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Breasts and Eggs : A Novel by Mieko Kawakami (2020, Hardcover)
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HardCover Copy! (Dust jacket may be missing) Fairly worn but fully readable and intact. May have remainder marks on outside edges.
- Buy It NowBreasts and Eggs: A Novel
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About this product
Product Identifiers
PublisherEuropa Editions, Incorporated
ISBN-101609455878
ISBN-139781609455873
eBay Product ID (ePID)6038608047
Product Key Features
Book TitleBreasts and Eggs : a Novel
Number of Pages448 Pages
LanguageEnglish
TopicPsychological, Contemporary Women, Family Life, Literary
Publication Year2020
GenreFiction
AuthorMieko Kawakami
FormatHardcover
Dimensions
Item Height1.4 in
Item Weight20.8 Oz
Item Length8.2 in
Item Width5.2 in
Additional Product Features
Intended AudienceTrade
Dewey Edition23
Reviews"A bracing, feminist exploration of daily life in Japan."-- Entertainment Weekly "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 "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."-- 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 "Timeless and thoroughly contemporary, intimate and expansive."-- Mari's Book Reviews "Breasts and Eggs provides 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."-- Japan Times, "A bracing, feminist exploration of daily life in Japan."-- Entertainment Weekly "Kawakami's narrative is bracing and evocative, tender yet unflinching in depicting the relationship between the sisters and between mother and daughter."-- Publishers Weekly "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."-- 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 "Timeless and thoroughly contemporary, intimate and expansive."-- Mari's Book Reviews "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."-- Japan Times, " Breasts and Eggs is so amazing it took my breath away . . . Ms. Kawakami is ceaselessly growing and evolving."-- Haruki Murakami, " Breasts and Eggs is so amazing it took my breath away . . . Ms. Kawakami is ceaselessly growing and evolving."-- Haruki Murakami "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. How forceful. [...] The way she moves among her characters here will make clear why Breasts and Eggs is the Makioka Sisters of its time."-- John Freeman in Literary Hub, "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 "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."-- Japan Times, "One of Japan's brightest stars is set to explode across the global skies of literature."-- Japan Times, "A bracing, feminist exploration of daily life in Japan."-- Entertainment Weekly "Not just some elevated piece of literary chick-lit. [Breasts and Eggs is] 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'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 "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."-- 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 "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 "Breasts and Eggs provides 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 bracing, feminist exploration of daily life in Japan."--Entertainment Weekly "Not just some elevated piece of literary chick-lit. [Breasts and Eggs is] 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 "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 Eggs provides 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 bracing, feminist exploration of daily life in Japan."-- Entertainment Weekly "Kawakami's narrative is bracing and evocative, tender yet unflinching in depicting the relationship between the sisters and between mother and daughter."-- Publishers Weekly "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 "A unique, direct voice--almost every page contains sentences that stop me in my tracks."-- Literary Hub "Timeless and thoroughly contemporary, intimate and expansive."-- Mari's Book Reviews "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."-- Japan Times, "A bracing, feminist exploration of daily life in Japan."--Entertainment Weekly "Not just some elevated piece of literary chick-lit. [Breasts and Eggs is] 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 "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."--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 "Breasts and Eggs provides 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 bracing, feminist exploration of daily life in Japan."-- Entertainment Weekly "Kawakami's timely feminist themes; strange, surreal prose; and wonderful characters will transcend cultural barriers and enchant readers."-- The 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 "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."-- 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 "Timeless and thoroughly contemporary, intimate and expansive."-- Mari's Book Reviews "Breasts and Eggs provides 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."-- Japan Times
Dewey Decimal895.636
SynopsisKawakami, who exploded into the cultural space first as a musician, then as a poet and popular blogger, is perhaps best known as one of Japan's most important and best-selling literary voices. Challenging every preconception about storytelling and prose style, she is currently one of Japan's most widely read and critically acclaimed authors, heralded by Haruki Murakami as his favorite new writer. Breasts and Eggs focuses on the female body, telling the story of three women: the thirty-year-old unmarried narrator, her older sister Makiko, and Makiko's daughter Midoriko. In the book's first part, set over three stiflingly hot days in Tokyo, Makiko, who is unable to come to terms with her changed body after giving birth, becomes obsessed with the prospect of getting breast enhancement surgery. Meanwhile, her twelve-year-old daughter Midoriko is paralyzed by the fear of puberty and finds herself unable to voice the vague, yet overwhelming pressures associated with growing up. The narrator struggles with her own indeterminable identity of being neither a "daughter" nor a "mother." In the book's second part, set on another hot summer day ten years later, the narrator, having reconciled herself with the idea of never marrying, nonetheless feels increasing anxiety about growing old alone and childless. In episodes that are as comical as they are revealing, she seeks direction from other women in her life--her mother, her grandmother, friends, as well as her sister--and only after dramatic and frequent changes of heart, decides in favor of artificial insemination. However, as the narrative confronts reproduction rights issues, both universal and specific, it becomes clear that a decision made is not always met. Breasts and Eggs looks at the ongoing repression of women in Japan and the possibility of liberation, poverty, domestic violence, and reproductive ethics. Mixing comedy and realism, Breasts and Eggs tells of an epic life-affirming journey about finding inner strength and peace. "I'm sure that in the pages of this novel, readers will find something that echoes in their own life-- the randomness, suddenness, and strangeness--and at the same time something fundamental to the human experience."--Mieko Kawakami, The story of three women by a writer hailed by Haruki Murakami as Japan's most important contemporary novelist, WINNER OF THE AKUTAGAWA PRIZE. " Breasts and Eggs took my breath away."--HARUKI MURAKAMI A BEST BOOK OF 2020 TIME Magazine The Atlantic Book Riot Electric Literature The New York Times (Notable Book of the Year) Challenging every preconception about storytelling and prose style, mixing wry humor and riveting emotional depth, Kawakami is today one of Japan's most important and best-selling writers. She exploded onto the cultural scene first as a musician, then as a poet and popular blogger, and is now an award-winning novelist. Breasts and Eggs paints a portrait of contemporary womanhood in Japan and recounts the intimate journeys of three women as they confront oppressive mores and their own uncertainties on the road to finding peace and futures they can truly call their own. It tells the story of three women: the thirty-year-old Natsu, her older sister, Makiko, and Makiko's daughter, Midoriko. Makiko has traveled to Tokyo in search of an affordable breast enhancement procedure. She is accompanied by Midoriko, who has recently grown silent, finding herself unable to voice the vague yet overwhelming pressures associated with growing up. Her silence proves a catalyst for each woman to confront her fears and frustrations. On another hot summer's day ten years later, Natsu, on a journey back to her native city, struggles with her own indeterminate identity as she confronts anxieties about growing old alone and childless. Kawakami's first novella My Ego, My Teeth, and the World , published in Japan in 2007, was awarded the Tsubouchi Shoyo Prize for Young Emerging Writers. The following year, she published Breasts and Eggs as a short novella, and won praise from Yoko Ogawa and Haruki Murakami. The newly expanded Breasts and Eggs , already hailed as a "feminist masterwork" ( Entertainment Weekly ), is her first novel to be published in English. "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. How forceful. ...] The way she moves among her characters here will make clear why Breasts and Eggs is the Makioka Sisters of its time."--John Freeman in Literary Hub "Mieko Kawakami lobbed a literary grenade into the fusty, male-dominated world of Japanese fiction with Breasts and Eggs ."-- The Economist, The story of three women by a writer hailed by Haruki Murakami as Japan's most important contemporary novelist, WINNER OF THE AKUTAGAWA PRIZE. "Breasts and Eggs took my breath away."--HARUKI MURAKAMI A BEST BOOK OF 2020 TIME MagazineThe AtlanticBook RiotElectric LiteratureThe New York Times (Notable Book of the Year) Challenging every preconception about storytelling and prose style, mixing wry humor and riveting emotional depth, Kawakami is today one of Japan's most important and best-selling writers. She exploded onto the cultural scene first as a musician, then as a poet and popular blogger, and is now an award-winning novelist. Breasts and Eggs paints a portrait of contemporary womanhood in Japan and recounts the intimate journeys of three women as they confront oppressive mores and their own uncertainties on the road to finding peace and futures they can truly call their own. It tells the story of three women: the thirty-year-old Natsu, her older sister, Makiko, and Makiko's daughter, Midoriko. Makiko has traveled to Tokyo in search of an affordable breast enhancement procedure. She is accompanied by Midoriko, who has recently grown silent, finding herself unable to voice the vague yet overwhelming pressures associated with growing up. Her silence proves a catalyst for each woman to confront her fears and frustrations. On another hot summer's day ten years later, Natsu, on a journey back to her native city, struggles with her own indeterminate identity as she confronts anxieties about growing old alone and childless. Kawakami's first novella My Ego, My Teeth, and the World, published in Japan in 2007, was awarded the Tsubouchi Shoyo Prize for Young Emerging Writers. The following year, she published Breasts and Eggs as a short novella, and won praise from Yoko Ogawa and Haruki Murakami. The newly expanded Breasts and Eggs, already hailed as a "feminist masterwork" (Entertainment Weekly), is her first novel to be published in English. "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. How forceful. [...] The way she moves among her characters here will make clear why Breasts and Eggs is the Makioka Sisters of its time."--John Freeman in Literary Hub "Mieko Kawakami lobbed a literary grenade into the fusty, male-dominated world of Japanese fiction with Breasts and Eggs."--The Economist
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