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shesaidnoway's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
pvid's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
5.0
aftonpatterson's review against another edition
5.0
I couldn’t explain how beautifully written this book is even if I tried. It explores the deep rooted struggles of womanhood and what development for women is really like. It shows the struggles of pregnancy as a single mother and how passionately some women want to be mothers. Incredibly written and soothed such an ache in my soul. Book hangover to the max after reading this incredible novel.
ruthiegk's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
caseymenges's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
reflective
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
cherrie_bluhd's review against another edition
4.0
I have contradictory feelings about this book. Even having finished it a couple of weeks ago my feelings about the book aren't particularly fixed in my mind. On the one hand, it feels very embued with second-wave, out-of-date feminism in that its construction of womanhood falls almost exclusively along the lines of the 'female body', rather than the idea that womanhood and feminity are less concretely fixed than that, and instead are more social, societal, and internal. Its ideas of 'woman's issues' are tied to periods, pregnancy, and body image, which I feel is territory that has been covered many times by second-wave feminists in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, and I wouldn't have normally been interested in a book covering familiar ground unless it took a unique (and trans-informed) view. Instead, this book's understanding of trans politics feels very surface-level. Though perhaps ill-informed good intentions and vague 'cultural differences' (I know nothing about trans politics in Japan) can explain its poor portrayal of trans politics, I am still unsatisfied with the disrespect the book implies in its exoticizing curiosity and misgendering of a trans person, and think if the author thought enough to include trans politics in the book, she could have done much better to portray them with respect.
Still though, after complaining about the book so much, I did give it four stars. Despite feeling that some parts could definitely and tangibly be improved, the book still impacted and affected me. I liked the writing style and I actually liked some of the ways it explored the body politics of womanhood. This was actually why it was so particularly frustrating that the books portrayal of trans politics was so subpar -- because the book seemed to be arguing against fixed understandings of women's bodies. By portraying women as entitled to and able to find empowerment in modifying their own bodies (through breast augmentation and otherwise) and separating the more mental, emotional desire to have sex from the physical possession of 'sex organs,' Kawakami touched on a lot of ideas that are essential to queer and trans politics. The book seemed to argue at times that the 'female body' has never been fixed, or had one specific meaning or connotation to it. That the 'cis female body', too, is changeable and full of incredible variation. Liberation, empowerment, and meaning look so different for so many different people. This is so much of what is essential and elementary in queer and trans politics! Which is why it was so frustrating for ideas of queerness and transness to be dismissed or ostracized from the text. I wish it would have gone further to explore the philosophical and practical implications of some of its own plot points.
Still, I enjoyed much of the book and, as I said before, much of it felt intertwined and not antithetical to queer/trans issues. It was well-written, thoughtful, and engaging. Some of the questions - such as questioning the impulse to reproduce - really stuck with me. But, ultimately, I think the book would have been much more impactful if it explored the implications of its own ideas a little further.
Still though, after complaining about the book so much, I did give it four stars. Despite feeling that some parts could definitely and tangibly be improved, the book still impacted and affected me. I liked the writing style and I actually liked some of the ways it explored the body politics of womanhood. This was actually why it was so particularly frustrating that the books portrayal of trans politics was so subpar -- because the book seemed to be arguing against fixed understandings of women's bodies. By portraying women as entitled to and able to find empowerment in modifying their own bodies (through breast augmentation and otherwise) and separating the more mental, emotional desire to have sex from the physical possession of 'sex organs,' Kawakami touched on a lot of ideas that are essential to queer and trans politics. The book seemed to argue at times that the 'female body' has never been fixed, or had one specific meaning or connotation to it. That the 'cis female body', too, is changeable and full of incredible variation. Liberation, empowerment, and meaning look so different for so many different people. This is so much of what is essential and elementary in queer and trans politics! Which is why it was so frustrating for ideas of queerness and transness to be dismissed or ostracized from the text. I wish it would have gone further to explore the philosophical and practical implications of some of its own plot points.
Still, I enjoyed much of the book and, as I said before, much of it felt intertwined and not antithetical to queer/trans issues. It was well-written, thoughtful, and engaging. Some of the questions - such as questioning the impulse to reproduce - really stuck with me. But, ultimately, I think the book would have been much more impactful if it explored the implications of its own ideas a little further.
aitanavec's review against another edition
Really liked the first part, "Breasts", but the second one "Eggs" is dragging too much for me.
snaillydia's review against another edition
3.0
Womanhood in Japan. Oof. Loaded subject.
This novel is all about womanhood, examined through the mundane life of a woman named Natsuko. It's split into two parts, one set in 2008 as Natsuko's sister and niece visit her in Tokyo, and the other set in 2016 as Natsuko starts making decisions about her fertility.
The two parts read very differently, which makes sense, as the first was released as a novella long before the publication of Breasts and Eggs.
I thoroughly enjoyed the first part. It was beautifully introspective, but balanced in examining characters beyond the narrator. A few gut punches come out of nowhere, though not in a melodramatic way. I was reading part of it idly in a bookstore, and one moment hit me in a particular sort of way. I walked over to the register and purchased one of Kawakami's other books right away.
The second part kind of lost me. It makes up the bulk of the book, about 3/4s. I still enjoyed seeing things through Natsuko, but the other characters I liked from the first part only had a minor role in the second. I really felt Makiko and Midoriko's absense.
The subject matter was also less interesting to me. The first part is about being lost in your twenties, which is quite relevant to my life right now. The second part explores fertility and the morality of anonymous sperm donation. This is a subject I don't care about as much. It included a lot of characters with different viewpoints going on tangents about their views, which got boring. It was still a heartfelt story, but it could have been trimmed down, in my view.
I know I'm talking a lot about my problems with Breasts and Eggs here. It's easier to write about what I don't like about a novel. However, I don't want to discourage anyone from picking it up! This definitely scratched my Banana Yoshimoto itch, so I recommend this to fans of Kitchen.
This novel is all about womanhood, examined through the mundane life of a woman named Natsuko. It's split into two parts, one set in 2008 as Natsuko's sister and niece visit her in Tokyo, and the other set in 2016 as Natsuko starts making decisions about her fertility.
The two parts read very differently, which makes sense, as the first was released as a novella long before the publication of Breasts and Eggs.
I thoroughly enjoyed the first part. It was beautifully introspective, but balanced in examining characters beyond the narrator. A few gut punches come out of nowhere, though not in a melodramatic way. I was reading part of it idly in a bookstore, and one moment hit me in a particular sort of way. I walked over to the register and purchased one of Kawakami's other books right away.
The second part kind of lost me. It makes up the bulk of the book, about 3/4s. I still enjoyed seeing things through Natsuko, but the other characters I liked from the first part only had a minor role in the second. I really felt Makiko and Midoriko's absense.
The subject matter was also less interesting to me. The first part is about being lost in your twenties, which is quite relevant to my life right now. The second part explores fertility and the morality of anonymous sperm donation. This is a subject I don't care about as much. It included a lot of characters with different viewpoints going on tangents about their views, which got boring. It was still a heartfelt story, but it could have been trimmed down, in my view.
I know I'm talking a lot about my problems with Breasts and Eggs here. It's easier to write about what I don't like about a novel. However, I don't want to discourage anyone from picking it up! This definitely scratched my Banana Yoshimoto itch, so I recommend this to fans of Kitchen.
insoolee's review against another edition
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? No
5.0