Breasts and Eggs

Mieko Kawakami · b. 1976 · Japan

Originally Natsu Monogatari (Japanese) · translated by Sam Bett and David Boyd

Why it matters

A single mother, her daughter, and her sister's fixation on breast augmentation surgery collide over one Tokyo summer. Class, motherhood, and bodily autonomy examined with unusual directness for Japanese letters.

At a glance

Two-part structure with shifting timeframes and long interior monologue passages.