Told through the eyes of a 14-year-old boy subjected to relentless bullying, this is a haunting novel about the threat of violence that can stalk our teenage years.  Instead of putting up resistance, the boy suffers in complete resignation. His sole ally is a girl classmate, similarly outcast and preyed upon by the bullies. They meet in secret to take solace in each other’s company, unaware that their relationship has not gone unnoticed by their tormentors…

Mieko Kawakami’s deceptively simple yet profound work stands as a testament to her remarkable literary talent. Here, she asks us to question the fate of the meek in a society that favours the strong, and the lengths to which even children will go in their learnt cruelty.  Translated by Sam Bett and David Boyd.

"An intense, claustrophobic novel, Heaven uses its tale of middle school bullying to enact Nietzsche's critique of morality."  — The 2022 International Booker Prize judges

Mieko Kawakami made her literary debut as a poet in 2006, and published her first novella, My Ego, My Teeth and the World, in 2007.