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Start giftingHeaven
A Novel
Narrator
Scott Keiji Takeda
This audiobook uses AI narration.
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Length
6 hours 21 minutes
Language
English
Translators
David Boyd & Sam Bett
From the bestselling author of Breasts and Eggs and international literary sensation Mieko Kawakami comes a sharp and illuminating novel about the impact of violence and the power of solidarity in our contemporary societies.
Hailed as a bold foray into new literary territory, Kawakami’s novel is told in the voice of a fourteen-year-old student subjected to relentless torment for having a lazy eye. Instead of resisting, the boy chooses to suffer in complete resignation. The only person who understands what he is going through is a female classmate who suffers similar treatment at the hands of her tormenters.
These raw and realistic portrayals of bullying are counterbalanced by textured exposition of the philosophical and religious debates concerning violence to which the weak are subjected.
Kawakami’s simple yet profound new work stands as a dazzling testament to her literary talent. There can be little doubt that it has cemented her reputation as one of the most important young authors working to expand the boundaries of contemporary Japanese literature.
Mieko Kawakami is the author of the internationally bestselling novel, Breasts and Eggs, named a best book of the year by the New York Times, Time, The Atlantic, and others. She 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. She has received numerous prestigious literary awards in Japan, including the Akutagawa Prize, the Tanizaki Prize, and the Murasaki Shikibu Prize. She was born in Osaka, Japan.
David Boyd is assistant professor of Japanese at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He has translated novels and stories by Hiroko Oyamada, Masatsugu Ono, and Toh EnJoe, among others. His translation of Hideo Furukawa’s Slow Boat won the 2017/2018 Japan-US Friendship Commission (JUSFC) Prize for the Translation of Japanese Literature.
Sam Bett studied Japanese at UMass-Amherst and Kwansei Gakuin University. Awarded Grand Prize in the 2016 JLPP International Translation Competition, he has translated fiction by Yoko Ogawa, Yukio Mishima, and Nisio Isin. He also cohosts Us&Them, a Brooklyn-based reading series showcasing the work of writers who translate. His translation of Yukio Mishima’s Star won the 2019 Japan-US Friendship Commission (JUSFC) Prize for the Translation of Japanese Literature.
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Reviews
“An expertly told, deeply unsettling tale of adolescent violence.”
“[In] Heaven, everyday dilemmas provide a forum for examining fundamental questions of power and morality.”
“Kawakami writes with jagged, visceral beauty about those early antagonists we carry around in our heads, scars we bear into adulthood.”
“Confirms Kawakami’s superb literary ability to expose and disturb…Despite the suffocatingly looming violence, the duo’s intense, forced-to-be-mature inner lives will keep readers mesmerized to the final page.”
“Kawakami is a writer who doesn’t shy away from hard truths and painful experiences, so Heaven will not be an easy read, but it’s guaranteed to be a rewarding one.”
“Raw and vivid…[Kawakami’s] sensitive, evocative storytelling sets her apart as an incredible literary talent.”
“A searing account of bullying and adolescent angst…with keen psychological insight, brilliant sensitivity, and compassionate understanding.”
“In a startlingly graceful way…Kawakami manages to pull us further in, illuminating the perils within the social structures we’ve been taught to trust.”
“Kawakami’s dialogue delves into the definition of power and nature of child friendships. The result is another spine-tinglingly real novel that will weigh heavy on your heart long after its finish.”
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