A review by biblio_creep
Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami

4.0

Read if you're looking for: 

• Feminist, literary fiction from Japan
• Expression of the pains & pressures of being a woman
• An exploration of women’s roles in society, how those expectations can suffocate you, & the difficulty of making nontraditional life choices
• A bold, direct, & fresh writing style

This book was originally a novella and a separate short novel, which were then combined and published as this longer novel. We follow the main character of, Natsuko, a woman who lives in Tokyo and who has had a middling writing career. In the first part, Natusko's sister and 12-year-old niece visit her from Osaka, as her sister has an appointment for a consult for breast enhancement surgery. Natsuko's neice has stopped talking to her family members for the past year, and as this section continues the three women start to face difficult memories from the past. The second part of the book occurs eight years later, and follows Natsuko's longing to have a baby as a single woman, looking into the possibility of artificial insemination, which seems to have been quite controversial in Japan. This section addresses the anxiety of growing older as a woman, and the looming threat of infertility, and whether a woman can be complete without a child.
 
Kawakami does such an amazing job expressing the pain and pressures of being an young girl and a woman. It explores how womanhood is defined, and how those definitions and expectations can be overwhelming and suffocating. Kawakami also expresses a young girl's disgust and horror at the realization of the bodily changes of puberty and how those changes induce other's to treat you differently. The second part of the book also addresses the longing to become a mother, but not wanting to be tied to a man, and how society looks askance at women making non-traditional choices. 

Kawakami's writing style is direct and fresh, pulling no punches. While I enjoyed this book as whole, and the writing is amazing, I will say that book one worked better for me. It was tighter and more concise. Book two, while equally well written, didn't appeal to me personally as much, and had a few unusual takes that I wasn't sure about. However, Kawakami really impressed me with her writing and her boldness, and I really felt a connection and empathy with these characters. The author really examined some very complex and labyrinthine issues. If you enjoy emotional, feminist, literary novels, I would highly recommend this one.

 

CW: Pregnancy, Death of parent, Infertility, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Cancer, Transphobia