Breasts and Eggs

The first time I saw this book was on Olivia Sudjic's instagram page. Just the title and the cover alone have piqued my interest.

If I had to describe it in one sentence, it is about what it's like being a woman in a world created by men.

It talks about self image, relationships, motherhood, the way women are pitted against each other, repeating patterns in parenting, navigating life in a world that has a very narrow set of values, the way women are brought up to be mothers and serve men/their family, unconscious bias etc.

Natsuko is cleverly crafted character - her trajectory and decisions in the book often make you confront your own way of thinking - sometimes you can recognise how society and patriarchy seeped deep into their brains and reasoning - sometimes you sit and think about why Natsuko decisions and way of being make you uncomfortable - especially when it comes to motherhood.

I adored this book. It shows you how far we've come and that we haven't come nearly far enough.

I really enjoyed this Murakami-esque contemporary that focused mainly on topics of fertility, conception and parenthood. We follow the main character who is single and hates sex, but she still really wants to be a mother, we see her over a span of 10 years figuring out her options and what she truly wants from life.


This book had some really great discussions from multiple points of view on different topics from children of donor conceptions, to single parents, and mostly ofcourse from our main character as she comes to terms with the probability of growing old and dying alone.


This book was very relatable to me on so many parts and the author really has a way of capturing moments that make you feel like you've been there and felt that before. I'm looking forward to picking up future novels from this author.

I wish to thank Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for the ARC of Breasts and Eggs in exchange for an honest review.
Mieko Kawakami, many thanks to you for writing this important and thought-provoking novel.

This is an expanded version of the original prize winning novella. It is written in two parts, I read the first, then took a break giving some time to absorb and process what I’d read. Mieko’s writing is skillful, developing the characters superbly; it is written with intelligence and is unique in style. The literature is indeed thought-provoking, broaching the subjects of exploitation and poverty. There is humour within the dialogue and the story is uplifting as relationships between the characters intertwine.

The first part of the novel portrays the life of Natsuko, our narrator, a thirty something women living alone in Tokyo. She is visited by her sister Makiko and teenage niece Midoriko. Makiko works as a hostess in a bar in Osaka; she’s visiting Tokyo to explore breast augmentation surgery. Midoriko is coming to terms with her changing body as she enters puberty; she is angry with her mother and will not speak to her, communicating only through written word. Exerts from Midoriko’s journal describe her anxiety resulting from peer influence, her changing body and the relationships with her mother. The dynamic between the three characters is cleverly crafted.

The second part of the novel is set eight years after the first. Natsuko has enjoyed success as a writer and is no longer burdened by poverty; she feels insecure in her writing striving to be better. Natsuko begins to explore her desire to become a mother. She explores sperm donation and single motherhood, an unsatisfying relationships has caused Natsuko to regard sex as unpleasant. Artificial insemination is not legally available to single women in Japan which leads to the examination of reproductive ethics; Mieko does this with great insight.

This novel has received approval from prominent authors and is critically acclaimed; I believe it deserves the praise. I highly recommend this book.

Breasts and Eggs is a novel about a Japanese woman at two points in her life, looking at womanhood, the female body, and class. Natsu lives in Tokyo where she's trying to make it as a writer when her sister Makiko comes to visit from Osaka, their hometown, with her teenage daughter Midoriko who has stopped speaking to her. Makiko is obsessed with getting breast enhancement surgery, and the relationships between the three women are shown over the few days that Makiko and Midoriko are in town. And then ten years later, Natsu is still in Tokyo but has more success as a writer, and finds herself dreaming of pregnancy and artificial insemination.

The book is split into two sections: the first, shorter one, which was apparently a novella originally, and the the second longer one. Though the second part does drag a bit at times, the two parts do work well together to compare different issues and elements of womanhood and motherhood, as well as Natsu and Makiko's childhood which saw them always desperate for money and food. Moments of female shock and trauma mix with weird descriptions of body parts to highlight ways in which women can be alien from their own bodies. The atmosphere of the first part, with the silent Midoriko having voice through interspersed journal entries, is particularly tense and intimate, and the ending of the second part really brought back comparisons with the first section.

This is an interesting look at gender and class in Japan, and at how female bodies are treated, that considers ideas of beauty standards, culturally accepted ways of having children, and regional voices and experiences. It is more of an experience than a gripping read as you follow Natsu's thoughts and life, but it creates a very vivid picture of her life.

This expanded edition of the original novella 'Breasts and Eggs' is a welcome addition to the body of Japanese literature available in English translation. And it's Mieko Kawakami, right, so you know it's going to be good.

Part One tells of a three day visit to Tokyo by our narrator's sister and niece. Makiko's daughter, Midoriko, hasn't spoken in months, resorting to writing in a notebook to communicate. Natsuko, our narrator and an aspiring writer, has had a series of jobs. Over the course of the three days they talk, argue and spend time together in a series of set-piece visits to a bathhouse and a Chinese restaurant, amongst others. Part Two picks up the story some ten years later as Natsuko is pondering the idea of getting pregnant by artificial insemination. As her story develops, and she battles with her dreams of becoming a successful writer, her relationships with friends and family become consumed with discussions about the role of women in modern-day Japan, their relationships to their own bodies and male-centric concepts of women.

Part One, the original novella, is a powerful piece of writing on its own, and it took me a while to get into Part Two. It felt disconnected from the first section, somehow, and just didn't flow as well. The situations became increasingly obvious as metaphors: Natsuko's struggle with writing her novel becomes a metaphor for her desire to 'create' another human life, and she returns to the family home in Osaka for the first time for nearly 20 years and has a moment of epiphany. The ending, when it comes, is so not a surprise!

Saying that, this is a powerful and moving piece of fiction, giving voice to ideas and images of the female body that are all too missing from a lot of contemporary fiction. Kawakami cements her position as an important modern writer, and this is definitely a must-read, despite its slight flaws. 4 stars.

(With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this title.)

Review summary: I really liked this novel and I think it’s a must-read for anyone who likes contemporary Japanese literature. It’s a moving exploration of womanhood , class and loneliness in contemporary Japan. Think Sayaka Murata’s ‘Convenience Store Woman’ meets Yuko Tsushima’s ‘Territory of Light”.

Natsuko Natsume is a 30-year old writer from Osaka trying to write her first novel in Tokyo. The first part of the novel takes place over a warm August weekend in 2008 as the Beijing Olympics are underway. Natsuko is visited by her older sister sister Makiko and her daughter Midoriko. Makiko, who is in her late thirties, is obsessed with getting breast implants. Midoriko, who is twelve years old, has stopped speaking to her mum and communicates by writing in a notebook. Over the weekend, Natsuko and Makiko remember their childhood which was marked by an absent father, poverty and the death of their mother and grandmother. As it happens with siblings who live apart, Matsuko and Makiko also struggle with their relationship as their current lives have very little common.

The second part of the novel resumes eight years later. Natsuko has published a successful novel and is now struggling to write a second novel. This part of the novel focuses more on Natsuko as she considers her future, her friendships and relationships. The second section is almost twice as long as the first section and it really explores Natsuko and her life in depth. At the centre of the second part is Natsuko’s wish to become a mother. It’s worth noting that the first part of the novel was originally published as a standalone novel and won the prestigious Akutagawa Prize in 2008. The second part was published in 2019 and is twice as long as the first part. Occasionally, the second part does feel a little bit too long and there’s perhaps a bit too much dialogue at times.

The novel is an admirable exploration of what it means to be a woman and what it means to be a working class person in contemporary Japan. It also explores the loneliness that comes with living in a metropolis like Tokyo, as well as what it means to be both a writer and a reader. Mieko Kawakami creates really credible characters and writes very deftly about them with a lot of empathy and grace. This is a moving novel with a big heart.

I think this novel is a must-read for anyone who likes Japanese literature and it will appeal to anyone who liked Sayaka Murata’s ‘Convenience Store Woman’ and Yuko Tsushima’s ‘Territory of Light” .

With thanks to Picador and Negalley for the digital ARC.

Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami was one of my must reads of 2020. Kawakami gives us a glance into the lives of Japanese women and their role in society vis-a-vis procreation. She makes the female body front and centre in her narrative and forces you to come face to face with an intensely physiological language that’s fairly uncommon in popular writing.

The novel has a strong protagonist in Natsuko who tries to navigate her asexual life while yearning to have a child via sperm donation but it’s really the supporting characters- Midoriko, Rie, Rika and Yuriko who steal the show. They highlight the discomfort of physical, familial and locational changes and the struggle to be an individual in a world that refuses to see women for themselves and accept their bodies and life choices.

The book is a treasure trove of powerful imagery. The opening scene correlating windows with poverty, the details of Makiko bleaching her breasts or the action of breaking eggs as a way to break down the barriers between a mother and her daughter, are glorious and symbolic.

The book flows in its own unique rhythm, sometimes like the slow passage of life, but before you settle down too much, you are jolted with the image of women as “Free labor with a pussy” and you realise this is not a comfortable world. That’s a phrase I am not about to forget anytime soon. Kawakami has power and it comes out in full force in this book.

It’s missing one star because there are bits which could have been more tightly edited. It takes a while to adjust to the second part where Natsuko tries to write her own novel, while she is also simultaneously contemplating having a child. In many ways, the laborered process of her writing is the real act of creation.

This one of the more thought-provoking books about women by a woman that I have read in a while. It’s not perfect but it has a lot of great moments in it. Go read it now.

A really interesting and different book. I enjoyed this read a lot and would love to see more works from Mieko Kawakami.


Thank you Netgalley for providing an arc of this book for an honest review.

A bold and beautiful feminist story of three Japanese woman. Their stories depict how social stigmata affects a woman's life and her choices. It was an in read. A must read book for everyone.

In this book Kawakami explores female identity in contemporary Japan. While Motherhood is a central theme, body image, physicality and sexuality are all explored. The main focus of the story is of three women. The thirty year old unmarried narrator Natsu, older sister Makiko, and Makiko’s daughter Midoriko.
Unable to come to terms with her changed body after giving birth, Makiko becomes obsessed with the prospect of getting breast enhancement surgery. Meanwhile, her twelve year old daughter Midoriko is fearing puberty and growing up. The narrator struggles with her lack of identity of being neither a daughter nor a mother. Fast forward ten years and Natsu is contemplating having a child alone.
Throughout the book we learn of the struggles of women. Marriage, relationships, work, money, childcare, family, poverty, domestic violence, alcohol, sex and the tensions of life. Breasts and Eggs took these broad subjects from a time of repression of women in Japan and showed the liberation.
Unlike Murakami I wouldn't say it " Took my breath away" but I enjoyed the detail, the public baths, restaurants, food, theme park, buildings, shops and weather it all made it atmospheric and the characterisation was great and I really warmed to Natsu.
A book I would recommend to anyone that enjoys reading about other cultures and fans of this genre.
My thanks go to the publishers, author and Netgalley in providing me with this arc in return for a honest review

RATING- 5 stars!
‘If you want to know how poor somebody was growing up, ask them how many windows they had.’ So begins one of the finest novels ever written- Breasts and Eggs by Meiko Kawakami. What is so great about it you ask? It’s great because it talks about the mundane and monotonous life of women, and while doing so, it brings forward questions that probably many complexly written novels couldn’t.

The book is divided into 2 parts; the first part is solely focused on Natsuko’s family. The dynamic between her elder sister Makiko and her niece Midoriko is under focus. It also dwells into their back-story thus talking about the two sisters’ mother and grandmother. Midoriko is 12-year-old and has suddenly stopped talking to her mother, it’s been more than 6 months; her mother doesn’t know why her daughter is doing so and Midoriko won’t tell. She only conveys important messages by writing in her notebook. As a teenager, she has never-ending questions about her body and life, like why “menarche” has “men” in it when it has nothing to do with men, why she got to know about sperms first even though she has eggs and why is a girl supposed to be overjoyed on her first period when all it means is that she will add another life to her already hard life.

Makiko is 39-year-old and is obsessed with breasts. After childbirth, her breasts have changed for 'worse' and she wants to go through breast enhancement surgery to make them look more ‘beautiful’. The author takes this opportunity to talk about ‘feminine beauty’, how the majority of us have a ‘monolithic expectation of what a woman’s body was supposed to look like’ and about the general notion that beauty means good, which in turn means being happy. She also talks about identity- who is a woman and more importantly, who is not? Book 1 ends quite satisfactorily and even happily.

Set 10 years after the 1st book, book 2 is all about our mostly unnamed narrator’s writing life and her obsessive thoughts about having a child of her own. Natsuko is now 33-year-old and she is afraid of living alone forever and dying so. Her main obstacle is that she can’t make herself do sex and hence a conventional marriage isn’t the way she can make a baby. After a lot of thinking and consulting, she decides to go for artificial insemination but in a conservative country, walking down this path won’t be easy for her. Here, the author has represented the most common issues faced by any single woman who wants to be a mother. She also explores what it means to have a baby and why people want it. The ethical aspect of artificial insemination and the future of babies thus born are also discussed at length. All this in a way that makes you want to keep turning the pages.

I very much enjoyed the bits where we get to see the writer Natsuo, it was a peek into how it feels to be a struggling writer. The book made me think hard about topics like puberty, body image, relationship/marriage, motherhood, and life itself. Meiko Kawakami’s writing is lucid and straightforward, it hits you in a way it should while talking about such crucial topics. And yet, she has a certain delicacy and a lingering sense of humour that only at times, comes out as funny. There is so much more I want to talk about but I guess, it will become a mini-book if I ventured to pen down all of my thoughts. So, I’ll stop by saying that no matter what age you are- 18, 30, or 40, Kawakami has something for all of you and I highly recommend that you listen to her.
Here is my review on Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/p/CBBKoL_AYO7

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the e-book!

From the first sentence this book is outstanding. I felt like I was there in the apartment with Natsu, Makiko and Midoriko (her journal entries were heartbreaking) and the detail and observations were just incredible. The build up of atmosphere and anxiety was done so brilliantly, and I enjoyed the skip to a later date to find out more about what was happening to them all. I was totally gripped. Thank you so much for the review copy. I'll be posting five star reviews on other sites, and buying everything I can by Mieko Kawakami.

This book completely took my breath away. I really enjoyed the in-depth insight of various characters in the book, it just made it a more enjoyable reading experience and helped tugged at the heart strings all that bit more! Such a beautiful story with a strong feminist message, a book I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to my close friends.

Thank you so much for the review copy, this book got me out a a fortnight long reading slump!

A really compelling read focussing largely on a part of Japanese society normally tucked neatly out of sight: the poor. Somehow covering everything from asexuality to hostess bars to breast implants to artificial insemination, Breasts and Eggs shone a welcome light on a rarely-seen view of modern Japanese life. High points were the strong, instantly relatable and coolly emotional narration, the wide-ranging and skilfully linked scenes from a life, and the frankly unusual subjects on offer. Low points were few - perhaps some slightly sluggish pacing after the energetic start to the novel, and a handful of characters that could have used a little more dimension. Overall though, an enjoyable and enlightening read.

I was so delighted to be sent this @picador proof of Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami (translated by Sam Bett and David Boyd.) I had seen rave reviews on Twitter and knew that it would be something special. When I did a bit of digging, I learned that the first half of the book had been published as a standalone novella, which makes a lot of sense as it seems to have quite a sense of finality about it. In the first section, Natsuko, the narrator, is visited by her sister and niece. Her sister, Makiko, has become obsessed with breast enhancement surgery and her niece has become selectively mute since her body began to go through puberty. There is a lot in this book about male gaze-femininity and bodies, but I actually found the most interesting thing about this first section to be about class. Kawakami explores the working class of Tokyo through Makiko in particular, who has worked as a hostess for years. There are some really great parts about a woman who runs a “fake” Chanel shop that just a shop with the double C logo on everything. I think this section was among my favourites in the novel, as I actually recently listened to a podcast about logos and how they represent various sections of society (Articles of Interest, episode 8, if you are interested!). The second section (Eggs!) is set ten years later and follows Natsuko’s desire to become a mother, so there is a lot on artificial insemination and other medical issues. In all, an excellent book. I think it’s the longest translated book I have ever read, and it was brilliant. #breastsandeggs #miekokawakami #picadorbooks

An idiosyncratic and uninhibited narrative, Breasts and Eggs, is a book you haven’t had read before. It tells no story, but rather it’s a book of experiences, voices, an introspective on women’s bodies- how it feels to own it, accepting and taking control of it with conviction. An exploration of affairs of single women, working-class through many women characters, and herself of the narrator.
The book has two sections- Book one and Book two. Book one observes identity, womanhood, intimate affair, and sexuality of three women- thirty-year-old Natsuko, her older sister Makiko and Midoriko, Makiko’s daughter. Makiko is visiting her sister Natsuko in Tokyo with her daughter to seek breast enhancement surgery, while her daughter writes in her journal her fears of growing puberty. Natsuko takes on the appearance of women’s bodies, her own, on growing up as poor and on single mothers.
Book Two, set over ten years. Natsuko is a writer and working on her second novel. She hates sex but desires to bear a child as a single mother. She prospects having a child through sperm donation and actively looks out for a donor. Besides, this part also shares different women’s opinions of this unconventional birthing considering the take of society.
I loved the first part more. It is exceptional, an uncanny piece yet quick-witted. The second part is a bit longer, comparably dreary but conveying assorted women’s voices on their bodies, on taking control of it or going for a conventional way.
Breasts and Eggs is a satisfying read. I loved it. I’ll recommend reading it slow if you’re not good with sizeable books.

Breasts and Eggs is a novel of two parts. In the first part, Natsu is in her twenties, holding down a low paying job in Tokyo while struggling to become a writer. Her sister, Makiko, and her selective-mute niece, Midoriko, visit from Osaka so that Makiko can attend an appointment with a breast-enhancement clinic. In the second part, Natsu is in her thirties, doing a little better financially but not in a relationship, yearning to become a mother herself and considering using a sperm bank. Both parts are beautifully written: the first part is pacier whereas the second part is looser and gives more space for character development.

I loved the voice of Natsu, she felt very real and her thoughts and reactions built a strong picture of her character. Now I’ve finished the book, I miss her.

This is the second book I’ve read by Mieko Kawakami and I will look out for more.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing a review copy in exchange for honest feedback.

Loved this book. Ordinary women's ordinary lives in ordinary Japan. Female interiority given full voice. Wonderful.

This was such an eye-opening read. A glimpse into a world I didn't really know existed and had seldom thought about - breathtaking.

I loved this book. The characters are all so well-developed, I could really relate to them - it just felt real. The book is written in two connected parts, and gives a sense of time moving and the main character (and her sister, in particular)'s lives and priorities evolving and changing at a pace that is realistic. It's not an action-packed book, but it describes life realistically. Would definitely recommend.

I’ve just finished reading Breasts and Eggs and I can’t stop thinking about it. In this book Kawakami effortlessly covers common and complex behaviours and emotions felt by women of all ages. She explores the lived experiences of period poverty, body dysmorphia, child free women, artificial insemination, single mothers, postpartum depression, the children of sperm donors, loveless marriages, family obligation and more, and as the book progresses you naturally become aware of how vocal men are within the dialogue of women’s fertility. She raises more complex conversations about whether, given our differences, women should live with men at all. Is giving birth a purely selfish concept? When offering advice, might your own lived experience often be irrelevant? The breadth of topics covered and the simple way they are interwoven within the story is extraordinary. I saw myself and my peers reflected throughout. If you enjoy exploring what it means to be a woman today, you may find that Breast and Eggs is just the ticket.

Breasts and Eggs is an absolutely exceptional book that examines womanhood from many different perspectives - from the ways that we view our bodies and how they change over time, the relationships we have with one another, having children, and different ways of conceiving. Kawakami successfully bridges generations of women with different views and examines this topic in detail without it ever seeming dry or so explicit that it detracts from the story. I've always enjoyed reading Japanese literature, and stylistically it reminded me of Murakami. It was refreshing to read a book that felt modern, encapsulating what it is to be a woman in Japan today. One of the best books I've read this year.

A novel in two parts, Breasts and Eggs is narrated by Natsuko, a 31-year-old bookshop worker. The first section is set in 2008 when Natsuko’s sister Makiko and her teenage daughter, Midoriko, come to visit Natsuko in Tokyo. Makiko’s on the verge of 40 and contemplating breast implants. 13-year-old Midoriko hasn’t spoken to her mother for more than six months, writing notes on a pad instead. She keeps a journal which we’re privy to from the early stages of the book which reveals that Midoriko is concerned about puberty and the expectations placed on women. She’s also angry at her mother for wanting the implants. Natsuko is concerned about her sister, who ‘literally looked old’. The two women grew up in poverty and now Makiko works as a hostess in a bar. The strain of work and her daughter not speaking to her is clearly taking its toll on Makiko. Inevitably the tension builds and there’s a superb set piece towards the end of the section involving actual eggs.

In the second half of the novel, Natsuko is thirty-eight. Since the end of part one, she’s become a successful writer with a best-selling short story collection. Now she’s working on a novel and struggling to believe that she’s gone from poverty to full-time writer. She’s also wondering whether she wants to spend the rest of her life alone. This is partly a question of relationships but largely of whether or not she wants a child. Natsuko’s almost certain she’s asexual (although she never uses the term) and this further complicates the issue. In an attempt to find an answer, she begins to research fertility treatment and makes some unexpected discoveries.

Breasts and Eggs was a best-seller in Japan and has been described as ‘a literary grenade’, partly, I’m sure, because Kawakami so brilliantly sends up the middle-class male-dominated literary scene. There’s a brilliant set piece at a literary event which introduces another female writer, Rika Yusa, who has no time for the big male writers and no qualms about telling them. But what sets the book apart is its focus on three working-class women and their lives. Kawakami writes about money and the impact having so little has on someone’s life; she considers the long-lasting effects of growing up poor; she examines what it is to be a woman from a range of perspectives creating space for single mothers, for those who chose to remain child-free, and for a woman who’s asexual, therefore making room for so many different varieties of womanhood. Breasts and Eggs is a breath of fresh air. I loved it.