Heaven : Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize

by Kawakami, Mieko, Bett, Sam, Boyd, David | Japan
Published 12/05/2022 by PAN MACMILLAN (Picador) in the United Kingdom
Paperback | 176 pages
133 x 197 x 19mm | 128g

Selected by Mike Ward from Badlands Records as one of his favourite Japanese novels of all time. 

Mike says, 'Kawakami is a brilliant writer and her other novels in translation are more famous but this graphic story of bullying is an essential if disturbing read.'

Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2022From the bestselling author of Breasts and Eggs and international literary sensation Mieko Kawakami comes a sharp and illuminating novel about a fourteen-year-old boy subjected to relentless bullying.

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. TIME's 100 Must-Read Books of the Year'Mieko Kawakami is a genius' - Naoise Dolan, author of Exciting Times'An expertly told, deeply unsettling tale of adolescent violence' - VogueTranslated from the Japanese by Sam Bett and David Boyd.