Reviews - Breasts and Eggs

7.45k reviews for:

Breasts and Eggs

Mieko Kawakami

3.91 AVERAGE

gchristinemarie's review against another edition

4.0

funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

tinelib's review against another edition

4.5

emotional inspiring reflective slow-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

lauren_mae's review against another edition

4.75

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

megaleong's review against another edition

4.0

"they say you can't lump all men together like that, but sadly it's just the truth. no man will ever understand the things that really matter to a woman. if you think about it, it's just obvious…it's women who have to make it work. at the end of the day, where is this pain that men feel coming from? in their opinion: us. it’s all our fault
-whether they're unpopular, broke, jobless. whatever it is, they blame women for all of their failures, all their problems. now think about women. no matter how you see it, who's actually responsible for the majority of the pain women feel?"

must-read for all the men out there, sharp and well-written commentary/discussion on the female experience (specifically re beauty standards, child-bearing, motherhood) in our sexist and misogynistic world. loved the conversations and relationships between the different female characters

xx_ruby_xx's review against another edition

4.75

challenging hopeful reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book found me at the right time in my life. Recently, I've encountered true death for the first time in my life. The passing of my grandfather weighs heavy on my heart, and it's something I'm unsure on how to navigate. How do I deal with the fact that he's simply not here anymore? In less than a month, I will visit the house he lived in for decades. How will I feel then? How do I grapple with the fact that he died of old age- which, by default, means I'm getting older too?

Midoriko's journal entries at the beginning provide insight into the mind of an almost pubescent girl. These journal entries hit me exceptionally hard. The idea of getting her first period is something that fascinates, yet terrifies her. Her prose describing this feeling is panicked and unsured. I've never felt this feeling I felt years ago described better.

Natsuko's relationship with sex is something that is all too real for me too. It encapsulates the feeling of loving someone so much, craving physical contact with them constantly, yet still despising sex. I hated having sex with my previous boyfriend. Looking back, I don't exactly know why. Perhaps it was inexperience on both of our parts.

Natsuko does plenty of research as to whether or not she can/should have a child. This section of the novel was the most interesting to me. As I enter this new stage in my life, my future children are always on the back of my mind. Is bringing them into a crumbling world an act of violence? Am I selfish for wanting children of my own? Will I be able to provide as stable and happy as a life that my parents provided me? Will I eventually grow to hate my husband who shares half of his DNA with these children?