Mieko Kawakami is always ceaselessly growing and evolving.' Haruki Murakami, author of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles Told through the eyes of a 14 year-old boy subjected to relentless bullying, this is a haunting novel of the threat of violence that can stalk our teenage years. Instead of putting up resistance, the boy suffers in complete resignation. His sole friend is a female classmate suffering a similar treatment at the hands of bullies at the school. They meet in secret in the hopes of avoiding any further attention but their relationship has not gone unnoticed. One day the two are drawn to a deserted park and unwittingly walk straight into the hands of their tormentors. 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 that even children will go in their learned cruelty. Perfect for fans of douard Louis or Yoko Ogawa. Mieko Kawakami is the author of the internationally best-selling novel Breasts and Eggs, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and one of TIME's Best 10 Books of 2020, and the highly-acclaimed Heaven, her second novel to be translated and published in English, which Oprah Daily described as written "with jagged, visceral beauty." Born in Osaka, Japan, Kawakami made her literary debut as a poet in 2006, and in 2007 published her first novella, My Ego, My Teeth, and the World. Known for their poetic qualities, their insights into the female body, and their preoccupation with ethics and modern society, her books have been translated into over twenty languages. Kawakami's literary awards include the Akutagawa Prize, the Tanizaki Prize, and the Murasaki Shikibu Prize. She lives in Tokyo, Japan.