Things I read: Heaven (By Mieko Kawakami)
I’ve always been a fan of Japanese literature but it wasn’t until recently that I realised how popular it’s become. Every time I wander into Waterstones I seem to find more contemporary novels sitting on the front tables, staring at me like some sort of wide-eyed cat waiting for its evening meal. It’s a pleasant surprise considering that just five years ago the availability was seemingly much smaller - confined to the likes of two Murakami’s (Ryu and Haruki) with some older novelists sprinkled in for good measure (Mishima, Kawabata, Yoshimoto, Soseki, etc). It’s made me really excited to plunge into them now that it seems everything is getting a professional translation. Heaven is the first contemporary Japanese novel I’ve read since - ooh - Killing Commendatore back in 2020. It’s also fittingly the first full-length novel by its author, singer-turned-writer Mieko Kawakami. The book focuses on two high school students who are bullied relentlessly, the narrator, an unnamed male char
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