A writer hailed by Haruki Murakami as Japan’s most important contemporary novelist “Breasts and Eggs took my breath away.”—HARUKI MURAKAMI

WINNER OF THE AKUTAGAWA PRIZE

A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2020
Vogue・Thrillist・The Millions・ Literary Hub・Now Toronto・Metropolis Japan

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.

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.