Kawakami introduced us to the world of Junior High School where two people are barely accepted by their peers.

The Narrator, a fourteen-year-old boy has a lazy eye that he believes to be the reason why he is being bullied by the boys in the class. Whenever bullying happened, the narrator was always obedient to his perpetrators ever since he was small. 

One day, he received a short letter from an unknown writer, asking him to be her friend. Anxious, the narrator suspected that was a joke from his bullies, but the letter keep coming and feel genuine. Finally, he followed his instinct and decided to meet the writer, turns out it is his classmate, Kojima.

Indifferent from him, Kojima is bullied by her classmate's friends, girls especially. Maybe because of Kojima's appearance and smell. Peoples call her Hazmat because of her smell. Kojima also never protests when her perpetrators attack her. Submissive as the narrator. 

Yet Kojima in front of the narrator is different from the one in the class. She talked a lot and was smart. The mysterious girl also writes nicely. They agreed they should be friends and continue to exchange letters.

After knowing Kojima, the narrator's life seems to shift a little. Now he has a reason to go to school even though they never exchange words during school hours. But by seeing Kojima, he feels warmness that has left his life for a long time especially after Kojima told him, she likes his eye. Nobody ever told him that. 

Occasionally, they meet outside the school, talking about their life or how bully could happen to them. Kojima has a very unique and independent point of view regarding bully. They have a point of view on why people can be mean and bully other people. They try to understand the point of view of their bullies, meanwhile, it is a one-way street. The bullies don't bother what they feel or think.

There is also the reason why Kojima always looks poor and dirty. It was her token to remember her poor father. It is a sign that she believed. Even though she is no longer poor, she doesn't want the memory of her father to cease away.

 "You've gone through so much because of your eyes. It's a painful thing, I know, but It's also made you who you are. That's for sure. And because I won't give up my signs, I've gone through a lot, too. If we didn't have them, everything would be different. That's why I knew that I would understand you, better than anyone else, and why you would understand the way I feel better than anyone else. I knew it, And I wasn't wrong. When I sent you the letter, you came. You think about how other people feel. You're so kind. It makes sense. Because we're always in pain, we know exactly what it means to hurt somebody else. Maybe it's not as bad for me as it is for you, but I think I know how you feel, probably more than anybody." -Kojima to narrator-pages 64.

From the paragraph above, we understand the foundation of their friendship, and how the narrator's character. He's kind, thoughtful, and inferior. 

 

One day, the level of bullying heightened, and the perpetrators made the narrator a human-volley ball, which means they kicked around the head of the narrator leaving blood so much and aches in whole his body. Kojima saw that, and she helped the narrator clean up after the bullying. 

 

After the incident, the narrators had sleep difficulties. His whole body was aching, and his mind is puddled. What he thinks about is suicide. Even seeing Kojima didn't help him. He just stays in his room all day.

Until finally, he went to the doctor and the kind doctor examined him thoroughly and even suggest to have procedures for his lazy eye. The narrator had a procedure once but was not a success when he was a toddler. He never imagined that opportunity exists, even maybe will also change his life. 

And accidentally, he met with one of his perpetrator's friends, Momose. Momose is always there when bullying happens, but he always stands still. Do nothing and watch. With all of his courage, the narrator counter Momose asking why they are so cruel to him didn't bother his feeling or life.

But the Momose's answer is beyond his expectations. He didn't feel any guilt. That everyone in this life has their urge and mind. One of the bullies' urges is to bully the narrator, not because of his eyes. Even when he doesn't lazy eyes, he is meant to be bullied.

It blows his mind. When he always put long thought about why they doing that to the narrator, his bullies simply didn't think. That human is very complex and different from each other. 

From the previous chapter, we understand the point of view of the victims, but from that chapter, we understand other human beings' ways of thinking. To be honest, it took me by surprise also. I think I never encountered any book or movie that explained the way bullies think so explicitly, smart and of course, annoying like that. After reading that, not that I understand or am permissive with that point of view, but simply, oh human is crazy like that!

After that, the relationship between Kojima and the narrator shifts coldly. And there is also one last act that will change the course of their life.

 

I never expected that this book will be this heavy yet also light. The Author has her way to describe the young adult mind and simplify the complexity of human behavior, especially in bullying. Most of all, each character in the novel was different. Narrator, Kojima, Ninomiya (leader of a bully), Momose, and even the narrator's mother.

There is also a parenting issue that is highlighted in the background of the novel. Since bullying has happened for a very long time, but with a lack of communication, also school watch, it went unnoticed. A rigid relationship between the stepmother and his adolescent boy made this happen so a long time.

I think it is a very good novel, especially looking at the page number. I remember the Author differently from Ms. Ice Sandwhich. The depth of human behavior in this novel is just different level. Kudos on that! 

However, since there is explicit content of bullying, I recommend this book for 18 years old reader.

It is one of must read!