3 good books

Breasts and Eggs | The Applicant | The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise

Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami

Breasts and Eggs follows three Japanese women, Natsuko, her sister, Makiko, and Makiko’s daughter, Midoriko, as they contemplate what growing older means at various stages of life. Midoriko has stopped speaking as a means of navigating adolescence, Makiko’s work as a cocktail lounge hostess has her contemplating breast enhancement, and Natsuko ponders what it means to bring a child into the world without a father.

The Applicant by Nazli Koca

Leyla is a Turkish woman living in Berlin. She came to Germany to complete her thesis, but after failing her presentation, she now cleans rooms at a hostel. As her student visa approaches expiration, she meets a Swedish tourist and wonders if she’s falling in love. Caught between her mother and sister at home in Turkey, her dying dreams of being a writer in Berlin, and a safety valve in Sweden, Leyla navigates the in-between spaces that only an immigrant knows.

The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise by Colleen Oakley

Tanner is a college dropout trying to figure out her future and Louise is an octogenarian running from her past. When Tanner applies to become Louise’s live-in caretaker, she has no idea that she’ll soon become the wheelwoman for a cross-country caper.