The Breast

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The Breast (1972) is a novella by Philip Roth, in which the main character, David Kepesh, becomes a 155-pound breast. Throughout the book we see Kepesh fighting with himself. Part of him wishes to give into bodily wishes, while the other part of him wants to be reasonable. In many ways this book has a lot in common with Kafka's novella The Metamorphosis. David, throughout the novel, describes the various sexual and physical feelings he has while people handle him, he initiates sex with his girlfriend, and while he is by himself. The descriptions of his transformations were very shocking to some readers. The graphic and frank commentary David Kepesh makes is almost unreadably embarassing for some people. It is, all in all, a very off-beat book, and not to be read lightly.