I’ve always been a fan of Japanese literature but only recently realised quite how popular it’s become.
Every trip into Waterstones seems to reveal more contemporary Japanese novels stacked on the front tables, staring at me like wide-eyed cats waiting to be fed. It’s a pleasant shift, especially considering that five years ago the selection felt far narrower — usually a couple of Murakamis (Ryu and Haruki) with a handful of older names filling out the shelf.
The surge in translations has made it an especially good time to dive back in.
Heaven is the first contemporary Japanese novel I’ve read since Killing Commendatore back in 2020, and fittingly it’s also the debut novel of its author, singer-turned-writer Mieko Kawakami.
The story follows two bullied high school students: an unnamed boy with a lazy eye, and Kojima, a quiet, undernourished girl dismissed as “dirty” by her peers. Both endure sustained cruelty, and through that shared suffering they form a tentative friendship, first through handwritten letters and eventually something deeper.
At just 248 pages, it’s a short book, but one that carries real weight. While the horrors of high school are a familiar theme in Japanese fiction, Kawakami approaches them with an adult sensibility that avoids cliché. She gives both characters a quiet, painful dignity, allowing them to stand in for anyone struggling with cruelty they don’t deserve.
What stayed with me most is how the novel balances relentless awfulness with brief, fragile moments of joy. Like its characters, it shows how easy it is to overlook small kindnesses — unless you’re desperate enough to search for them.
Overall, I loved my time with Heaven and I’m already looking forward to reading more of Kawakami’s work. Breasts and Eggs is sitting patiently on my Kindle waiting its turn.