Heaven: A Haunting Tale of Friendship in the Face of Cruelty

"We choose to suffer in silence, not because we are weak, but because sometimes, silence is the only choice we have."

From the internationally acclaimed author of Breasts and Eggs comes Heaven, a searing, deeply intimate novel about the devastating reality of bullying and the fragile refuge of companionship.

At fourteen, an unnamed boy is relentlessly tormented for having a lazy eye. He does not fight back—he endures. When he discovers that Kojima, a quiet and isolated classmate, is also a victim of the same cruelty, an unspoken understanding forms between them. In stolen moments of solace, they share their pain, their fears, and the fragile hope that maybe, together, they can withstand the weight of their suffering.

But as their bond deepens, so does the question that lingers between them: Is a friendship built on shared pain truly a refuge, or just another kind of prison?

Unflinching yet tender, Heaven is a profound meditation on human cruelty, resilience, and the desperate need for connection. With razor-sharp prose and heartrending clarity, Mieko Kawakami delivers a masterpiece that cements her place as one of the most important voices in contemporary literature.