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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
I'm not sure that I fully understand every single aspect of this book and all of the choices the author made, but I had a really good time reading it, and I liked it a lot! I think the power of the strong female relationships throughout the book are really impactful, and the way the author reflects the downfall of their relationships in their way of life as well drove the point home. I think these kinds of conversations about having children and why people want to have children are very important, and Kawakami wrote the community response to Natsu's exploration very realistically. Overall, I really enjoyed this novel, and am looking forward to picking up more Kawakami in the future!
Bedompt, beknellend, waar en goed en echt.
Onder de indruk van hoe een fictie boek me zo veel kan leren over een maatschappij, verhoudingen en cultuur. Heel bijzonder!
Onder de indruk van hoe een fictie boek me zo veel kan leren over een maatschappij, verhoudingen en cultuur. Heel bijzonder!
dark
emotional
medium-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
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
medium-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
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I didn’t even know Breasts and Eggs was originally two separate works until I read reviews after finishing it. It kind of makes sense. The first part (Breasts) felt more like an intro than a full story. It was good, but it read like the author was mostly showing the themes -womanhood, puberty, poverty, agency- rather than going deep into them.
I loved how "plain" and real it was though. Kawakami shows a lot through little details, like class differences being revealed just by Natsu’s coworker being disgusted by one of her favourite restaurants.
The second part (Eggs) felt way more personal (borderline autobiographical?) which made it hit harder. I related way more to Natsuko’s whole spiral about motherhood and autonomy and how she keeps shifting between certainty and total confusion. I also liked the writing more in this part. It felt like a mirror of the first one, with Natsu’s dreams taking the place of Midoriko’s diary entries. The structure worked better, even if Breasts tackled more themes.
I really liked seeing what happened to Midoriko in the background. She turned out pretty “average,” which felt kind of sad and kind of hopeful. Like, yeah, she got out of the poverty, the teenage angst, the internalised misogyny and general chaos, but also... damn, she just became another adult (from what we’re shown).
Not going into spoilers, but my one complaint is the ending. Not Natsu’s decision itself, but how the book handled it. It felt like the author wasn’t quite sure what to do and just didn’t dig into it.
Spoiler take:
I’m talking about her relationship with Aizawa. I didn’t care that they didn’t end up together or that he wasn’t going to be involved as a father. I did get my hopes up a bit, but especially with how the ferris wheel scene went and the breadcrumbs backstory about his dad through the Eggs part. I thought maybe he was somewhere on the ace spectrum too, or just genuinely wanted to be with Natsu, or that he wanted a kid as he admired his own father so mucb, and realised he liked fatherhood. Either way, it felt like the whole thing was gearing up to something, anything. And then suddenly it’s like "oh yeah, he’s not going to be involved" and that’s it, "he can be there if he wants" ok, anything else? "I'm going to raise them on my own." Sure... that was already clear... So no. nothing else. That's it. No more comments.
It felt rushed, like Kawakami couldn't decide or didn’t want to deal with that thread anymore and just dropped it.
Still, I really liked the book. Everything else was solid. And I love seeing feminism from a non-Western perspective, it hits totally different.
I loved how "plain" and real it was though. Kawakami shows a lot through little details, like class differences being revealed just by Natsu’s coworker being disgusted by one of her favourite restaurants.
The second part (Eggs) felt way more personal (borderline autobiographical?) which made it hit harder. I related way more to Natsuko’s whole spiral about motherhood and autonomy and how she keeps shifting between certainty and total confusion. I also liked the writing more in this part. It felt like a mirror of the first one, with Natsu’s dreams taking the place of Midoriko’s diary entries. The structure worked better, even if Breasts tackled more themes.
I really liked seeing what happened to Midoriko in the background. She turned out pretty “average,” which felt kind of sad and kind of hopeful. Like, yeah, she got out of the poverty, the teenage angst, the internalised misogyny and general chaos, but also... damn, she just became another adult (from what we’re shown).
Not going into spoilers, but my one complaint is the ending. Not Natsu’s decision itself, but how the book handled it. It felt like the author wasn’t quite sure what to do and just didn’t dig into it.
Spoiler take:
It felt rushed, like Kawakami couldn't decide or didn’t want to deal with that thread anymore and just dropped it.
Still, I really liked the book. Everything else was solid. And I love seeing feminism from a non-Western perspective, it hits totally different.
emotional
hopeful
informative
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:
No
Really liked the book! Gave such an interesting perspective on what it means to be female, and what it means to conform to or not conform to social norms. Very well written!
dark
inspiring
reflective
slow-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
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-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