Breasts and Eggs

The story spans a period of several years and all throughout the narrator, Natsuko Natsume, provides—­sometimes journalistically, sometimes poetically, the inner workings of her mind and her experiences in life. At times Breast and Eggs reads like journal entries, punctuated by Natsuko’s feelings and revelations, but all throughout the story is engaging and deeply emotional.

We must of course keep in mind that the story is the story and at the same time is not. What I mean by this is that while this story is the story that was written by Mieko Kawakami, it is also that story channeled through the lens of the English translation done by Sam Bett and David Boyd. With this is in mind I feel I can only describe part of the experience of reading this novel as I lack the ability to read it in it’s original Japanese. The original dialectical touches that Kawakami is known to impart through her Osaka-ben (or Osaka accented Japanese) into her writing are likely impossible to translate into something western readers would understand.

But I believe that even with what is lost in translation, and what is obviously beyond the understanding of readers who have never occupied the role and expectations of being a woman in any society—let alone Japanese society, the book exudes a universally human perspective that makes it very much worth adding to your reading list.

My Review: 👍🏼 👍🏼

*As my first review of a book for the site I will keep it short. I don’t wish to dissect books too deeply at the moment as I feel that the experience of reading is such a personal and subjective act. So, for now, I will stick to recommending books that I feel will have an impact on the reader and that I honestly believe are worth setting time aside to enjoy. 

I will also be sticking to the tried and true method of thumbs up, with books of special note getting 2!