Welcome to Litsy!

This is an intense yet touching book. Talks about bullying, suicide. What was good was how bullying is touched both from bullied and the one who bullied‘s POV.

#BookerInternationalShortlist2022

Well that was an intensely bleak experience glad I read all the way to the end for that little hint of hope

Full review here https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4725351023

My first book by Mieko Kawakami, & now I want to read everything else by her. This book about bullying & the two teens who strike up an unusual friendship over their shared condition of being victimised is deeply philosophical—interviews with Kawakami suggest an exploration of Nietzsche‘s concepts of power. It is the coolly detached bully-by-association, Momose, whom I found disturbing. He‘s the libertarian bro we find everywhere in our spaces.

I‘m going to attempt to get up to date with my #InternationalBookerPrize2022 reviews this weekend. apologies in advance!

#UnpopularOpinion - this has made the shortlist, and I understand why. It‘s a powerful but incredibly bleak and graphic look at school bullying, with the two young characters philosophising over why they‘re bullied and how to react.

https://youtu.be/ajlEhwXlUaQ

A playlist of all episodes in the Bite-sized Book Chat series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU-61cZp1pQdBH5V0Zb9q-2ujl4PY8nhf

Chat #1: with David from the American Heartland

Heaven by Mieko Kawakami
Sam Bett (Translator), David Boyd (Translator)

Breasts and Eggs - Mieko Kawakami, Sam Bett (Translator), David Boyd (Translator)

This beautiful book was really difficult to read at times, although I‘m glad I did. Kawakami deftly captured the experiences of the young characters, and I think did justice to the complexity of thoughts and emotions of youth. She doesn‘t oversimplify. It is a heartbreaking story in many ways, and a solid pick.

Sorry book, I‘m just not feeling you at the moment. I feel that the translation I‘m reading is keeping me at a distance so I doesn‘t care what happens with the two characters. I also spotted some spelling mistakes at the beginning that didn‘t help.

#BookReport 12/22

Another awesome week. Such good books. All of them. Favorite though is The Burgess Boys!

Heaven tells the story of a boy and a girl who are relentlessly bullied at middle school. They find solace in each other‘s company and try to find explanations for what‘s happening and how they both react to it, in order for it to make sense.

It‘s a well written brutal novella and it broke my heart. #InternationalBookerPrize2022

CW for violence, harm to children, suicidal ideation, eating disorders, self-harm.

Oof. Well I went looking for books from the new Booker International Prize longlist for 2022, and found this one in #hoopla. It was originally published in Japan in 2009, and published in the English translation by Sam Bett and David Boyd, the same team that translated Breasts and Eggs. ↘️

⭐️ Current Reads: Meet Isabel Puddles by M. V. Byrne and Surfacing by Kathleen Jamie

⭐️ Fav book of January: Heaven (tagged)

⭐️ Most recent library checkout: The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory

5🌟Kawakami beautifully and poignantly explores the meaning behind and the experiencing of violence while also showing the comforts friendship can bring in this coming-of-age story. This book was so good and the translation was excellently done!! An emotional ride, I was so sucked into this slim novel. It was sad and hard to read but I couldn't put it down despite this. Highly reccomend this one! Can't wait to read Breasts and Eggs! #bookreview

This weekend‘s #bookstorehaul 😊📚

1. Oh, definitely. I‘ve picked up books I normally wouldn‘t pay much attention too just because the title sounded cool and stuck with me.
2. Heaven by Mieko Kawakami

#Two4Tuesday

Exploring themes of high school bullying, & identity, this is a difficult book to read & recommend. Two classmates who are being bullied find solace in friendship. But each has a different view of why they‘re the victims & ways dealing with it. The descriptive details of bullying & violence, the nonchalant philosophy of one of the bullies, are distressing to read. The conclusion leaves the two friends‘ fate uncertain but I felt hopeful for them.

Asian women writers in translation list link!

https://www.wordswithoutborders.org/dispatches/article/11-translated-books-by-as...

This book is about bullying.

It's a really impressive debut novel that was recently translated to English. It's about 2 misfits that become friends because they understand each other. So it's about friendship but it's also about bullying and depression and all that entails.

#BookSpinBingo free space
@TheAromaofBooks

My son starts middle school next week and the extreme bullying in this book (of two middle school students) made it hard for me to get through, even though it's less than 200 pages. It was an excellent book though. I didn't love it like I loved her other two books, but it's still a pick.

The story is about two school kids and their friendship, based on being outcasts. The author gives the characters a lot of depth, but I found the story of their bullying not really going anywhere.

When a desk or vase gets scratched, it doesn‘t show you how it‘s hurting. If we keep doing this, just saying nothing, no matter what they do, think maybe we‘ll become things too? That‘s what we are to them.

As we've come to expect from Kawakami, Heaven is a little dark, a little weird, and very visceral. This one will put you in a strange headspace. It‘s quite a bummer, but still beautifully written and passionately felt. It‘s one I‘m not sure I would “recommend”, it won‘t be to everyone‘s taste, but it‘s one that lingered with me for days. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/new-releases/

#JuneWrapUp
I was really looking forward to Heaven after enjoying Breasts and Eggs so much, and I‘m pleased to say I really liked it. Heaven was my favorite of the month followed by Midnight in Chernobyl, but there really weren‘t any duds this month.

Total: 6
Print: 2
Ebook: 2
Audio: 2
Fiction: 2
Nonfiction: 4

#booked2021: 1
#friendrecchallenge: 0

In school when I was near-incessantly bullied, the first thought that crossed my mind was what makes my bullies do the things they do. Is it sadistic pleasure or something even more sinister. And the most dominant thoughts in my mind, even years after I finished school, are why I never had the courage to fight back? Was it merely because I was scared?

Deck reading is the best. Thank you humidity for taking a hike…for tonight.

My library hold came in! I‘m really looking forward to starting this one. I read Breasts and Eggs back in February and loved it. I hope this one will be a great read too.
#catsoflitsy #Ember

The unnamed narrator of this novel has a lazy eye and is constantly beaten by classmates. A girl who is equally bullied begins a correspondence with him. Despite differences, they become close until the climax reveals how truly different they are.

The only thing that took me out of the narrative was a bully that has too cogent a theory about it for his age. Despite this and the at times difficult-to-stomach violence, Heaven is a definite pick.

(US) #NewRelease #bookmail!! I loved B&E, so I‘m excited for this one! #CoverLove

Oof what a book. About two kids who are being brutally bullied. It‘s a tough read with a lot to unpack. But it is powerful. This one comes out in the states in May. Going to check out Kawakami‘s Breasts and Eggs next.

Been eagerly anticipating this one!

French anyone? I got this great book and it‘s in French!!! And I can‘t return it 😕 if anyone is interested I‘ll mail it to you. I got it since it is one of the most promising writers per Haruki Murakami...