comment on style / language

The language in Kawakami’s novel is generally simple and conversational. Natsuko’s narrations as well as Midoriko’s journal entries reflect the characters’ personalities but for the most part convey information in a straightforward manner. However, narrations are still prone to a certain casualness of language. For example, in Book One, when Makiko is considering breast implants, characters occasionally refer to breasts as “boobs,” such as when Natsuko says, “I couldn’t for the life of me remember what her boobs were like” (39).