‘ It’s a painful thing, I know’ she says to the narrator over his eye, which is a frequent impetus for teasing, ‘ but it’s also made you who you are.’ Their signs, as she calls them, that makes them targets, are also what defines them, according to her, due to how it regulates them in the social hierarchy. Kojimo has an interesting philosophy on bullying and the reasons behind it. Such as Midoriko in B&E or the narrator in Ms Ice Sandwich, Kawakami truly shines when examining youthful emotions in a way that would make her novels a perfect crossover for YA readers. Through the emotional journey that explores the perils of a relationship forged on shared suffering, Kawami demonstrates one of her most impressive literary attributes: creating heartrending juvenile characters that read as so lifelike and empathetic you want to give them a hug. With a voice that ‘ reminds me of a 6B (pencil),’ he says to her in a letter, ‘ soft and rigid at the same time., Kojima is a bit of an icon of ascetic resistance icon who believes their suffering has a deeper meaning of real strength and that they are an avenue to teach their bullies a lesson. While the narrator comes across as weak and complaint to his violent detriment, Kojima is passive to abuse in a different way. The story follows a brutally bullied young boy and his growing friendship with classmate, Kojima, who is also a primary target for abuse in the classroom. Published in Japan in 2009 and just now translated into English by Sam Bett and David Boyd, Heaven predates both Ms Ice Sandwich and the completed two-part Breasts and Eggs (though not the original novella) and reads like a thematic Big Bang of her primary ideas. ‘ If we’re weak, our weakness has real meaning.’ Deftly positioning the issues as a larger critique on society, ableism, and classism, Kawakami crafts a marvelously engaging book that is both heartbreaking and illuminating. Told from the perspective of a young boy who has faced heartbreaking and tragic levels of bullying, Kawakami delves into issues of trauma and how various ideologies on meaning in life address trauma. Heaven is the third novel translated to English by Japanese singer turned poet turned author Mieko Kawakami, who s much praised-and deservedly so- Breasts and Eggs topped almost every Best Of list for 2020 ( Heaven was shortlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize), and is an extraordinary little novel that really highlights her major themes. Heralded by Haruki Murakami, I eagerly dove in and have not been continuously astonished by her ouveur and literary punk-rock expressions of ideas.

In the past year I’ve really come to appreciate Mieko Kawakami. ‘ Because we’re always in pain, we know exactly what it means to hurt somebody else.’

Ms ice sandwich mieko kawakami