Reviews tagging 'Death'

Brüste und Eier by Mieko Kawakami

54 reviews

u_0's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense 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

Beautiful, intense, and profoundly human. I'm at a loss for words. It was real.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Cancer, Child abuse, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Death, and Infertility

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

verysillygoose's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility

Moderate: Rape, Death of parent, Pedophilia, and Death

cecilialau_'s review against another edition

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, Child abuse, Confinement, Grief, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Abandonment, Death, Pregnancy, and Rape

elsfflur's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Pregnancy

hue's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

Mieko Kawakami has such a unique way of writing. Her style and story telling grip tight on my heart strings, not letting go before the story has told its tale. I'm flabbergasted how she's woven this narrative around our main character Natsuko, and her many turmoils through most of her life. Through the side characters telling of their lives, and Natsuko reflecting upon their words, I kept having the realisation that every living being has such a vividly complicated life, no matter how pristine or untouched they seem to the outside eye. It should be obvious without it being shoved right into my face, but I guess it's different when you encounter someone through the eye's of another person, fictional or not. Kawakami makes me think Natsuko isn't as fictional as I first thought. To me her struggles seem very real.

I'm no longer surprised Breasts and Eggs became such a international hit. I enjoyed it immensely, the ups and downs of Natsuko's life and all that wove into it. I'll be thinking about this one for ages upon ages, that I'm sure of.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Cancer, Death, and Pregnancy

thebookwasbetter_22's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense 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? N/A

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Grief, Infertility, Medical content, Pedophilia, Vomit, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Suicide, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Alcohol, Bullying, Rape, and Suicide attempt

my_weird_bookish_heart's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Abandonment, Cancer, and Death

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

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

2.5

 Book 1 = 4/5
Book 2 = 1/5 (DNF/skimmed the last 20%)

Could not handle book 2, meandering rambling and extremely dull for me. I'm so sad because the original Breasts and Eggs novella must have been so good as a standalone.

That said, book 2 had one of my favorite quotes:


"How many more times in my life would I sit back like this and find myself transfixed by the blue of the evening? Is this what it means to live and die alone? That you'll always be in the same place, no matter where you are?

"Is that so bad?" I asked myself out loud.

I don't need to tell you that no one answered."


Read for WIT Month (Women in Translation), Aug 2023 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Death