Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami

46 reviews

liv_txt's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Mental illness, Death, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Rape, Car accident, Cancer, Alcohol, and Abandonment

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

provo's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

It took me over a year to read this book. It is incredibly slow but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. We follow an asexual cis woman who tries to figure out if and how to have a child. There is a lot of backdrop of japanese society’s expectations of women and motherhood, it also deals with poverty and growing up without a father. 
I found a lot of the thoughts very interesting, though as an European non-binary person with no wish for children i could only relate so far. 
What I really liked was how many different (heterosexual cis) women with very diverse views on womanhood and motherhood were represented. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Acephobia/Arophobia, Abandonment, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Dysphoria, Death of parent, Classism, and Grief

Minor: Pedophilia

kmcilroy's review

dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Cancer, Child abuse, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Death

icarusandthesun's review against another edition

man, i am so disappointed. the book started strong and i was able to make it through the whole first book (with a little bit of effort), but the second one was sooo boring i couldn't finish it. interesting, yes - like the whole concept - but slow and tedious and unexciting. i loved mieko kawakami's 'heaven' but breasts and eggs just wasn't it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, Cancer, and Alcoholism

Minor: Medical content, Pregnancy, and Infertility

ambb's review

challenging emotional reflective 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, and Death of parent

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Grief, and Infertility

Minor: Terminal illness, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Bullying, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, and Medical content

sofiadanielle's review

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

I think this novel edges towards a 4 star rating for me. I do think there were times where I felt a bit unengaged as the text felt long and slow paced, but I can definitely say the last 100-150 pages or so really picked up for me! 

Also, the synopsis on the back does not really have much to do with the novel, as the whole ‘Midoriko’s silence’ gets resolved in Book One, which is only roughly 30% of the novel? So.. That also sort of detracted points for me, though I suppose I could’ve done more thorough research about the novel before reading. 

This book made me think a lot about being a woman. Though I am not in the same stage of life as Natsuko, I found myself pondering the same things she did; about loneliness, about relationships, career path… These themes and Kawakami’s dedication to them definitely push the novel towards that 4 star rating for me, if only personally. The ending also felt fulfilling in my opinion, both in terms of themes and for the characters!

I am excited to read more of Kawakami’s work after completing this novel!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Terminal illness, Sexism, Alcohol, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Misogyny, and Infertility

maceydowns'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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Sexism, Classism, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Vomit, Death, Grief, Medical content, Pedophilia, Cancer, Death of parent, Rape, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Body shaming and Transphobia

indiarose8's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

I loved the way it was written and the careful way it offered observations about womanhood but I wish there had been more of a storyline. I wanted to know more about the main character's sister and her life. There was a page where the author discusses seeing a transperson in the bathhouse. I was mildly uncomfortable because it felt slightly transphobic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and Alcohol

sydneybedell'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Infertility, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Sexual assault, Alcohol, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Suicide, Transphobia, and Cancer