Fiction

Breasts and Eggs

Breasts and Eggs

  • Downloads：8621
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-08-17 09:50:56
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Mieko Kawakami
  • ISBN：152907441X
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Summary

On a hot summer’s day in a poor suburb of Tokyo we meet three women: thirty-year-old Natsuko， her older sister Makiko， and Makiko’s teenage daughter Midoriko。 Makiko， an ageing hostess despairing the loss of her looks， has travelled to Tokyo in search of breast enhancement surgery。 She's accompanied by Midoriko， who has recently stopped speaking， finding herself unable to deal with her own changing body and her mother’s self-obsession。 Her silence dominates Natsuko’s rundown apartment， providing a catalyst for each woman to grapple with their own anxieties and their relationships with one another。

Eight years later， we meet Natsuko again。 She is now a writer and find herself on a journey back to her native city， returning to memories of that summer and her family’s past as she faces her own uncertain future。

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Reviews

Nimue McDowall ，

I have never， ever， been so moved by a book at such a fundamental level。 Genuinely feel like it has changed my entire perception of 'womanhood' and femininity。 Cannot wait to pick it up again。 I have never， ever， been so moved by a book at such a fundamental level。 Genuinely feel like it has changed my entire perception of 'womanhood' and femininity。 Cannot wait to pick it up again。 。。。more

marta ，

2。5this just didn't do it for me， this was soooo long for no reason。 it feels like I sat through all this and didn't gain anything in return。 it wasn't BAD bad， but this was just seemed really boring to me 2。5this just didn't do it for me， this was soooo long for no reason。 it feels like I sat through all this and didn't gain anything in return。 it wasn't BAD bad， but this was just seemed really boring to me 。。。more

Kendal ，

Wow

Julian ，

I liked this book except for the really transphobic passage in the first part。 As a trans reader who really enjoyed reading Kawakami's Heaven ， I felt horrified to come across such blatant and jarring transphobia in a book I was looking forward to reading。 Kawakami conflates trans men with butch lesbians and "tomboys" and the narrator voyeuristically wonders about and comments upon their genitals。 The narrator is thinking of telling a "tomboy" to get out of the women's side of the baths and is I liked this book except for the really transphobic passage in the first part。 As a trans reader who really enjoyed reading Kawakami's Heaven ， I felt horrified to come across such blatant and jarring transphobia in a book I was looking forward to reading。 Kawakami conflates trans men with butch lesbians and "tomboys" and the narrator voyeuristically wonders about and comments upon their genitals。 The narrator is thinking of telling a "tomboy" to get out of the women's side of the baths and is getting angry about them being there。 As trans people （and butch people） know， it can be hard to use gendered facilities like bathrooms， locker rooms， etc。 So， for the narrator， who we are are supposed to sympathize with， to think it's okay to tell someone who isn't bothering her at all to leave just because of their gender presentation is messed up。 Kawakami says also that these "tomboys" or trans men are always so feminine and that they are more feminine than her and the cisgender women she knows。 This was sickening for me to read。 For her to say that trans masculine people will always be feminine， more feminine than women even， and that they can always be clocked is such an awful thing to have to read about myself and people who share my identity。 Of course， it's not true， but it is a really awful thing to read。 I don't think the narrator （or Kawakami） can clock every trans man ever， but it's transphobic to assume that such a thing is possible。 Now， I feel like I must also note that this passage ends with a dream sequence where there are tiny people who slough off of the "tomboy's" body that say "there is no such thing as men and women。" But this doesn't seem to have any effect on the plot moving forward or to complicate Kawakami's exploration of what it means to be a woman。 I tried to give Kawakami the benefit of the doubt， but I think this is only transphobia， pure and simple。 If it weren't for this passage， I would have liked the book more。 It was still worth reading in my opinion， but her exploration of gender and what it means to be a woman is limited by her myopia concerning people who do not conform to societal gender norms in an even more radical way than the women in her story。 。。。more

PoBu ，

bello da leggere。 la prima parte scorrevole e avvincente， nella seconda， a mio parere， ad un certo punto si perde un poco ma poi riprende e chiude molto bene una bella visione femminile del giappone su argomenti non usuali。

Grant Price ，

Bombs along nicely， then spirals out of control for a good old chunk of time in the middle， but recovers in time for the end。Honestly， the first third is a perfect novella， and if that was all there was I would have given it 5 stars。 Makiko is a well rounded， fully fleshed out， tragic， contradictory yet entirely believable and relatable character like I rarely get to enjoy in literary fiction。 Kawakami's use of a "silent" daughter， Midoriko， against which for Makiko and Natsume to project their Bombs along nicely， then spirals out of control for a good old chunk of time in the middle， but recovers in time for the end。Honestly， the first third is a perfect novella， and if that was all there was I would have given it 5 stars。 Makiko is a well rounded， fully fleshed out， tragic， contradictory yet entirely believable and relatable character like I rarely get to enjoy in literary fiction。 Kawakami's use of a "silent" daughter， Midoriko， against which for Makiko and Natsume to project their fears and hopes and resentments is an excellent idea， and the climax in the kitchen between all three women is exactly the pay-off I hoped for。Sadly， the second third is reads almost like it is self-published and unedited。 The hallucinations and dreams add little （do they ever？）， the musings on artificial insemination are extremely repetitive， and I'm not entirely sure what the point of Natsume's not-editor is as a supporting character。 Aizawa is also a bit of a drip。 While reading it I started wondering whether Natsume， an author， kept saying "my novel was going nowhere" as like a meta commentary for Breasts and Eggs itself。As an aside， I found it interesting that throughout Natsume's struggles in working out how， why and whether she should have a child， she doesn't consider the climate crisis even once。 Not saying it's a shortcoming at all， but it is quite telling where people's priorities and blind spots lie。 。。。more

Genevieve Singzon ，

BREASTS AND EGGS by Mieko KawakamiThis is my first Kawakami read and honestly， I intentionally did not read the blurb at the back cover because I wanted to be surprised by what this is all about。 Why is the title Breasts and Eggs？ I was so intirgued。 I literally thought this has something to do with chickens。 LOL。 I was wrong！ 😂A little spoiler ahead。。。。。This book is a very insightful story about a woman confronted directly/indirectly with female body issues involving breast augmentations and th BREASTS AND EGGS by Mieko KawakamiThis is my first Kawakami read and honestly， I intentionally did not read the blurb at the back cover because I wanted to be surprised by what this is all about。 Why is the title Breasts and Eggs？ I was so intirgued。 I literally thought this has something to do with chickens。 LOL。 I was wrong！ 😂A little spoiler ahead。。。。。This book is a very insightful story about a woman confronted directly/indirectly with female body issues involving breast augmentations and the desire for the eggs and sperm to meet the unconventional way。 Hence， the title。 🙌I really like this book。 I think this is the kind of book I could read at anytime of the day。 The book is obviously more on the feminist side。 It's not only fiction， it also dissected the pros and cons of the subject which will make the readers weigh on them too。The one thing I noticed in this book is how Natsu's conversation with other characters feel like she is interviewing them the whole time because of how taciturn she becomes， only saying '"yeah" in between her friends' sentiments。 And even though it is relateable as I am also not talkative in person， it still feels odd。 😁 。。。more

Chaz ，

4。5*

Emma Kate ，

Meh

Giulia Maria ，

3。5☆

Connie Hall ，

Kawakami explores womanhood in an unusual and intriguing way。 Whenever I encounter characters who choose solitude， I feel simultaneously curious and baffled。 Never bored。

Maria ，

encara no se molt bé que dir。 El que puc dir segur， és que és un llibre que m'ha canviat el punt de vista no potser no canviat però si m'ha fet entendre millor un altre punt de vista。 Posa molts temes sobre la taula， els discuteix i no acaba d'arribar a ninguna conlusio potser pq no n'hi ha una。 La vida experimentada des de molt angles diferents sobretot centrant-se en el de la dona。 Està molt molt ben escrit i es nota la reserca de l'escriptora per abordar temes dificils。 Hi ha tantes coses de encara no se molt bé que dir。 El que puc dir segur， és que és un llibre que m'ha canviat el punt de vista no potser no canviat però si m'ha fet entendre millor un altre punt de vista。 Posa molts temes sobre la taula， els discuteix i no acaba d'arribar a ninguna conlusio potser pq no n'hi ha una。 La vida experimentada des de molt angles diferents sobretot centrant-se en el de la dona。 Està molt molt ben escrit i es nota la reserca de l'escriptora per abordar temes dificils。 Hi ha tantes coses de les que parlar que no se que escriure però tot m'ha quedat grabat al cap。 。。。more

Ann Karring ，

I never write reviews， but in this case I wanted to。 I really loved this book， and I would recommend it to anybody who grew up with the expectations that follows when you are born with a female sex。 Don't expect thrilling action， it is definitely a slice of life， and I do not think what happens is the most important in this story， but the characters in it。 I see a little bit of myself in almost all the characters in this book。 As somebody who has a complicated relationship with sex， my own body I never write reviews， but in this case I wanted to。 I really loved this book， and I would recommend it to anybody who grew up with the expectations that follows when you are born with a female sex。 Don't expect thrilling action， it is definitely a slice of life， and I do not think what happens is the most important in this story， but the characters in it。 I see a little bit of myself in almost all the characters in this book。 As somebody who has a complicated relationship with sex， my own body and children， this book helped me reflect on these issues from new perspectives。 。。。more

Sophie Bloor ，

First half great。 Ending bizarre。 Second half long。 Did not finish。

Concertina ，

😑

Peter Schutz ，

“If you think about it， that’s what it was like when we were younger。 Sex wasn’t a thing， it had no real role in our lives， you know？ It didn’t matter if you were a woman or not。 It’s just， for me， things stayed that way。 It’s like that part of me never grew up。 I don’t think there’s anything strange or unusual about it， though。 That’s why sometimes I have to ask myself: Am I really a woman？ Like I said， I have the body of a woman， I know that。 But do I have the mind of a woman？ Do I feel like a “If you think about it， that’s what it was like when we were younger。 Sex wasn’t a thing， it had no real role in our lives， you know？ It didn’t matter if you were a woman or not。 It’s just， for me， things stayed that way。 It’s like that part of me never grew up。 I don’t think there’s anything strange or unusual about it， though。 That’s why sometimes I have to ask myself: Am I really a woman？ Like I said， I have the body of a woman， I know that。 But do I have the mind of a woman？ Do I feel like a woman？ I can’t say either way with any confidence。 I mean， what does feeling like a woman actually mean？ I’m not sure how that relates to how I feel about sex， but it had to。It’s the same when we grow older， right？ Maybe some women are still doing it at seventy or eighty， but not most， right？ I dunno。 At a certain point， it must become impossible。 In the future， as medicine advances and our lives get longer， we’ll be old for an even greater portion of our lives。 Which translates into more time on earth without sex。 Less time spent fucking—no more panting and gasping， in and out， sweating your miserable face off， the temporary insanity of our lives。” 。。。more

Phederica ，

Sinceramente credo sia un libro inutilmente lungo， a volte ambiguo。 Se ridotta all'osso la storia è comunque abbastanza interessante: la voglia di diventare madre da donna single e con l'aggravante di una repulsione verso il sesso; la sfida， tanto a livello pratico quanto mentale， che questa eventualità rappresenta， sono punti che mi hanno portata a riflettere molto sull'argomento， quasi disturbandomi。 Le scene in cui Natsuko si scontra tanto con se stessa quanto con il pensiero di altre donne， Sinceramente credo sia un libro inutilmente lungo， a volte ambiguo。 Se ridotta all'osso la storia è comunque abbastanza interessante: la voglia di diventare madre da donna single e con l'aggravante di una repulsione verso il sesso; la sfida， tanto a livello pratico quanto mentale， che questa eventualità rappresenta， sono punti che mi hanno portata a riflettere molto sull'argomento， quasi disturbandomi。 Le scene in cui Natsuko si scontra tanto con se stessa quanto con il pensiero di altre donne， ad esempio durante gli incontri in cui finisce per incontrare Aizawa （personaggio chiave per la svolta del romanzo ma sinceramente piuttosto insulso）， sono state quelle che mi hanno colpita di più。 È stato interessante vedere come il mio personale giudizio si spostasse prima verso una fazione， quella del ogni donna può e deve poter avere un figlio， poi ad un'altra， quella del no， non è esattamente così， Natsuko non sembra una persona equilibrata， questa fissazione che ha del "incontrare" suo figlio sembra quasi un capriccio， ma forse la procreazione stessa nasce da un capriccio， dalla necessità egoistica di sentirsi appagati。 Ecco， persino nella recensione non posso fare a meno di continuare con i grandi interrogativi che questo libro ha portato a galla。In ogni caso， la storia finisce in un modo piuttosto banale， cosa che si può intuire facilmente durante la lettura。 。。。more

Hollis Fishelson-holstine ，

Thought I’d like because of hurakami comment but despite enjoying the writing it was too weird

Rita Sophie ，

Natsuko is a writer who wants to have a kid。 From a sperm donor， since she can't have sex and it's not interested in having a partner。 Makiko， her sister， works in a bar and she's a single mother to her daughter， Midoriko， who， at the beginning of the book， doesn't talk to her mother。 Imposed mutism。 Fascinating！Kawakami's novel is。。。。 long。 Almost 450 pages。 I started it before going on vacation， I read some of it while in Romania， and I finished it yesterday， while taking in the gloominess of Natsuko is a writer who wants to have a kid。 From a sperm donor， since she can't have sex and it's not interested in having a partner。 Makiko， her sister， works in a bar and she's a single mother to her daughter， Midoriko， who， at the beginning of the book， doesn't talk to her mother。 Imposed mutism。 Fascinating！Kawakami's novel is。。。。 long。 Almost 450 pages。 I started it before going on vacation， I read some of it while in Romania， and I finished it yesterday， while taking in the gloominess of UK's clouds。 The novel was a constant escape for the last three weeks。 It was an escape into Tokyo。 Kawakami's style seems to be highly influenced by Murakami， and it feels that writing about lonely， slightly depressed people， with various unusual passions and one usual passion for beer falls into a certain pattern - here the resemblance of the styles。 Makiko has the scene at the beginning， and her talking obsessively about her breasts augmentation is an 'excuse' for Kawakami to really expose the business。 As she does it， later on， on the sperm donor conception one。 I enjoyed the characters， the images of Tokyo and its sushi （and other traditional dishes） bars， the summer heat which matched so well the one in Bucharest and my roaming around in a suffocated city mirroring Natsuko's walks。 And that was mesmerizing。 BREASTS AND EGGS is a book about women。 About women as mothers， as young women discovering love， or middle aged women dying， and then the motherhood！ The beauty of meeting your child！ The immense love only a mother can feel （they say）。 To more Mieko Kawakami's novels！ 。。。more

Kaitlyn ，

DNF - hit the transphobia/homophobia at the end of chapter 3 and it was just too much。 Did some research and found enough reviews about this book’s cisheteronormativity that I decided it wasn’t worth my time。 Also can’t say much for ‘Heaven’。 Have not found this author to be worth it in general。

Anette ，

I was not prepared for what was inside this book。 Once I discovered how unprepared I was for the first time， the coming and going tides of more unpreparedness swept over me over and over again。I felt like I could never get comfortable while reading this book。This book is about motherhood in Japan， which， in this story， is often thankless and lonely; in rare cases， a life-enriching ingredient。 At the very beginning， the main protagonist， Natsu， is a spectator of the different shades of motherhood I was not prepared for what was inside this book。 Once I discovered how unprepared I was for the first time， the coming and going tides of more unpreparedness swept over me over and over again。I felt like I could never get comfortable while reading this book。This book is about motherhood in Japan， which， in this story， is often thankless and lonely; in rare cases， a life-enriching ingredient。 At the very beginning， the main protagonist， Natsu， is a spectator of the different shades of motherhood。 She is almost passively floating through her life， not finding purchase on the slippery male-dominated surface that shapes modern Japan that would allow her own character to lift its head up and show。 I got a couple of glimpses of her strong will and perseverance， her witty observations， and welcoming silence that allowed others to arrive at their aha！ moments。 She seemingly embraces being one of the crowd until she discovers donor conception。While I followed her stumbling opon personalities stronger than her own that either silently and imperceptibly agitate her or tip her into anger， I eventually discover that Natsu， like many women before her and many women that will follow， placed her faith and hopes in becoming a mother because changing her life on her own was not working out。I wanted Natsu to find her happy ending and found myself leaning into the conventional one when the author smoothly introduced an element of romance。 I was happy that once again I did not get to be comfortable with how the story went。On top of the story being complex and riveting， I absolutely loved the stories of daily life in Japan， different dishes， and different social conduct rules that were described in the book。 I recommend the book to any Japanophile out there！ 。。。more

Martyna ，

I'm not sure how to rate this book。。 I recognize it was really well written， the characters were fleshed out and there were a lot of interesting conversations relating to body image， artificial insemination， parenthood， etc。 But contemporary is not my favourite genre and this book was basically one woman's life and a lot of reflections and discussions with other women （sometimes men）。 Not my cup of tea。。 I'm not sure how to rate this book。。 I recognize it was really well written， the characters were fleshed out and there were a lot of interesting conversations relating to body image， artificial insemination， parenthood， etc。 But contemporary is not my favourite genre and this book was basically one woman's life and a lot of reflections and discussions with other women （sometimes men）。 Not my cup of tea。。 。。。more

Yoyongg ，

I liked the first part becuase it felt like a slippery slope and everything was moving fast。the second part of the book was okay。 I liked the different perspectives on artificial insemination and the use of sperm banks。 but I thought the ending was very disappointing。 also felt like book 1 and 2 were written differently？？？？？ idk

Tillie ，

Tyckte mycket om första delen， resten var inte helt min kopp te men spännande teman。

nuvo ，

reaaaaallly enjoyed this one 🤓 just not 5* cause the second part was too long

Sylvia ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Not yet 100% relatable but I really enjoyed the emotions presented in this book。 Women live a completely different experience from men and the deepest struggles are presented here。 Not all women face these challenges but these are the challenges I fear。 There is also this element of decoupling love from the nuclear family。 I experienced this a lot when I left for college - I had to rediscover why I loved my family or why I couldn’t， aside from being blood relatives。

Abby ，

A wandering and yet compulsively readable portrait of the particular misery of modern Japanese womanhood。 Read while nursing my newborn， which felt appropriate， given all the themes that Kawakami explores。 She makes bold choices as a novelist， surprising readers at various turns， and I think this is what endeared me so much to the book， strange as it is。

Lauren ，

First part great， second part eh

Ahtziri Gonzalez ，

This two-part novel aims to capture the many social pressures women face in the 21st century。 While it is set in Japan， the themes are universal and relatable to women with different backgrounds: motherhood expectations and the meaning of procreation， aging and impossible beauty standards， poverty traps， pressure to marry and dysfunctional relationships， barriers to career advancement， among others。The story is largely driven by dialogue， following the protagonist's occasional conversations with This two-part novel aims to capture the many social pressures women face in the 21st century。 While it is set in Japan， the themes are universal and relatable to women with different backgrounds: motherhood expectations and the meaning of procreation， aging and impossible beauty standards， poverty traps， pressure to marry and dysfunctional relationships， barriers to career advancement， among others。The story is largely driven by dialogue， following the protagonist's occasional conversations with family， friends and strangers， in which the above-mentioned themes are discussed。 The plot is intentionally mundane， reflecting the day to day life of the main characters。 While I was not very fond of this approach， it somehow works， giving the novel a very original and fresh style。Breasts and Eggs is definitely not a feel-good read， but I think it does a great work in fostering debate around the many challenges of contemporary womanhood – and most importantly， the need to stop forcing women to meet unrealistic expectations and traditional roles。 。。。more

YH ，

It's a compelling story。 I read the Japanese edition at first， then read the English translation。My initial reaction was that it's hard to identify with the heroine。 She is a woman who wants to have a baby and is looking for artificial insemination。 The setting is unique and has no relevance to my life。However， when I went through the plot for the second time， I could pay attention to the words and emotions expressed by the characters。 I also felt as if I had joined the conversation between the It's a compelling story。 I read the Japanese edition at first， then read the English translation。My initial reaction was that it's hard to identify with the heroine。 She is a woman who wants to have a baby and is looking for artificial insemination。 The setting is unique and has no relevance to my life。However， when I went through the plot for the second time， I could pay attention to the words and emotions expressed by the characters。 I also felt as if I had joined the conversation between the heroine and the people around her。 Especially the thought by Yuriko struck me， like the heroine herself。 She didn't consider her life happy and questioned why she was living in this world in the first place。 It's a fundamental irony that we all exist today without our own will， but our parents decided to have us。I have no answer to how we should understand and accept this fate， but this book gave me a chance to know some people think this is very important for them to live。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Breasts and Eggs

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Breasts and Eggs&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Breasts and Eggs&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0