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dizzzybrook's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Cancer, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
ktrain3900's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
In the journal entries, long conversations, and hallucinatory dreams of the Part 1 (essentially the Breasts section) we meet Natsuko, her sister, and her niece, as the latter two visit Natsuko in Tokyo for sister Makiko's breast enlargement consultation, where Natsuko is ultimately a foil in the drama between Makiko and Makiko's tween daughter Midoriko, all while exploring aspects of her own childhood.
Part 2 (essentially the Eggs section) is more stream of conscientiousness, with the dreamy quality now more like a ghost haunting old neighborhoods, almost through time, the long conversations now with colleagues and friends, as Natsuko now contemplates having a child as a single mother by choice. She continues to explore her own past and life, as she emerges from a fog to forge a future she wants.
While I found the book a little hard to engage with when I first started, to the point I started reading other books for a break, I was able to breach the tidebreak and get into the ocean of the book and it's well thought out and considered debates between the mainly female characters. The ending did feel a little bit contrived, or at least convenient, but ultimately this is a novel that deserves a place along with classics like The Golden Notebook and The Women's Room addressing women's issues and creativity from a more contemporary lense.
Minor: Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, and Rape
ahanky's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Infertility and Pregnancy
Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, and Death of parent
Minor: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual harassment
blogamonika's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Pregnancy
Minor: Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual harassment
katygoodhead's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Infertility and Pregnancy
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Vomit
flaviadeer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Cancer and Child abuse
carojust's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
lillypowell's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
Graphic: Cancer and Death of parent
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Minor: Pedophilia
kurumipanda's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Grief
Minor: Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Suicide, Medical content, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Murder
adelal's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Infertility and Pregnancy
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Cancer and Death