HEAVEN by Mieko Kawakami Translated From
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HEAVEN by Mieko Kawakami Translated from the Japanese by Sam Bett and David Boyd “A raw, painful, and tender portrait of adolescent misery, reminiscent of both Elena Ferrante’s fiction and Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade.”— NPR.org “In Kawakami’s hands, bullying becomes a way to examine such concepts as power, status and the nature of evil.”—Tampa Bay Times “Heaven is told with astonishing frankness and economy… Mieko Kawakami is a genius.” —Naoise Dolan, author of Exciting Times “Mieko Kawakami is Japan’s brightest new literary star” (The Economist). An international literary sensation, Kawakami’s Breasts and Eggs offered a striking exploration of women’s daily lives in Japan. In Heaven, Kawakami turns her piercing gaze to the experience of a teenage boy being relentlessly bullied. A seemingly simple story, yet deeply profound and unsettling, Heaven explores the meaning and experience of violence. Tormented for his lazy eye, the protagonist suffers in silence. His only consolation comes through the friendship of a female classmate who is also subject to ceaseless assaults. But what is friendship like if your shared bond is terror? And what if your suffering seems the same, but has undercurrents that may tear you apart? Raw, unflinching, and also tender, Heaven is a dazzling testament to Kawakami’s talent. A frank and brilliantly evocative writer, Kawakami is “always ceaselessly growing and evolving” (Haruki Murakami). Engaging readers on both a visceral and philosophical level, Heaven offers a sharply observed, multi-layered novel. One of Japan’s most important and best-selling writers, Mieko Kawakami mixes stylistic inventiveness, wry humor, and riveting emotional depth to tell a story of contemporary womanhood in Japan. Breasts and Eggs recounts the intimate journeys of three women on the path to finding peace and futures they can call their own. Reading Group Discussion Questions 1. Breasts and Eggs focuses on the experiences of girls and women. Heaven is told through the perspective of a 14-year-old boy known as “Eyes,” a mocking nickname his classmates give him because of his lazy eye. Why do you think Kawakami chose Eyes as the narrator? Why does the reader not know his actual name, but does know Kojima’s name? What role do you think gender plays in the novel? 2. The friendship between Kojima and the narrator begins with written notes. Why do you think Kawakami chose this narrative device? What do letters let the characters do that might not have been possible in conversations? Do you think they are able to understand each other more or less through writing versus in-person? 3. Kojima states, about the bullying: “We know exactly what’s going on. We see it, and we let it happen. I don’t think that’s weakness at all. It’s more like strength.” The narrator asks himself: “What does it mean to obey? Why was I scared?” Regarding his cruelty, Momose says straightforwardly: “It’s just that some people can do things, and others can’t… People do what they can get away with.” How do these different perspectives fit together? What do you think Kawakami is saying about violence and suffering? 4. While the narrator’s eye is a medical condition, Kojima’s “signs”—her cheap clothes and disheveled appearance—are self-inflicted, choices made in solidarity with her destitute biological father rather than her rich stepfather. The narrator has his own complicated family situation. What role does family play in Heaven? What impact do family relationships have on how the narrator and Kojima seem to experience the violence perpetrated against them? What is your perspective on the parents’ presence, or lack of presence, in the novel? 5. Merve Emre wrote in her The New Yorker review: “This is the real magic of Heaven, which shows us how to think about morality as an ongoing dramatic activity.” How does morality play a role in the novel? Do you think there are moral, immortal, or amoral characters? Do you think of morality as dynamic or as fixed? What elements of the novel support your perspective? 6. Kojima reveals that Heaven is her name for “a painting of two lovers eating cake,” who have survived something “really, really sad” but are now happily in harmony. When Kojima invites to narrator to see Heaven with her, were you surprised their journey took them to an art museum? What do you think it means that they never see the painting? Do you believe it’s possible for two people to be in perfect harmony with each other? Do Kojima and the narrator every fully understand each other? Why or why not? 7. “Everything was beautiful,” the narrator says at the end, “Not that there was anyone to share it with, anyone to tell. Just the beauty.” What was the emotional tone of the ending for you? What do you imagine the narrator is feeling? Is there a relationship between beauty and comfort? 8. Heaven depicts bullying very vividly with “masterly set pieces of violence, scenes of senseless bullying so lucid you can almost feel the pain yourself ” (New York Times Book Review). How did you respond to the violence portrayed in the book? Did reading the intense details impact your overall reaction to and understanding of the novel and characters? How so? 9. “While Kawakami refuses to give us answers, the elegance and care with which she describes her characters’ lives invite the reader to ask such questions of themselves” (BookPage). What questions did Heaven raise for you? Do you feel you have answers to those questions? What will you take away from your reading of the novel? Who might you recommend this book to and why? 10. Kawakami has stated that she drew inspiration for Heaven from Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra, which addresses questions of evil and the role of power. Why do you think she chose bullying to explore morality? What books have you read that ask similar questions and in what ways? 11. Heaven, like Breasts and Eggs, was translated by David Boyd and Sam Bett. How do you think the act of translation shaped the book in English? Is there something universal about childhood bullying, wherever it happens? What questions might you have for the translators about their work? About the author Mieko Kawakami is the author of the internationally best-selling novel, Breasts and Eggs, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and one of TIME’s Best 10 Books of 2020. Born in Osaka, Kawakami made her literary debut as a poet in 2006, and published her first novella, My Ego, My Teeth, and the World, in 2007. Her writing is known for its poetic qualities and its insights into the female body, ethical questions, and the dilemmas of modern society. Her books have been translated into many languages and are available all over the world. She has received numerous prestigious literary awards in Japan, including the Akutagawa Prize, the Tanizaki Prize, and the Murasaki Shikibu Prize. Kawakami lives in Tokyo, Japan..