Mieko Kawakami: Three Daughters of Osaka

While this year’s release of Breasts and Eggs marks the first time Mieko Kawakami has been translated into English (by Sam Bett and David Boyd), she has been a literary sensation in Japan for more than ten years.

Her legions of fans include Haruki Murakami, who cites her as a favourite, and Breasts and Eggs started life as a blog attracting hundreds of thousands of readers. And it’s not hard to see why: unapologetically feminist and gleefully subversive, this is an incisive account of three young women navigating and carving out their place in contemporary Japan.

‘The characters and stories that appear in Japanese literature tend to perpetuate Orientalist views — the idea that Japanese people are slightly odd and mysterious, but harmless,’ Kawakami said. ‘I don’t want to write anything that helps to reinforce that kind of a misunderstanding. I made an effort to depict life as it truly feels to live it in Japan.’

From breast enhancement to motherhood, single life and sisterly obligation, this is an unforgettable story from one of Japan’s rising stars. Come and hear her talk to writer and Guardian critic Catherine Taylor about her work.

This is a pre-recorded event.