Breasts and Eggs
Reviews
i looooved this book but not so much because the last half of the book is pretty boring and i found myself snoozing but the overall story that it brings up is good and it hits too close to home but i think i can understand it better that way. overall it’s an enjoyable read and i felt seen. i had a great time🤍
i found myself encaptured by this book and unable to put it down once i started.
overall, this book is a beautiful reflection/commentary on the external (breasts) and internal (& eggs) pressures of being a woman. the first part of the book starts with our character, and her niece as we read in diary entries throughout the first part, exploring themes such as beauty standards, the objectification of the female body, and capitalism -- all outward/external pressures we face from society to look a certain way, behave a certain way, feeling as though our bodies are on display for everyone else's consumption. the second part of the book explores the internal pressures women face -- success in careers and what that looks like, to have children or not, friendship, parenthood, etc. this section focused most on whether or not to have children, with the main character exploring if it's ethical to do so/is it actually cruel to bring a child into the world.
i appreciate this book for its rawness in exploring modern feminism in Japan through the lens of a very normal character. ultimately, i knocked it down a point because it felt a bit like "let's get this book done" by the end with the main character just deciding, despite all of her contemplation, that she wants a kid and that was that. but i can also appreciate that she wasn't so against having them, rather she did reflect on the topic and spoke to people about it, but still stuck to what she wanted. it's inspiring, in a way. feminism isn't black and white, right vs wrong, feminism is all about choice, at the end of the day.
The way the author writes is very detailed and beautiful, as someone with aphantasia, I could almost actually picture what was happening.
There’s so much to unpack in this book and took me way longer to get through than I expected. Very interesting book to discuss and reflect on womanhood and just self confidence in your body in different stages of life.
Such a good conversation on womanhood, it was really really insightful
I love it! I could relate to bits of it, the desire to raise a kid without a husband, the conundrum of artificial insemination.
this book is an intimate dive into the complexities of womanhood, identity, and body autonomy. it captures raw, unfiltered emotions—tackling everything from beauty standards to motherhood with a vulnerability that feels so real. it's a poetic and painfully honest exploration of what it means to exist in a body that the world often tries to define for you. the prose cuts deep, blending sharp social commentary with a quiet but powerful reflection on personal agency and the quiet rebellion of self-acceptance.
Crazy how good this book was. Seriously. I’ve never felt more grateful than having had read this. I wish i could make every woman read this at least once in their life!
forever cherishing books on women’s insights and experiences in life through different stages. the early 20s me couldn’t wholeheartedly understand and appreciate the motherly instincts and insemination story. but i hope to get back to it a few years later. loved how the author incorporated different views based on personal experiences on birth from yuriko, rike and the author’s perspective itself.
Read more review on: http://www.raidaufaa.com/2023/01/brea... The “Breast and Eggs” book is divided into two parts with different translators which tell about the essence of womanhood. The main character, Natsuko, is a writer from Osaka but lives in Tokyo. The story of Natsuko and the people around her about fertility, menstruation, beauty standards, and gender norms. It also tells about how they strive against poverty in Japan. Book One tells about Natsuko’s older sister, Makiko, who is obsessed with a breast implant, and Midoriko, Makiko’s daughter, who doesn’t talk to her mother for a long time. It’s also told through Midoriko’s journal, how she experienced puberty and her first menstruation. Natsuko’s presence in Book One isn’t highlighted much, but I like the mother-daughter intricate dynamic between Makiko and Midoriko, especially the climax part. Natsuko’s story is then thoroughly discussed in the second book with a different time setting. The issues are more complex. Natsuko badly wanted to have a child but she said that having sex makes her “want to die”. So, she observed another option to have a child by a sperm donor. In this second book, a lot of new characters appear in Natsuko’s life, one of which is Aizawa. “Family matters. It matters more than anything. Children need to be raised by real families, in real homes, in an atmosphere full of love and responsibility. Every child brought into this world, by artificial insemination or any other means, is an example of the gift of life, and I believe their life deserves to be cherished.”
Breasts and Eggs By Meiko Wow. What a waste of days of my life. The book blurb does not even give a slight insight into what this book is actually about. I feel….bamboozled. I feel like i’m genuinely being kind by giving it 2 stars but i honestly may change it to 1 star. There is literally nothing redeemable about this novel. Breasts and Eggs allegedly was, i suppose due to the blurb that really gives no information, about Natsuku and her sister/her sisters child & reflecting a lot on her youth. The actual story is about occasionally her sister and the kid, but mostly about how Natsuku was insufferably asking almost anyone who made eye contact with her if she should get a sperm donor to have a kid. I really don’t even think she really explains why she wants a kid? The real crime is how long this book was, 450 pages and a 15 hour audio book. I never listened to books on 3X speed but even that did feel fast enough.
before i even started this book, i knew i was going to love it. kawakami's writing style is one of my favorite styles when it comes to contemporary fiction - it is poetic, descriptive and i love the way it flows.
breasts and eggs is an intricate story deconstructing contemporary womanhood, but from the working class women's point of view. it talks about a lot of issues, and thought, a modern woman faces. kawakami talks about what is it to feel like you are a woman (natsuko, the main character, often ponders on this), what it means to carry and raise a child, and other on the first glance tiny things that she describes in the ways it feels real. and it hits close to home.
i loved reading every part, every page of this book. i loved the characters, i could see myself in natsuko - aspiring to be something (a writer) and not getting there, until later, but even then she often feels stuck, she struggles with what her purpose here on earth is and she often questions what is it that makes her feel like a woman in her mind, not just body. i loved natsuko's thoughts, and i loved how she interacted with every character. she is definitely one of my favorite characters in contemporary works, and literature in general. i know that she, as well as this entire book, will stick with me, forever.
i don't have much smart commentary to add to this, i feel like this review isn't one of my best, but no matter how i write it, it won't represent how much this book means to me and how much i love it.
every feminist - every woman, should read this.
5/5
this is one of those books that you can't help but recommend to everyone. a book about womanhood and the way it was uncomfortably realistic. my second Kawakami book and i am in love with the writing style and the dialogues. she did change the trajectory of my brain and my thinking on a few points. “When you’re pretty, everybody wants to look at you, they want to touch you. I wanted that for myself. Prettiness means value. But some people never experience that personally.” Natsu's mind was a whirlwind. i wholeheartedly love the way Kawakami crafts her characters because the internal conflict keeps me hooked. i am so glad that she gets her ending, albeit not perfect, but exactly the way she wanted it to be. Breasts and Eggs is absolutely phenomenal.
"Breasts and Eggs" behandelt viele Themen, konzentriert sich jedoch definitiv auf die Geschichte der Frauen. Mieko Kawakami konnte durch ihrer Geschichte, den inneren Kampf und die Unsicherheiten der Frauen betohnen, während sie auch darauf hinweist, wie Frauen durch die Charaktere um die Hauptfigur herum Selbstbewusstsein und Unabhängigkeit zeigen können. Es wird auch auf den Umgang Erwachsener mit Trauma, existenzielle Krisen, Trauer, Sehnsucht, Familie und loslassen eingegangen.
Dieses Buch zeigt auch durch Dialoge und Geschichten, wie Frauen in der Gesellschaft, insbesondere in der japanischen Gesellschaft, gegen die von Männern auf einen Sockel gestellten Normalisierungen und die Frauen, die herablassend behandelt werden, leben müssen, nicht nur von einigen Männern, sondern auch von anderen Frauen. Obwohl es mehr auf die Kämpfe der Frauen eingeht, ist es schön zu sehen, wie dies auch in der Geschichte erwähnt oder angedeutet wird.Es ist interessant zu sehen, wie die Gefühle der Menschen zur künstlichen Befruchtung sind und aus welchen Gründen Menschen dies tun und welche Konsequenzen andere Menschen dagegen einnehmen. Einige in diesem Buch behandelte Themen haben mich zum Nachdenken angeregt und viel reflektieren lassen. Aber es gibt auch einige andere, denen ich nicht zustimmen konnte und die ich gerne anders gesehen hätte.
Die Charaktere waren so kompliziert, roh und verwundbar in ihren eigenen Veranlagungen, dass sie uns mehr in sie hineingezogen haben, Mitgefühl und Empathie mit ihnen zeigen konnten.
read it all in 2 days- amazing
Чесно кажучи, поставила би оцінку 3.5. Історія сама собі хороша, але я, напевно, чекала чогось іншого, виходячи із перших 100-150 сторінок. Також книга доволі затягнута, як на мене, вже на останніх 50 сторінках я пропускала певні описи, оскільки вони не становили жодної цінності для мене. В цілому, книгу прочитати раджу, вона цікава і неординарна.
Abandoned reading this one after completing a grueling 35%; DNF. What a dull, depressing, goes-seemingly-nowhere grind. Every female in the story is a self-obsessed daydreamer stuck in a rut; every man is a rapist, a drunk, or a deadbeat. I persevered through 70 pages of navel gazing before chucking this book. In case you miss signifiers so obvious i mistook them for a smoke screen — the “millennial pink” cover art, the title, the female protagonist — men like me are absolutely NOT the target audience for this book. LOL at myself for trying to transcend that, but, nope, not for me. Good luck to the author — my most cherished experience with this book was returning it to the beautiful woman from whom I borrowed it.
WOW SHE JUST LIKE ME FR
4.5 stars 🌟!
My first Japanese literature. I took this book recommendation from IG and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about this book. Cant wait to start my Japan January '24.
what i love about the book - heartfelt imagery; i still lamented on young Natsu leaving her drawing book till the end of the book and when she came back to her old house i got highkey emotional with nostalgia. idk, maybe Kawakami's writing is just THAT personal i couldn't help taking the little things a bit too hard - discussion on being a woman and having children; Kawakami worded everything so well and dives into it so deep. there are lots of important conversations and foods for thought here. it actually articulated lots of my yet abstract concerns about being a mother and bearing children too, like what does desiring anything from it make us, and what's in it for the children. everyone esp the ones considering having a child should read this - the magical realism bits; I listened to the book alone in a dim cell room and that part of random bizarre meeting with a strange man almost got me pissing my pants. so weird and terrifying TT - the MC's a writer! - you know, i love lengthy books time-wise. i don't mind time skips and i love to see how things change in a matter of years. the two parts of the book are interesting on their own, but they also allow so much development to happen i'd definitely reread and make my future partner read this!
Just grateful that I haven’t read it in my teen years and didn’t let this book to destroy me completely
I started this book with very high expectations and wasn't prepared for its ebbs and flows; Book 1 was quick and absorbing, the first half of Book 2 was really a drag, but the second half of Book 2 made it worth the entire read. Ultimately an honest and rewarding exploration of the relationships women have to each other and ourselves. I'm excited to read more of Kawakami's work.
i’m not really good at words but all i can say is this book is such an incredible book. this is my first time reading a japanese literature and it didn’t disappoint me at all. very good writing and stunning novel. i was so absorbed and attached with the characters and the storyline. this book is the so interesting i’m so mad that i didn’t read this sooner. there’s a lot of great quotes in here that i can relate to it some of it.
Highlights
Happiness is the base unit of consciousness, our single greatest motivator. Saying "I just want to be happy" trumps any other explanation.
As we walked along, something was asking me if I planned to keep on going, or if I'd finally had enough. Not like the world actually cared. This was nothing more than self-absorption. Narcissism. It was my dream to make a living as a writer, but was this tendency of mine to come up with sentimental narratives everywhere I went helping me or getting in my way? I honestly had no idea. Would I ever? I had no way of knowing.
This really bothered me. The thought of making it to seventy, only to be raped and murdered by a teenage boy who could have been your grandson—I doubt in all her life that she imagined this would happen.
That scared me, because I knew the feeling couldn’t last. Things would go back to the way they were.
I tried using my voice. At first I was quiet, as if my voice was new to me but then I let myself go and started saying whatever came to mind. There was no one else around. No one could stop me.
My life was like a dusty shelf in an old bookstore, where every volume was exactly where it had been for ages, the only discernible change being that my body has aged another ten years
"I'll always be your sister," she said. "We're gonna be okay, We're in this together. Whatever you choose. I'm with you."
We're always getting caught up in our problems, but what's a hundred years? Human lives are so short. The whole of human history is nothing when you stop and think about outer space.
Why is it that people think this is okay? Why do people see no harm in having children? They do it with smiles on their faces, as if it's not an act of violence. You force this other being into the world, this being that never asked to be born. You do this absurd thing because that's what you want for yourself, and that doesn't make any sense.
It's just men can be such idiots, They can't do anything around the house without making a ton of noise, not even close the fridge or turn the lights on. They can't take care of anyone else. They can't even take care of themselves. They won't do anything for their kids or their families if it means sacrificing their own comfort, but they go out in the world and act all big, like, I'm such a good dad, such a provider. Idiots.
I don't know what to do, and you don't tell me anything. I love you, but I never want to be like you.
It feels like I'm trapped inside my body. It decides when I get hungry, and when I'll get my period. From birth to death, you have to keep eating and making money just to stay alive.
Night came, settling with the heat, and cast some things in stark relief and others into shadow. The world was saturated with regret and consolation, people and things that went and before.
I could see people all around me, but I almost felt like nobody could see me. I heard a train go by, rumbling down the tracks, drawing a thick line between the world and my experience.
It feels like I'm trapped inside my body. It decides when I get hungry, and when I'l get my period.
“…like he’s so much better than all those men. ‘I know the pain that women feel, I respect women. I’ve written papers about this stuff, I know where all the land mines are. My favourite author is Virginia Woolf’ and all that… So fucking what, though, right? How many times did you clean the house last month? How many times did you cook? How many times did you do the shopping?”
"Parents want to hear their kids say ‘I'm happy I was born,‘ to hear their beliefs reinforced. That's why parents and doctors are always making new life, even though no one asked for it. And in the process, those tiny bodies are sometimes cut up, stitched back together, hooked up to tubes and machines, or bled dry. Lots of them die in overwhelming pain. When that happens, everyone's hearts go out to the parents. There's no greater sadness, they say. The parents break down and cry, do what they can to overcome their grief. They thank the child. They're grateful to have had the chance to know them. They're truly thankful that the child was born, too. But what is that? Who exactly are they thanking? The child who knew nothing of life but excruciating pain? What gave them the right to have these kids, when they could easily wind up spending their whole lives in horrible pain, thinking of nothing but dying, every single second of the day?”
And doesn't a woman without a partner have the right to meet her child? Or is it her fault? This isn't the same about everyone's critical families or looks. It's not that I want a child. I don't want them, I dont want to have them. I want to meet them. My child. I want to meet my child and live with them. But who is it I want to meet? We've never met before.
Maybe you poor now. Maybe you were poor in the past. I'm both. I was born poor, and Im still poor.
Writing makes me happy. But it goes beyond that. Writing is my life's work. I am absolutely positive that this is what I’m here to do. Even if it turns out that I don't have the ability, and no one out there wants to read a single word of it, there's nothing I can do about this feeling. I can't make it go away. I recognize that luck, effort, and ability are often indistinguishable. And I know that, in the end, I'm just another human being, who's born only to die. I know that in reality, it makes no difference whether I write novels, and it makes no difference if anyone cares. With all the countless books already out there, the world won't notice if I fail to publish even one book with my name on it. That's no tragedy. I know that. I get that.
“People like pretty things. When you’re pretty, everybody wants to look at you, they want to touch you. I wanted that for myself. Prettiness means value. But some people never experience that personally.”
하
“It feels like I’m trapped inside my body. It decides when I get hungry, and when I’ll get my period. From birth to death, you have to keep eating and making money just to stay alive.”
Existence sucks when you’re young