Two sections. Part one: a woman's obsession with breast augmentation and her daughter who stops speaking. Part two: a single woman deciding whether to have a child alone through a sperm donor. Kawakami writes about women's bodies as political territory — raw, honest, and unforgettable.
Clean — the body is examined philosophically, not erotically.
Skip if you dislike:
Moods: Raw Feminist Intimate Philosophical
Tropes: Women's Bodies Class Single Motherhood Fertility
Same author, standalone — different story.
Deeply — specifically Japanese feminist, examining societal pressures unique to women in Japan.
He blurbed it — Kawakami is considered his literary successor by some critics.