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A review by themadbloodstone
Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami
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:
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
Moderate: Child abuse, Misogyny, and Sexual assault
Minor: Transphobia