Reviews tagging 'Incest'

Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami

9 reviews

bruhmantics's review against another edition

challenging reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy

Moderate: Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Transphobia

caroisreading's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.0

Mieko Kawakami is becoming one of my favorite, most relatable authors. I read "All The Lovers In The Night" before this, and fell in love with her storytelling and main character. "Breast and Eggs" follows a similar formula of a lost and lonely woman, trying to find meaning. 

This is divided in two parts. Book One was my favorite by far, and as a standalone work, pretty much perfect, a 5.0. I cried at the beauty of her descriptions of the older sister's simple and sweet devotion to her little sister, as well as the strained relationship with her teen daughter. 

Book Two is primarily focused on the younger sister, and I had trouble getting through its density -- beautiful writing, though overwhelmingly verbose. The prose doesn't have the back and forth dynamic that Book One does, switching from the teen's journal entries to the narrator's POV. Maybe that switch made Book Two feel more plain. Still very meaningful.

As a whole, this book delivers on what it means to be a woman in this world, the pressures and injustices, sexuality, the obsession with fertility, youth and appearances. The female characters sort through these themes in a heartbreaking, yet brave and honest way. I loved them, related wholeheartedly with them, and rooted for them.

You'll like this if you're interested in female perspectives, solitary main characters, thoughtful and intelligent writing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Cancer, Pedophilia, Rape, Body shaming, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Infertility, Death, Death of parent, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Suicide, Incest, and Misogyny

saskiahill's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

Richly written, the author's writing style really brings the scenes to life. There's lots of interesting themes explored including parenthood, womanhood, being single, birth, growing up and more, which are tackled well. The book doesn't follow a really clear plot with obvious start, middle and end, but it is told in a linear way and feels satisfying nonetheless. The characters are neither lovable or bad, they are very real and relatable. At times the pace dipped, or I didn't particularly relate to a section - but I think that's more to do with me being a 'mood reader' than about the book itself. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Cancer, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Infertility

Moderate: Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Rape, Incest, Alcohol, Body shaming, and Terminal illness

lady_bountiful's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Infertility, Death of parent, Incest, Pregnancy, Medical content, Rape, Bullying, and Domestic abuse

officialdani's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Certain parts of the book felt like they dragged on too much, leaving me feeling bored and not wanting to continue reading. But the parts that were interesting really kept me engaged. The book explores so many aspects of womanhood, sexuality, motherhood, poverty, societal expectations, etc. it’s introspective and reflective making for a great, thought provoking read. I recommend powering through the rougher parts of the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Pregnancy, and Infertility

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Abandonment, Cancer, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Incest, Pedophilia, and Physical abuse

Minor: Infidelity, Vomit, Rape, and Bullying

edgaranjapoe's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Alcohol, and Infertility

Moderate: Cancer, Dysphoria, Pregnancy, Grief, Terminal illness, Addiction, and Alcoholism

Minor: Physical abuse, Child abuse, Abandonment, Blood, Eating disorder, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Rape, Violence, Medical content, Acephobia/Arophobia, Incest, Body shaming, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Infidelity, Suicide attempt, and Death

kbrsuperstar's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

I think this might be one of the greatest novels I've ever read. The only extremely minor flaw was that it felt a little too neatly wrapped up at the end BUT OTHERWISE my god, I did not want this to end. I just finished it barely 30 minutes ago and maybe after I sleep on it I can be more insightful than just saying wow but also really WOW

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Child abuse, Incest, and Sexual violence

Minor: Transphobia, Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia

morebedsidebooks's review against another edition

2.5

Breasts and Eggs by Kawakami Mieko is a novel recounting “the intimate journeys of three women as they confront oppressive mores and their own uncertainties”.

See an in-depth review at my blog. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia and Homophobia

Moderate: Medical content, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Incest, Pedophilia, Blood, Child abuse, and Rape

Minor: Cancer, Death of parent, and Suicide attempt

Also contains passages about menstruation and artificial insemination.

sygritte's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Cancer

Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicide attempt