Breasts and Eggs

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And even Midoriko -- not even a teen yet -- understands how hard her mother has it, and struggles with her own inability to be a support beyond her years: Natsuko explores a number of the possible work-arounds, but none of them are particularly easy or appealing (and some downright off-putting, like the overhelpful volunteer she encounters ...). Natsuko is obviously torn a bit, and concerned that having a child might pull her away from her writing, but admirably Kawakami doesn't put that at the fore: Natsuko never really frames it as an either/or proposition -- nor does she go into this with any certainty that she can balance the two. DB: I can see that, especially in Heaven. Mieko’s sentences have a way of coming together to form something larger, something that can be really hard to define. Even if the effect isn’t most obvious at the sentence level, that’s where a lot of attention and effort goes when translating. Mieko’s sentences often contain “too much” or “too little,” by English standards, and I’m happy to follow the structure of the original wherever possible. I suppose I’m worried, actually, that changing things at the sentence level would negatively impact the exact thing you’re talking about. For cost savings, you can change your plan at any time online in the “Settings & Account” section. If you’d like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial.

Mieko Kawakami. “ A Feminist Critique of Murakami Novels, With Murakami Himself”. Literary Hub. 07 April 2020.Note: Kawakami Mieko's 乳と卵 ('Breasts and Eggs') was a novella that won the 2007 (II) Akutagawa Prize; more than a decade later, she revised and expanded (considerably) on it, a version that was then published in 2019 as 夏物語 ('Summer Stories'); the English-language editions of the latter have now, somewhat confusingly, been published under the former title (while the original 'Breasts and Eggs' was never published in (English) translation). Natsuko and Makiko's mother died when Natsuko was still young, with the grandmother they had gone to live with then also dying when Natsuko was only in her teens, leaving Makiko -- then twenty-four -- to support them, with Natsuko pitching in by taking on jobs as soon as she could convincingly lie about her age. Poverty, and the cycle of poverty, are a significant theme especially in this first part of the novel. The longer second part revisits Natsuko 10 years later: she’s achieved a similar sudden literary success to her author, but is struggling to write a second novel and increasingly isolated. She yearns to have a child, but the thought of sex makes her “want to die”, so she investigates using a sperm donor, only to discover in Japan it’s a process only available for infertile couples, not single women.

The English translation is divided in two parts and is narrated by Natsuko Natsume (夏子 Natsuko), an aspiring writer in Tokyo. In the first part, Natsuko's sister, Makiko (巻子), and her 12-year-old daughter, Midoriko (緑子), arrive in Tokyo from Osaka. Makiko has come to Tokyo seeking a clinic for breast augmentation. Midoriko has not spoken to her mother in six months. Midoriko's journal entries are interspersed and contain her thoughts about becoming a woman and recognizing the changes in her body. In the second part, set years later, Natsuko contemplates becoming a mother and the options open to her as an older single woman in Japan. The Japan-specific details, especially about family (and family-lines), and the way both the law and society look upon procreation give an interesting twist to the story; in this sense, it is definitely a foreign tale, as American or European experiences would be shaped very differently simply because of the way society and the law function there. Translation as an Exercise in Letting Go - An Interview with Sam Bett and David Boyd on Translating Mieko Kawakami Breasts and Eggs was translated by men. One cannot help but wonder how different it would have been if a woman had translated it.

The Sociological Review

Mieko Kawakami. “ Acts of Recognition: On the Women Characters of Haruki Murakami”. Literary Hub. 03 October 2019. She will not be controlled by her biology and the fact that she cannot control it in turn — such as stopping her breasts from growing or her periods from happening — is crushing for her. They can't do anything around the house without making a ton of noise, not even close the fridge or turn the lights on. Certainly, the quirkiness of the presentation of the ideas -- mainly in the normalcy with which they are treated (Natsuko isn't really hung-up on anything, like most protagonists in her position would be, especially regarding sex) -- is appealing.