Reviews with content warning for Transphobia - Breasts and Eggs

a beautifully written, insightful, melancholy exploration of patriarchy, womanhood, motherhood, loneliness, and career stagnation. much of this book was just long conversations that the main characters have with other people and themselves, and they feel so real. their problems are ours, our mothers' and sisters', our friends' and acquaintances'. even though there is no "plot" to speak of, i flew through the chapters and was excited to be in natsuko's head again every time i put it down.

virtually the only issue i have with this book, and the reason i took off half a star, is that although i really enjoyed the second half and all of natsuko's musings about asexuality, single motherhood and her future, i did feel the absence of makiko and midoriko. it would have been nice to see their development also, where they were in their journeys.

nevertheless, kawakami's writing and characterisation are stunning, and i can't wait to read more of her work

Content Warnings

ginnyb412's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

"my mother was free labor with a pussy" goddamn

Content Warnings

sadbeautifuitragic's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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themadbloodstone's review against another edition

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informative reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

This book was a bit of an experience. It’s very unique in its own way, and is very blunt when it discusses womanhood, motherhood, and the idea of being a mother/bringing a child into the world. It really gets you thinking about those things, and if you have breasts and eggs yourself, you’ll probably end up going through some existential rabbit hole like I did. Books that do that to you are something special.
Part I is the best part of the book, I will say. Natsuko is an interesting and relatable character throughout the whole book, but you see more of her here, especially with her interactions with her sister and niece, who are also very interesting characters. Part II, however, is very slow. It takes a while to get to the point and drags majority of the time with its prose. You do meet a bunch of new characters that provide Natsu with some internal conflict, but it takes a while for you to care and learn about them. That is probably the point, but you’ll catch yourself skimming or rereading the same sentence over and over again until you get there.
The last act in Part II is where everyone seems to flesh out at once, which is odd but it wasn’t bad. The last act is much more emotional and the characters’ humanness is loud. It made me remember why I enjoyed the book and why I was curious about it in the first place (besides its eye-catching title).

Here is my favorite quote from Part I:

“Writing is my life’s work. I am absolutely positive that this is what I’m here to do. Even if it turns out that I don’t have the ability, and no one out there wants to read a single word of it, there’s nothing I can do about this feeling. I can’t make it go away. […] I know that in reality, it makes no difference whether I write novels, and it makes no difference if anyone cares. With all the countless books already out there, the world won’t notice if I fail to publish even one book with my name on it. That’s no tragedy.” - Kawakami, 88

Content Warnings

lapis's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

Okay, let's start with the basics. In Japan, there are TWO versions of Breasts and Eggs: the first, published in 2008, under the title 乳と卵 / Chichi to Ran (Breasts and Eggs). Then, in 2019, the redone version 夏物語 / Natsu Monogatari ("Summer Tales") is published.

This book is the Natsu Monogatari version. I have conflicting information as to whether the original Breasts and Eggs novel was published at all in English.

I do not know much Japanese, I especially do not know the Osaka dialect, so I cannot comment on the accuracy of the translation. I can see why Kirkus felt it was a bit flat though.

Basically- the book is about a family. Natsuko Natsume - the Protagonist, her older sister Makiko, and Makiko's daughter Midoriko. The first part is about how Makiko (who works at a hostess club) wants to get breast augmentation surgery, and the fact her daughter, Midoriko hasn't spoken to her in months. But it's interspersed with diary entries about Midoriko going through menarche.

The second part takes place many years later. Midoriko is now an adult, and yes, talking to her mother again. Natsuko wants to become a mother but does not want to have sex (I think she's sex-repulsed, in addition to being asexual) so she's looking into sperm donation.

Natsuko is a writer, and is basically researching sperm donation instead of researching her next novel.

There's a scene in a bathhouse where someone on the woman's side who isn't sufficiently feminine enough for Natsuko is bathing (I got the impression this bather was probably a butch lesbian) and she is pissed off about it for several pages. I Think you're supposed to be "What the fuck Natsuko" instead of "Hmmm yes this woman who isn't womanly enough should get the hell out of the bath"

Now the gender essentialism. As the title might have clued you in on, the book is about both Breasts and Eggs. But there's some interesting stuff: Basically Natsuko doesn't feel in touch with her gender (I think this is partially due to the sex-repulsion) and you could totally read her as non-binary / trans. Basically, There's a lot of stuff about the power of a woman as mother (since Natsuko wants to be a single mother). There's a lot of stuff on Hetero-pessimism about how men suck that also isn't really challenged.

Now don't get me wrong: It talks about why men are like this, and while I am not looking for a "Hashtag NotAllMen" I also don't believe in throwing out all men, you know?

I suspect (given an interview I haven't read) that Kawakami wrote / rewrote this book in response to literary darlings like Haruki Murakami, whose women come across as flat in his books.

I think my problem with this is basically, as an AFAB non-binary person (who, admittedly, does not want children) I Don't Want to be reduced to breasts and eggs, even if it's possibly an improvement over being reduced to sex symbols.

I'd be interested in learning more about this book, but honestly, while I did not hate the book, I'd recommend starting with Ms. Ice Sandwich first.

Content Warnings

vigil's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective sad 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

I think this is a book i'll have to buy a physical copy of to return to later, because there is so much being said about how society views women, parenthood, class, and most of it is left up the interpretation of the reader, that i think it can easily fly over the head. that fact especially was one i appreciated about this book. kawakami gives several different points of view (particularly in book two, my favorite, though book one is the most tightly plotted) that contrast each other, taking natsuko and the reader on a rollercoaster together. it is deeply immersive and atmospheric, so that when natsu feels like she's meandering, the reader feels it from the book too, which can be a positive or a detraction for someone. the pacing is very slow, and different between the first and second halves of the book (the breasts portion, was originally a seperate novella) and the change can feel rather abrupt. there is no big climax in this book, it is far too introspective and philosophical for that, instead letting protagonists come to quiet decisions framed very plainly.

this would normally be a five star book, but during book one (the breasts portion), there is a long scene of our protagonist being transphobic towards another woman in the spa. i'm not sure whether or not this had a connection to the overall themes of the book, or was simply just added in, because it's not fully explained by the narrative during or after the event, it just happens and it moves on. i believe i read something about this having translation issues, which could be the cause of this or other things.

Content Warnings

madamdun's review

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challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

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