Reviews
"A sharply observed and heartbreaking portrait of what it means to be a woman, in Japan and beyond."--TIME, The 10 Best Fiction Books of 2020 "Fantastic."--Kat Chow, NPR "Stunning."--Financial Times "Raw, funny, mundane, heartbreaking."--Jane Yong Kim, The Atlantic, Best Books of 2020 "Kawakami writes with unsettling precision about the body...she is especially good at capturing its longings."--Katie Kitamura, The New York Times "I can never forget the sense of pure astonishment I felt when I first read Mieko Kawakami's Breasts and Eggs."--Haruki Murakami "A unique, direct voice--almost every page contains sentences that stop me in my tracks."--Marta Bausells, LitHub "Will transcend cultural barriers and enchant readers."--Alina Cohen, New York Observer "Mieko Kawakami's first full-scale novel to be translated from Japanese into English reveals what a Catherine Wheel of talent she is, how unplaceable and unique."--John Freeman, Literary Hub "A striking portrait of contemporary working-class womanhood."--New Statesman "Addresses the multifaceted nature of what it means to move through the world as a woman."--Ploughshares "Kawakami's prose is bold, modern, and surprising. Breasts and Eggs is a moving story about womanhood and modern life told through the lens of a supremely confident writer."--An Yu, author of Braised Pork "Within an affecting portrait-of-an-artist-in-transition, Kawakami deftly, deeply questions the assumptions of womanhood and family--the bonds and abuses, expectations and betrayals, choices and denials."--Terry Hong, Booklist "A feminist masterwork."--Entertainment Weekly "[Kawakami's] voice is intimate, musical, at times wry and powerfully observant to the inner lives of women and girls."--Kali Fajardo Anstine, ELLE Magazine "Breasts and Eggs speaks to the stories of Lucia Berlin; there is the same sense of a dispassionate but honoring gaze cast on working-class women, dogged and unsentimental in their survival."--Hermione Hoby, 4 Columns, "A bracing, feminist exploration of daily life in Japan."-Entertainment Weekly "Not just some elevated piece of literary chick-lit. [Breasts and Eggsis] a novel of humanity, a multifaceted consideration of the fundamental question: What does it mean to exist? [. . .] A street-smart, distinctly Osakan empathy reverberates throughout this perpetually surprising, cleverly spiraling novel."-The Japan Times ""Kawakami, in her first book to be published in English, considers the agency that women exert over their bodies and charts the emotional underpinnings of physical changes-both intentional and unbidden-with humor and empathy."-The New Yorker "Kawakami's timely feminist themes; strange, surreal prose; and wonderful characters will transcend cultural barriers and enchant readers."-The New York Observer "Kawakami's narrative is bracing and evocative, tender yet unflinching in depicting the relationship between the sisters and between mother and daughter."-Publishers Weekly "Kawakami writes frankly about the mix of envy, admiration, scorn, and devotion that women feel towards each other."-Jennifer Schaffer, The Baffler "The book is so much about the body. If you are craving a novel that really describes a woman's body so well, just in terms of desire, in terms of longing, in terms of a sense of self, then this is a fantastic novel to read and I highly recommend it."-Kat Chow, NPR "Within an affecting portrait-of-an-artist-in-transition, Kawakami deftly, deeply questions the assumptions of womanhood and family-the bonds and abuses, expectations and betrayals, choices and denials."-Booklist "Kawakami writes with unsettling precision about the body-its discomforts, its appetites, its smells and secretions. And she is especially good at capturing its longings."-Katie Kitamura, The New York Times Book Review "A unique, direct voice-almost every page contains sentences that stop me in my tracks."-Marta Bausells in Literary Hub "[Breasts and Eggs] speaks to the stories of Lucia Berlin; there is the same sense of a dispassionate but honoring gaze cast on working-class women, dogged and unsentimental in their survival."-Hermione Hoby, 4 Columns "Fearless in its demand for accountability, transcendent in its honesty, it breathes life into feminist literature."-PopMatters "This powerful story is a testament to female relationships, the role that memories play in the now, forgiveness and the ability to grow, no matter how painful it can be"-Happy Mag "Timeless and thoroughly contemporary, intimate and expansive, Natsuko and her companions encompass extremes in a singular and unforgettable fashion."-The Midwest Book Review "Mieko Kawakami deftly captures the anxiety of performing gender, while asking tough questions about class and the expectations of women."-BuzzFeed News "Kawakami's book is complex and multi-layered, asking us deep and profound questions about humanity, social rules, procreation, and femininity."-The Fountain "Kawakami is known for her manipulation of language, and in Breasts and Eggs the body is just another given, with tenderness traded for candor."-Willamette Week "Breasts and Eggsprovides the possibility of transformation through self-acceptance and understanding. Regardless of their various ordeals, characters choose, despite everything, to live, forming relationships and families that are eccentric in structure but just as warm and welcoming."-Asymptote Journal "I can never forget the sense of pure astonishment I felt when I first read Mieko Kawakami's novella Breasts and Eggs. . . Kawakami is always ceaselessly growing and evolving."-Haruki Murakami, author of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle "Mieko Kawakami is Japan's Brightest New Literary Star."-The Economist "One of Japan's brightest stars is set to explode across the global skies of literature . . . Kawakami is both a writer's writer and an entertainer, a thinker and constantly evolving stylist who manages to be highly readable and immensely popular."-The Japan Times, "A sharply observed and heartbreaking portrait of what it means to be a woman, in Japan and beyond."--TIME, The 100 Must-Read Books of 2020 "Fantastic."--Kat Chow, NPR "Stunning."--Financial Times "Kawakami writes with unsettling precision about the body...she is especially good at capturing its longings."--Katie Kitamura, The New York Times "I can never forget the sense of pure astonishment I felt when I first read Mieko Kawakami's Breasts and Eggs."--Haruki Murakami "A unique, direct voice--almost every page contains sentences that stop me in my tracks."--Marta Bausells, LitHub "Will transcend cultural barriers and enchant readers."--Alina Cohen, New York Observer "Mieko Kawakami's first full-scale novel to be translated from Japanese into English reveals what a Catherine Wheel of talent she is, how unplaceable and unique."--John Freeman, Literary Hub "A striking portrait of contemporary working-class womanhood."--New Statesman "Addresses the multifaceted nature of what it means to move through the world as a woman."--Ploughshares "Kawakami's prose is bold, modern, and surprising. Breasts and Eggs is a moving story about womanhood and modern life told through the lens of a supremely confident writer."--An Yu, author of Braised Pork "Within an affecting portrait-of-an-artist-in-transition, Kawakami deftly, deeply questions the assumptions of womanhood and family--the bonds and abuses, expectations and betrayals, choices and denials."--Terry Hong, Booklist "A feminist masterwork."--Entertainment Weekly "[Kawakami's] voice is intimate, musical, at times wry and powerfully observant to the inner lives of women and girls."--Kali Fajardo Anstine, ELLE Magazine "Breasts and Eggs speaks to the stories of Lucia Berlin; there is the same sense of a dispassionate but honoring gaze cast on working-class women, dogged and unsentimental in their survival."--Hermione Hoby, 4 Columns, "A sharply observed and heartbreaking portrait of what it means to be a woman, in Japan and beyond."--TIME, The 10 Best Fiction Books of 2020 "Fantastic."--Kat Chow, NPR "Stunning."--Financial Times "Raw, funny, mundane, heartbreaking."--Jane Yong Kim, The Atlantic, Best Books of 2020 "Kawakami writes with unsettling precision about the body...she is especially good at capturing its longings."--Katie Kitamura, The New York Times "I can never forget the sense of pure astonishment I felt when I first read Mieko Kawakami's Breasts and Eggs."--Haruki Murakami "Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami is as confronting and modern as its title suggests. I love Kawakami's depiction of what it is to be female today in Japan."--Natalie Portman, Natalie's Book Club "Mieko Kawakami's characters live in a world that is made up almost entirely of women but is decidedly not made for them."--Sarah Chihaya, New York Review of Books "A unique, direct voice--almost every page contains sentences that stop me in my tracks."--Marta Bausells, LitHub "Will transcend cultural barriers and enchant readers."--Alina Cohen, New York Observer "Mieko Kawakami's first full-scale novel to be translated from Japanese into English reveals what a Catherine Wheel of talent she is, how unplaceable and unique."--John Freeman, Literary Hub "A striking portrait of contemporary working-class womanhood."--New Statesman "Addresses the multifaceted nature of what it means to move through the world as a woman."--Ploughshares "Kawakami's prose is bold, modern, and surprising. Breasts and Eggs is a moving story about womanhood and modern life told through the lens of a supremely confident writer."--An Yu, author of Braised Pork "Within an affecting portrait-of-an-artist-in-transition, Kawakami deftly, deeply questions the assumptions of womanhood and family--the bonds and abuses, expectations and betrayals, choices and denials."--Terry Hong, Booklist "A feminist masterwork."--Entertainment Weekly "[Kawakami's] voice is intimate, musical, at times wry and powerfully observant to the inner lives of women and girls."--Kali Fajardo Anstine, ELLE Magazine "Breasts and Eggs speaks to the stories of Lucia Berlin; there is the same sense of a dispassionate but honoring gaze cast on working-class women, dogged and unsentimental in their survival."--Hermione Hoby, 4 Columns, "A sharply observed and heartbreaking portrait of what it means to be a woman, in Japan and beyond."--TIME, The 10 Best Fiction Books of 2020 "Fantastic."--Kat Chow, NPR "Stunning."--Financial Times "Kawakami writes with unsettling precision about the body...she is especially good at capturing its longings."--Katie Kitamura, The New York Times "I can never forget the sense of pure astonishment I felt when I first read Mieko Kawakami's Breasts and Eggs."--Haruki Murakami "A unique, direct voice--almost every page contains sentences that stop me in my tracks."--Marta Bausells, LitHub "Will transcend cultural barriers and enchant readers."--Alina Cohen, New York Observer "Mieko Kawakami's first full-scale novel to be translated from Japanese into English reveals what a Catherine Wheel of talent she is, how unplaceable and unique."--John Freeman, Literary Hub "A striking portrait of contemporary working-class womanhood."--New Statesman "Addresses the multifaceted nature of what it means to move through the world as a woman."--Ploughshares "Kawakami's prose is bold, modern, and surprising. Breasts and Eggs is a moving story about womanhood and modern life told through the lens of a supremely confident writer."--An Yu, author of Braised Pork "Within an affecting portrait-of-an-artist-in-transition, Kawakami deftly, deeply questions the assumptions of womanhood and family--the bonds and abuses, expectations and betrayals, choices and denials."--Terry Hong, Booklist "A feminist masterwork."--Entertainment Weekly "[Kawakami's] voice is intimate, musical, at times wry and powerfully observant to the inner lives of women and girls."--Kali Fajardo Anstine, ELLE Magazine "Breasts and Eggs speaks to the stories of Lucia Berlin; there is the same sense of a dispassionate but honoring gaze cast on working-class women, dogged and unsentimental in their survival."--Hermione Hoby, 4 Columns, "Fantastic."--Kat Chow, NPR "Stunning."--Financial Times "Kawakami writes with unsettling precision about the body...she is especially good at capturing its longings."--Katie Kitamura, The New York Times "I can never forget the sense of pure astonishment I felt when I first read Mieko Kawakami's Breasts and Eggs."--Haruki Murakami "A unique, direct voice--almost every page contains sentences that stop me in my tracks."--Marta Bausells, LitHub "Will transcend cultural barriers and enchant readers."--Alina Cohen, New York Observer "Mieko Kawakami's first full-scale novel to be translated from Japanese into English reveals what a Catherine Wheel of talent she is, how unplaceable and unique."--John Freeman, Literary Hub "A striking portrait of contemporary working-class womanhood."--New Statesman "Addresses the multifaceted nature of what it means to move through the world as a woman."--Ploughshares "Kawakami's prose is bold, modern, and surprising. Breasts and Eggs is a moving story about womanhood and modern life told through the lens of a supremely confident writer."--An Yu, author of Braised Pork "Within an affecting portrait-of-an-artist-in-transition, Kawakami deftly, deeply questions the assumptions of womanhood and family--the bonds and abuses, expectations and betrayals, choices and denials."--Terry Hong, Booklist "A feminist masterwork."--Entertainment Weekly "[Kawakami's] voice is intimate, musical, at times wry and powerfully observant to the inner lives of women and girls."--Kali Fajardo Anstine, ELLE Magazine "Breasts and Eggs speaks to the stories of Lucia Berlin; there is the same sense of a dispassionate but honoring gaze cast on working-class women, dogged and unsentimental in their survival."--Hermione Hoby, 4 Columns, "A sharply observed and heartbreaking portrait of what it means to be a woman, in Japan and beyond."--TIME, The 10 Best Fiction Books of 2020 "Fantastic."--Kat Chow, NPR "Stunning."--Financial Times "Raw, funny, mundane, heartbreaking."--Jane Yong Kim, The Atlantic, Best Books of 2020 "Kawakami writes with unsettling precision about the body...she is especially good at capturing its longings."--Katie Kitamura, The New York Times "I can never forget the sense of pure astonishment I felt when I first read Mieko Kawakami's Breasts and Eggs."--Haruki Murakami "Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami is as confronting and modern as its title suggests. I love Kawakami's depiction of what it is to be female today in Japan."--Natalie Portman, Natalie's Book Club "A unique, direct voice--almost every page contains sentences that stop me in my tracks."--Marta Bausells, LitHub "Will transcend cultural barriers and enchant readers."--Alina Cohen, New York Observer "Mieko Kawakami's first full-scale novel to be translated from Japanese into English reveals what a Catherine Wheel of talent she is, how unplaceable and unique."--John Freeman, Literary Hub "A striking portrait of contemporary working-class womanhood."--New Statesman "Addresses the multifaceted nature of what it means to move through the world as a woman."--Ploughshares "Kawakami's prose is bold, modern, and surprising. Breasts and Eggs is a moving story about womanhood and modern life told through the lens of a supremely confident writer."--An Yu, author of Braised Pork "Within an affecting portrait-of-an-artist-in-transition, Kawakami deftly, deeply questions the assumptions of womanhood and family--the bonds and abuses, expectations and betrayals, choices and denials."--Terry Hong, Booklist "A feminist masterwork."--Entertainment Weekly "[Kawakami's] voice is intimate, musical, at times wry and powerfully observant to the inner lives of women and girls."--Kali Fajardo Anstine, ELLE Magazine "Breasts and Eggs speaks to the stories of Lucia Berlin; there is the same sense of a dispassionate but honoring gaze cast on working-class women, dogged and unsentimental in their survival."--Hermione Hoby, 4 Columns
