Sexual politics is foregrounded here in a novel frank and fresh in its discussion of the myriad forces which work upon the bodies of women (and the women who find equally myriad ways of negotiating them or failing to). Kawakami's Japan seems a particularly well-suited space to place such talks, but the Western-oriented emphasis of much of it (breast implants, IVF, etc.) has four fingers pointed right back at the West. 

As others have written, this is not a novel of action, and our protagonist Natsuko mostly talks with others and reflects on her own situation. On the other hand, why should she do anything else? For my part, I appreciated Kawakami's characterizations. While many seem frantically self-destructive, it only demonstrates how fragile the facades built for others. Ditto the levels of predation her men are capable of plying, nothing so simple and crass as violence nor as lowkey as "micro-sexism." 

Most appreciate the first half of the novel for its inter-family dynamics and multiple viewpoints; and they are somewhat less satisfied with the larger second story which is almost entirely from Natsuko's internal view and questions. For me, though, this second exploration felt much more vital, reflective, and true. Natsuko shifts back and forth in her levels of confidence, assertions, and choices. And her interactions with friends and mostly her aggressive literary agent are powerful, revealing. She flirts with the parallel between childbirth and birthing of books in business (a disturbing connection, but one necessary here). The very question of a single woman's pregnancy breaks family connections. And a man who himself campaigns against IVF for single women connects unexpectedly. 

But again, this is not a traditional (nor plotted) story. And as much as some critics warn that the story does not resolve neatly, I might say that this resolution (tidier than I expected) was one of the more artificial parts of the reading. For me, Natsuko herself--at times funny, self-deprecating, ignorant, cleverly revealing, frustrating in her angst, persevering--is so compelling a character that I enjoyed every turn and loop she makes. 

I will be reading more of Kawakami, and I'm confident, too, that what she has in other titles will be at least equally necessary.