The first-person narration in this book is incredible, and I admittedly don't really pay much mind to that as a quality factor in most that I read (well, unless when it is unavoidably atrocious. Kawakami is undeniably a gifted narrator, which in turn is what made Natsu such a compelling character.

I am not a woman of course, many of the issues that Breasts and Eggs touches on are issues I can not understand and relate to on a inherent and the most personal level. Despite that though, I'd like to say this book has gotten me a considerable distance closer towards minimizing that gap. I believe it fair to say it has allowed me a more genuine and defined empathy.

It is worth noting that my observation above does not factor into my opinion that this is an excellent book. My personal perspective is not something the majority of readers will have, or even need to have, and including those considerations when it comes to determining quality would be unfair. Breasts and Eggs succeeds based on its own merits, because Kawakami is an wonderful writer.

The ethical debate Kawakami facilitates in the book over childbirth was quite compelling and also posed arguments I hadn't thought of or been exposed to before. It did weigh more heavily on the pessimistic side of things, though I felt there was merit there nonetheless.