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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Once again Kawakami transforms the everyday lives of ordinary women into a masterpiece of literature. Mundane events such as a walk to the station in the heat are transformed into beautiful sections of prose which explore the concept in new and beautiful ways. While I was expecting a very long and character-driven story to become boring in some places these descriptions kept me reading for hours without putting down the book.
Beyond solely analysing the book for its writing style, Kawakami also addresses and tackles major questions regarding female bodily autonomy in Japan. The first half of the book - regarding breasts - grapples with the question of Makiko's right to enhance her body for her own confidence with the financial burden this will put on her daughter and how women are forced to perform and adapt for the interests of other men. The strain this puts on her relationship with her teenage daughter, Midoriko, is raw and heartbreaking, with neither being in the definitive right or wrong. It feels as if this tension was an inevitable result of a world which forces those on the margins of society (a single mother forced to be a hostess into her later years) to commodify the only thing they truly own - their body. When even this appears to be unsatisfactory I couldn't help but feel immense sympathy for Makiko. Some of my favourite quotes from this section are as follows:
---> "Beauty meant that you were good. And being good meant being happy. Happiness can be defined all kinds of ways, but human beings, consciously or unconsciously, are always pulling for their own version of happiness. Even people who want to die see death as a kind of solace, and view ending their lives as the only way to make it there. Happiness is the base unit of consciousness, our single greatest motivator."
---> "My monolithic expectation of what a woman’s body was supposed to look like had no bearing on what actually happened to my body. The two things were wholly unrelated."
Nevertheless I feel this section of the book could have benefitted from being slightly longer in its resolution of the conflict between mother and daughter to truly connect the reader with the characters. While still incredibly thought-provoking I felt that the emotional provocation was lacking at times.
The second half of the book - regarding eggs (fertility, motherhood, friendship and female autonomy)- was my favourite of the two. While some of the earlier debates regarding donor-led artificial insemination felt shallow, when Yuriko talked passionately of the image cruelty and violence of bringing a child into this world the debate came alive. The book forces the reader to face the question: why is it okay for a mother to raise a baby when the father had left but not choose to have a baby without a father, why should a woman's aversion to sex prevent her from creating her own family. The immediate answer appears simple, yet upon further inspection forces the reader to confront inbuilt views regarding female bodily autonomy, familial love and the power of men within the family unit. Some of my favourite quotes from this section:
---> "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 other being that never asked to be born. You do this absurd thing because that's what you want for yourself"
---> "Once they've had a baby, most parents would do anything to shelter them from any form of pain or suffering. But here it is, the only way to actually keep your child from ever knowing pain. Don't have them in the first place."
---> "If you want a kid, there’s no need to get wrapped up in a man’s desire,” Rika declared. “There’s no need to involve women’s desire, either. There’s no need to get physical. All you need is the will, the will of a woman."
Again while we connected with Natsuko I felt that the connection with the other characters was lacking (beyond simply mirroring Natsuko's own habit of emotionally distancing herself from those around her). It was this which kept the book from being five star, but nevertheless it was a brilliant and thought-provoking read and I look forward to reading more of Kawakami's work upon its release.
Beyond solely analysing the book for its writing style, Kawakami also addresses and tackles major questions regarding female bodily autonomy in Japan. The first half of the book - regarding breasts - grapples with the question of Makiko's right to enhance her body for her own confidence with the financial burden this will put on her daughter and how women are forced to perform and adapt for the interests of other men. The strain this puts on her relationship with her teenage daughter, Midoriko, is raw and heartbreaking, with neither being in the definitive right or wrong. It feels as if this tension was an inevitable result of a world which forces those on the margins of society (a single mother forced to be a hostess into her later years) to commodify the only thing they truly own - their body. When even this appears to be unsatisfactory I couldn't help but feel immense sympathy for Makiko. Some of my favourite quotes from this section are as follows:
---> "Beauty meant that you were good. And being good meant being happy. Happiness can be defined all kinds of ways, but human beings, consciously or unconsciously, are always pulling for their own version of happiness. Even people who want to die see death as a kind of solace, and view ending their lives as the only way to make it there. Happiness is the base unit of consciousness, our single greatest motivator."
---> "My monolithic expectation of what a woman’s body was supposed to look like had no bearing on what actually happened to my body. The two things were wholly unrelated."
Nevertheless I feel this section of the book could have benefitted from being slightly longer in its resolution of the conflict between mother and daughter to truly connect the reader with the characters. While still incredibly thought-provoking I felt that the emotional provocation was lacking at times.
The second half of the book - regarding eggs (fertility, motherhood, friendship and female autonomy)- was my favourite of the two. While some of the earlier debates regarding donor-led artificial insemination felt shallow, when Yuriko talked passionately of the image cruelty and violence of bringing a child into this world the debate came alive. The book forces the reader to face the question: why is it okay for a mother to raise a baby when the father had left but not choose to have a baby without a father, why should a woman's aversion to sex prevent her from creating her own family. The immediate answer appears simple, yet upon further inspection forces the reader to confront inbuilt views regarding female bodily autonomy, familial love and the power of men within the family unit. Some of my favourite quotes from this section:
---> "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 other being that never asked to be born. You do this absurd thing because that's what you want for yourself"
---> "Once they've had a baby, most parents would do anything to shelter them from any form of pain or suffering. But here it is, the only way to actually keep your child from ever knowing pain. Don't have them in the first place."
---> "If you want a kid, there’s no need to get wrapped up in a man’s desire,” Rika declared. “There’s no need to involve women’s desire, either. There’s no need to get physical. All you need is the will, the will of a woman."
Again while we connected with Natsuko I felt that the connection with the other characters was lacking (beyond simply mirroring Natsuko's own habit of emotionally distancing herself from those around her). It was this which kept the book from being five star, but nevertheless it was a brilliant and thought-provoking read and I look forward to reading more of Kawakami's work upon its release.
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
very long but worth it. I have grown fond of these characters over the 500 something pages. I rooted for them and wanted them to be happy.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Me gusto mucho la primera parte, pero sentí que la segunda fue excesivamente laaaarga y la protagonista me desesperaba. Pensé que este libro me iba a gustar más, quedé un poco decepcionada.
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes