Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami

28 reviews

crazytourists_books's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

What a great book! The writing is fantastic, it pulls you un this very atmospheric nareation, almost dream (and sometimes nightmare) like, and lets you breathless. 
If the second part of the book was a bit more balanced, it would have been brilliant! 
P.S. patriarchy is really strong in Japan, isn't it? 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, and Death of parent

jonwood's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense 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

5.0

I thought this was a brilliant character study taking serious, thoughtful stab on psychological issues that should be thought about more, from how culture expectations on appearance and sexuality effect self-esteem to questions about deciding to have a child and how to go about it. Being moving book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Sexual content, Alcohol, Body shaming, Alcoholism, Classism, Death of parent, Grief, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Rape, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Cursing

Minor: Terminal illness and Cancer

anh_read's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing sad 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? No

4.75

Definitely, a “no plot, just vibes” book. However, I enjoyed the themes that are discussed in this book. In general, the book reflects the struggles of being woman in modern times. 

The first part “Breasts” centers around poverty and changes in your body. The second part of the book, “Eggs” focuses on motherhood and being a single parent. This part often got me reflecting on the struggles on becoming and being a parent. It also made me question to have children. This part is much longer, even more slow-paced. Some points were kind of repetitive. Nonetheless, it was still a wonderful and very informative read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Misogyny, Child abuse, Infertility, and Death

Moderate: Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Misogyny, Cancer, Child abuse, and Sexual violence

Minor: Alcohol, Infidelity, Pregnancy, and Body shaming

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

kurumipanda's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Alcoholism, Death, Grief, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Infertility, and Cancer

Minor: Sexual content, Child abuse, Murder, Acephobia/Arophobia, Suicide, Rape, Pedophilia, Medical content, Body horror, and Body shaming

cecilialau_'s review

4.5

Really enjoyed the time I got to spent with Natsuko. The different relationships she has with the ppl in her life and how she navigates it all. I’m glad I took my time reading this rather than rushing through. Although, it all depends on your circumstance of course.
Just saying that I liked that I ended up savouring it bc I really became invested in her life, and it was just absolutely worth the read.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Rape, Sexual assault, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, 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

pandorasirens's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Mental illness, Grief, and Misogyny

Moderate: Terminal illness, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Rape, Death, Infertility, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Alcohol, and Cancer

Minor: Body shaming, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Classism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, and Pedophilia

vellumveela's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

The characters fell a bit flat for me, despite the narrative being entirely driven by dialogue, relationship dynamics, and contemplation. In more than a few occasions, characters felt very trope-y. That said, Kawakami captured and maintains a keen sense of bittersweet melancholy all throughout the novel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Body shaming, and Sexism

Moderate: Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: Transphobia

hopeadinfinitum's review against another edition

challenging reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Alcohol, Transphobia, Death of parent, Acephobia/Arophobia, Cancer, Death, Body shaming, and Infertility