Heaven

The fourteen-year-old unnamed narrator lives a lonely life with his stepmother – his father is mostly absent. He is relentlessly bullied by his classmates because he has a misalignment of his eyes. Instead of fighting back, he resigns and suffers in silence. One day, he finds a message in his pencil case: "We belong to the same kind." More messages follow; suddenly, there is someone who asks him about his favorite color, his favorite food, and comments on the weather. It soon becomes clear that the messages come from the only person who understands what he is going through: his classmate Kojima, who is also being bullied. The two teenagers begin to meet regularly, always secretly, in hopes of avoiding further attention. They find comfort in each other's company, but their friendship does not go unnoticed by their tormentors. Layered, gripping, and philosophical – with her novel "Heaven," Mieko Kawakami undertakes a literary tour de force. Unflinchingly, precisely, and with genuine empathy for her protagonists, she tells the story of two adolescents who are different in a society that cannot tolerate difference, once again showcasing her literary talent.