Breasts and Eggs

Examine the absence of male characters in the narrative. What effect does this have on the novel’s themes?

Discuss how Kawakami blurs the line between dreams, memories, and visions. How does this affect the novel’s sense of chronology? What does it reveal about Natsu?

How does Natsu’s childhood poverty factor in to the narrative? How does it influence her experience of the present?

Rie Konno describes her coworkers as “a bunch of hopeless idiots” (155). Does Breasts and Eggs portray women who choose a more conventional path in a negative light? Support your conclusion with evidence from the text.

Some critics have called Breasts and Eggs a work of existential feminist literature. Do you agree? How do the ideas expressed in the novel relate to those of existential feminist figureheads like Simone de Beauvoir?

Rika Yusa believes that men cannot understand women’s suffering. Does the narrative validate this belief? Why can Jun Aizawa relate to Natsu in ways that other men can’t?

Examine the novel’s focus on mother-daughter relationships. Would the effectiveness of the narrative have changed if Natsu had given birth to a son?

In Midoriko, Natsu, and Makiko, Kawakami portrays three women at different stages of life. How does each character relate to womanhood? To what degree are their perspectives informed by their ages?